Oxford, United Kingdom – As hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students were ushered into the Sheldonian Theatre for Oxford University matriculation ceremonies on October 17, groups of animal welfare activists protested against fox hunting outside the gates.
“Is this acceptable to you, St John’s?”, activists asked as Jesus College students matriculated.
Protesters held up pictures of fox cubs and cardboard signs saying “For fox sake stop hunting” and “Ban The Hunt” while students walked past.
Locals Against the Warwickshire Hunt announced the date and time of their protest – 10 a.m., outside the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street to overlap with Matriculation Day – after accusing St John’s College of having allowed an illegal hunt to occur on its land on September 1, 2026.
St John’s College has denied this allegation, noting that it met with the group earlier this month for discussions.
Their protest comes amid renewed national controversy over fox hunting, more than two decades after the practice was outlawed in England and Wales.
However, this 2005 ban only rendered traditional hunting with hounds illegal. Trail hunting, in which dogs follow a pre-laid scent, has allowed organised hunts to continue to this day.
Animal welfare campaigners argue that this practice can provide cover for illegal hunting; the British government has acknowledged this concern and agreed to consider a further ban.
A central concern is that in a trail hunt hounds can still pick up on the scent of a real fox and pursue it of their own accord, which can make it difficult for police to prove that a fox was deliberately hunted rather than chased accidentally.
Major landowners including the National Trust and Forestry England have stopped allowing trail hunting on their land. Saturday’s protesters allege that St John’s College owns land at Wellesbourne, near Stratford-upon-Avon, where the Warwickshire Trail Hunt has permission to conduct trail hunting.
They say they previously asked the college to withdraw that permission, which it declined to do. St John’s College published a statement on the Warwickshire Hunt on September 3.
In March, Labour began a formal government consultation on banning trail hunting in England and Wales, fulfilling a manifesto commitment.
By June, the consultation had received around 184,000 responses from the public, though the government closed it and has delayed publishing its response until later in 2026.
October 17 was National Trail Hunting Day in England, with at least four trail hunts scheduled to take place around the country, and hunting remains a controversial part of traditional – especially rural – English life.
Featured image: Courtesy of Catherine Wray
