A new fine could see hunters prosecuted for killing foxes through (Image: Getty)
The government is planning to strengthen anti-hunting legislation by prosecuting people for killing foxes through "recklessness".
Labour pledged to ban trail hunting in its pre-election manifesto - bringing an end to the practice of laying a scent across the countryside for hounds and riders to follow in lieu of the centuries-old tradition of banned fox hunting in England and Wales.
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The new "recklessness" penalty would mark an escalation of the current requirement to prove deliberate killing.
It has been spurred by a rise in debate around the exploitation of the practice for illegal means, with critics suggesting that trail hunting is a "smokescreen" for fox pursuits - 186 cases of which have been reported since August, according to the League Against Cruel Sports.
The league has also recorded 553 reports of so-called "hunt havoc", in which hounds chased other wild animals or pets, worried livestock, caused traffic incidents or disturbed members of the public.
Since coming to power in July, the government has suspended trail hunting on land owned by the Ministry of Defence.
READ MORE Boxing Day hunts are backed by real people, not class warriors - Tim Bonner [COMMENT]
The League Against Cruel Sports says at least 186 foxes have been hunted since August (Image: Getty)
The proposed bolstering of the Hunting Act brought in by Tony Blair's government 20 years ago comes amid continued pressure on Keir Starmer to fulfil his manifesto pledge - though some have interpreted a delay in doing so as a reluctance to worsen relations with rural communities after a wave of backlash to the new farmer inheritance tax.
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, describes the ban as "completely unjustified", suggesting that a crack down on the existing legislation could "open Pandora's box" on the highly contentious issue.
"It's very sad that we may be going back to a point where we have to waste even more parliamentary time on this irrelevant issue," he said.
"If they are claiming that somehow this law needs to be changed to address illegal behaviour, then it needs to be very carefully thought through ... because what there can't be any case for is stopping people going into the countryside with a pack of hounds or dogs, and carrying out a completely benign activity, which is what hunts are doing."
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"Given where the government is in its relationship with the countryside already, frankly it would seem extraordinary that they'd want to double down on an issue which doesn't really matter," he added.
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As Boxing Day hunts get underway around the country today, however, the future of the activity continues to hang in the balance.
A spokesperson for Defra told the PA News Agency: "This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious animal welfare plans in a generation and that is exactly what we will do.
"We are committed to a ban on trail hunting, which is being exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares."