Police prepared for hunting ban

Specialist wildlife crime officers will investigate breaches of the ban

Avon and Somerset police say they are ready to deal with any trouble arising from the hunting ban which comes into force on Friday.

Plans have been put into place to enforce the new legislation and deal with public order offences, they say.

It follows months of consultation with groups on both sides of the debate.

About 25% of all the hunts in England and Wales are in the South West - with 21 registered hunts in the Avon and Somerset area.

Specialist wildlife crime officers will investigate any complaints if it is alleged that the hunting ban has been breached by a person or group.

Any public order offences which may be linked to the activity of any person or group surrounding the Hunting Act will be investigated separately.

Implication on resources

Avon and Somerset's hunt liaison officer Superintendent Adrian Coombs said: "Because of the extensive planning and consultation we have carried out with groups of various viewpoints, we believe we have done all we can to prepare for this new piece of legislation.

"Enforcing the law in the early days may require an increase in resources devoted to hunting issues and the consequences of this will be carefully examined.

"As an organisation, we remain impartial on the hunting debate. Our role is to ensure the law is enforced and we are ready to uphold the new hunting legislation."

Officers have met with neighbouring forces in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall and Dorset to ensure a consistent approach is taken.