In response to the public debate and impending parliamentary vote on hunting foxes with dogs, Debbie Tann, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust Chief Executive said:

“Our concern first and foremost is about the impact of hunting with dogs upon wildlife. Foxes are wildlife, even if they are a relatively common species. Further, hunting with dogs can potentially damage important habitats and disturb sensitive species. While there may be some specific circumstances where fox populations need to be controlled, hunting with dogs is not an efficient, sensitive or targeted method of pest control that we could support.

“For these reasons we do not allow hunting with dogs on our nature reserves, and have concerns about hunting with dogs more widely.

“The proposals before parliament have the potential to increase the scale and number of recreational hunts with dogs, and magnify their detrimental impacts upon both foxes and other wildlife. Consequently Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is opposed to the proposals to relax restrictions."