Hunt filmed chasing deer on National Trust land even as charity's chief pledges crackdown

A hunt has been filmed apparently chasing deer on moorland managed by the National Trust – just as the trust’s chief insisted the organisation would get tough on hunts that don’t follow licensing rules.

The red deer were seen scattering across the land in Somerset with horse riders in pursuit. Hunt followers were parked up on the moorland, watching with binoculars.

It happened on Thursday, the hottest day of the year – which critics said was also detrimental to the animals’ health.

Hilary McGrady, the new head of the National Trust, said in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Friday: “The trust has introduced much more robust licensing this year, and I am going to focus on doing what I said we were going to do and ensure that those licences are followed. Hunts that follow those licences, we will work with them. The ones that don’t, we won’t.”

Hunting wild mammals with dogs has been illegal since 2005, and hunts say they use trails of animal scent instead.

Under pressure last year to ban all forms of hunting, the trust introduced a system of licences for trail hunting.

But investigators from the League Against Cruel Sports claimed that what they filmed on Thursday was the Devon and Somerset Staghounds chasing deer across the Holnicote Estate on Exmoor.

They said young male deer “would have been chased for miles by hounds pursued by horsemen and women and followers on quad bikes, before being shot”.

Andrew Kendall, a former policeman and investigator who saw the chase, said: “Deer were clearly being flushed out of wooded valleys and chased onto open moorland on the hottest day of the year, which is clearly detrimental to their health.”

Ms McGrady said the following day that she wanted to “do more for nature”.

She also promised a new system of licensing, insisting the trust would not work with hunts that fail to follow its licence terms.

Chris Luffingham, the league’s head of campaigns, said: “The National Trust needs to work out if it really cares about nature or not. Not for the first time, a hunt – which we believe to have been illegal – took place on National Trust land, causing massive disturbance to not only the deer but the whole area.

“If Hilary McGrady is sincere in her bid to make the trust more nature-friendly, she needs to get a grip on the illegal and disruptive activity frequently taking place on its land.”

“We believe that the three deer hunts operating in the West Country are killing more than 200 deer every year.”

No stag hunt has been issued a licence to hunt by the National Trust, he added.

A National Trust spokesman said: “The National Trust does not allow hunting of wild animals.

“The National Trust has not currently licensed any hunts on the Holnicote Estate. We take any reports of unlicensed activity on our land very seriously.

“We are aware of the incident you describe and are seeking urgent clarification from those involved. Until we establish the facts we won’t be able to comment further.”