New venue for Melton's New Year hunt

Melton Mowbray Town Estate has hosted a New Year’s Day meeting in the town centre since 1983, initially in Market Place and latterly in Play Close Park.

But the Quorn Hunt, which was due to meet on Wednesday in the park, has pulled out because of the cost of the event and it has indicated that neither the Cottesmore or Belvoir Hunts will meet in future in the park either.

Instead, The Quorn will meet on New Year’s Day at Melton Livestock Market at 11am.

The boundaries of The Quorn, Belvoir and Cottesmore Hunts converge on Melton and the trio have met in the town on a rota basis for 40 years.

Town Estate chair, Graham Bett, told the Melton Times: “The Quorn Hunt has let the Town Estate know that they will not be attending Play Close on New Year's Day this year as they are not in a financial position to do so.

“They thanked Melton Mowbray Town Estate for their support over the years.

"They have also explained that they appreciate the position the Town Estate finds itself in and the decisions the Trustees have had to make, saying these are very challenging times.

“Following discussions with their neighbours, the Cottesmore and Belvoir Hunts, they have said that sadly none of them are in a financial position to make the Play Close Park a viable option going forward so they have made an alternative arrangement for New Year’s Day.”

Hunting foxes with dogs has been illegal in the UK since 2004 but hunts have continued to ride out on ‘trail hunts’ where the hounds follow the scent of a fox set down by members - if a fox is flushed out it must then be killed by shotgun.

There have been hundreds of court prosecutions, however, where foxes have been killed by hounds and the Labour government says it is committed to making trail hunting illegal

The Melton Mowbray area has hosted hunts for around 350 years, involving generations of royals, and has been dubbed ‘the cradle of foxhunting’.