‘In April 2003, less than two years before the introduction of the Hunting Act, opponents of the ban were finally starting to see the writing on the wall. The uncomfortable reality that the proposed law banning hunting with dogs could come into force prompted Roger Scruton and Michael Markham to establish the Hunting Declaration. At its core was the following message:
“It aims to convey in an unambiguous way that enough people are committed to either refusing to accept any law that comes into effect (if it does) that any such law would be unenforceable and so fail “
Remarkably this commitment to civil disobedience attracted 37,000 signatures rising to 50,000 by April 2004. I say remarkably because at the time, the hunting community simultaneously reminded anyone who would listen of the law abiding nature of its membership. Notwithstanding the perennial incidents of trespass – usually dismissed with the catch all ‘you’re in the country now’ – the Hunting Declaration was seen by many as a forewarning of what was to come.
Fast forward wind to the present day and sadly the League’s operations team can confirm that there was substance to this declaration of intent – and so for that matter can the thousands of callers to the League, since the ban, who have reported activity consistent with traditional hunting practices.’ source- The League Against Cruel Sports’ December 2010
http://www.huntingact.org/site/pp.aspx?c=pmLYKfN3LxH&b=4393219
Before the Hunting Act came into effect many hunters announced their intention to flout the law. A ‘Hunting Declaration’, founded by Prof Roger Scruton, accumulated over 50,000 signatures from people prepared to break the law in the event of a hunting ban.
The ban was the culmination of many years of campaigning by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the RSPCA and the League Against Cruel Sports, along with other groups and individuals. A 2009 Ipsos-Mori poll showed that three out of every four people in Britain (75%) thought that fox hunting should remain illegal and 72% of those in rural areas do not want fox hunting legalised.
Since the implementation of the Hunting Act, professional hunt monitors have continued to document the activities of hunts. IFAW, the League and the RSPCA are now working closely with enforcement bodies and their evidence has led to public and private prosecutions being initiated.
