Tanatside Hunt is no more

Almost 270 years of tradition has come to a sudden end after the Tanatside Hunt confirmed it was no more.

A significant loss of land permissions to hunt on is behind the decision with one spokesperson for the hunt telling us it was a “very sad day indeed”, and it means the traditional Boxing Day spectacle in Welshpool will also be no more.

But anti-hunt campaigners will be celebrating the news with the Welsh Border Hunt Saboteurs declaring: “Another hunt bites the dust.” 

“The Tanatside Hunt disbanded because of significant loss of country due to varying circumstances. A very sad day indeed for a Hunt so steeped in history,” the spokesperson told us, adding that the hounds had been “heartbreakingly” drafted out to other packs.

The Hunt can be traced back to 1754 when it was known as the Confederate Hunt. The Tanatside Harriers were founded by John Bill Pryse in 1828. Sir Robert Jones, a famous surgeon, turned the Tanatside into a fox hound pack in 1926.

Opposition has grown in recent years with a small band of peaceful protesters appearing at the annual Boxing Day Hunt in the town centre.

The National Trust and Natural Resources Wales are two organisations that have banned hunting on their land over the past year. At the National Trust’s Annual General Meeting in October 2021, members voted by 76,816 to 38,184 in favour of banning trail hunting on their land.