LONDON - British animal welfare groups last night welcomed a National Trust decision to ban stag hunting with hounds from its land, and demanded that all hunting of animals to be outlawed.
The League Against Cruel Sports hailed the move as "a very big nail in the coffin of hunting".
The unanimous decision by the trust's council followed the publication of a scientific study it had commissioned, which revealed "unambiguous" evidence that hunting caused deer to suffer "extreme stress" and "great suffering".
It means the trust will not renew licences for hunting red deer on its land on Exmoor and the Quantock Hills, and fallow deer in the New Forest, from the end of this month - affecting more than 15,000 acres of land.