AN anti-hunting group is calling on county council chiefs to stop permitting hunt meets on public land amid concerns about public safety.

The League Against Cruel Sports has sent a letter to Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC), following the recent Middleton Hunt meet on Boxing Day in Malton Market Place.

In the letter, Nick Weston, head of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, requests that the NYCC “commits to never again allowing the Middleton Hunt to hold its Boxing Day meet in Malton”.

He adds that “large groups of hunt riders and hounds meeting can create a health and safety hazard – with highways obstructed and passers-by forced into narrow spaces”.

Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at League Against Cruel Sports, added: “A number of local authorities – including Tetbury Council and Elham Council – have already committed to not allowing fox hunts to meet or parade on public land under their jurisdiction.

“With 85 per cent of the public opposing fox hunting, there is clear support for NYCC to follow these examples and instead allow only cruelty-free entertainment in Malton.”

A spokesman for the Middleton Hunt said: “The Middleton Hunt operates within the law to comply with the Hunting Act 2004, however it is one of many hunts that are regularly subjected to spurious allegations regarding their legal hunting activities.

“Health and safety is of the utmost importance to the hunt and arrangements are always put in place to enable our activities to be conducted in a safe, legal and sensible way.

“The Boxing Day meet is such a special day for the rural community that it would be a travesty if NYCC was pressurised to cancel this popular festive event.”

Cllr Les said: “Hunts have been part of rural life and the rural economy for many years.

“There is legislation in place to regulate how hunts operate.

“As long as hunts are carried out in strict accordance with the law, and with due regard to public safety, I do not believe we should seek to ban them on public land, and indeed we have no powers to act over private land such as Malton Market Place.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said that there have been a number of reports of illegal fox hunting in the county this season.

They said: “Since November 1 2018, North Yorkshire Police have received seven reports of circumstances where fox hunting may have taken place.

“As with all reports, North Yorkshire Police will investigate to establish whether illegal fox hunting has occurred.”