Farming Today

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Farming Today: 30/10/23 - Trail hunting, diversity in farming and hedgerows in winter

30/10/23 - Trail hunting, diversity in farming and hedgerows in winter

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 30/10/23 - Trail hunting, diversity in farming and hedgerows in winter

Though hunting with dogs is illegal in England, Scotland and Wales, hunts still meet to follow scent trails - we find out how trail hunting works.

It's hunting season. Though hunting - chasing wild mammals with dogs - is illegal in England, Scotland and Wales, hunts will still meet up and down the country. They are trail or drag hunts - two different ways of hunting without doing anything illegal. In drag hunting the hounds follow a non-animal scent laid by a drag pulled on a string, in trail hunting they follow an animal scent. Critics say trail hunting can be used as a smokescreen for illegal hunting, and it's been banned by some landowners, including the National Trust and suspended by others, like the Forestry Commission. We find out how it works.

Farming needs to do more to attract people from diverse backgrounds into the industry - according to a Nuffield Farming report from cattle vet, Dr Navaratnam Patheeban. He says that while 17 per cent of the population are black or people of colour, they represent just 0.8 per cent of people in farming.

And hedges were originally a way of marking boundaries, keeping stock safe and providing firewood. Now they're recognised for their benefits to wildlife and grants are available for farmers to plant new, and improve old, hedges. We visit the Barker family's farm in Suffolk, where they have invested heavily in researching the right hedge for the right place, creating wildlife corridors.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

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30/10/23 - Trail hunting, diversity in farming and hedgerows in winter

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