Stag hunts drop fight against ban


05 May 1999


Stag hunts drop fight against ban


STAG hunts have given up their attempts to prove that the National Trust (NT) acted illegally in deciding to ban stag hunting on NT land in 1997.

The NT is believed to have spent about £250,000 on legal fees, while the hunts have spent £40,000.

Hunts in dispute with the Trusts decision include the Devon and Somerset staghounds, the Quantock staghounds, and tenant farmers on the Holnicote estate.

The NT based its decision to ban hunting on a report by Prof Patrick Bateson, of Cambridge University, who said that hunting caused deer unnecessary suffering.

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