The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and animal fighting. The charity helped bring about the Hunting Act 2004 and Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which banned hunting with hounds in England, Wales and Scotland.
History
Early years
The League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports was founded in 1925 by Ernest Bell and Henry B. Amos with George Greenwood as first president. Their inaugural public meeting was held on 25 November 1925 at Church House, Westminster and was chaired by Greenwood, a council member of the RSPCA. The League opposed the suffering of any sentient animal, either directly or indirectly for the purpose of sport.
The League was founded due to frustration over the RSPCA's lack of "emphasis on the abolition of hunting or on Royalty to stop hunting".Karmer, Molly Baer. (2022). Pressure From Within: Internecine Conflict in the English Animal Protection Movement, 1950-1975. In Bruce L. Kinzer, Molly Baer Kramer, Richard Trainor. Reform and Its Complexities in Modern Britain: Essays Inspired by Sir Brian Harrison. Oxford University Press. pp. 179-202. In 1927, the League's Advisory Committee included Henry S. Salt, Percy Scholes, several clergymen Frederic Donaldson, Robert Forman Horton, Walter Walsh and others. In 1929, Captain Edmund T. MacMichael commented that although the League condemns all forms of hunting they were primarily concerned with abolition of stag hunting and demanding the substitution of a drag in place of any living animal. The League's official journal Cruel Sports was published monthly. Hugh Walpole wrote an article in Cruel Sports describing his negative experience of fox hunting, "I have never in all my experience of war seen anything so terrified as that fox. I realised that morning I had seen a perfectly bestial thing... I don't believe the fox or the otter enjoys being hunted; I believe they experience fear, dismay, and pain".
In 1931, Ernest Bell and Stephen Coleridge resigned in protest over Henry Amos's continuous criticism of the RSPCA. Lady Cory who was also a member of the RSPCA resigned her presidency in 1932 as the League's journal had criticized other animal welfare societies and individuals. In 1932, a split-off organization, the National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports was formed by Ernest Bell and Stephen Coleridge following an internal dispute within the League over their relationship with the RSPCA.Tichelar, Michael. (2016). The History of Opposition to Blood Sports in Twentieth Century England: Hunting at Bay. Taylor & Francis. p. 51.
The League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports was renamed the League Against Cruel Sports in 1938.
Activism
In 1954, Joseph Sharp, secretary of the league advocated humane destruction of foxes by cyanide fumigation. In 1957, chairman Edward Hemingway proposed a Bill to be designed to give deer on Exmoor and Quantock Hills statutory protection which would bring an end to the "distressing scenes of the hunt".
It was reported in 1959 that members of the League were creating false chemical trails on Exmoor to confuse hounds when hunts take place. Edward Hemingway was using a "secret system" which was sent to him by a Scottish estate worker to confuse stag hunters from finding deer where they were expected. In 1959, Lord Grey De Ruthyn signed a letter of protest to Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh accusing Prince Philip of teaching Prince Charles to like blood sports.
In 1961, four League members who were opponents of fox hunting were expelled from the RSPCA. The RSPCA council unanimously decided that their conduct had been "prejudicial to the interests of the society". One of the members that had been excluded gained support from 274 RSPCA members that there should be a poll on fox hunting. Edward Hemingway stated that RSPCA's expulsion of the four members was "an insult to the whole animal welfare movement".
In 1962, the League sent members of the RSPCA 20,828 ballot papers on the issue of fox hunting. Nearly 8000 papers were returned. The result was 1291 for fox hunting and 6343 against. Edward Hemingway commented that the ballot was held at the request of the RSPCA members. The RSPCA responded by warning its members to ignore the ballot and stated that the ballot was not valid as it had not been authorized. The League's executive committee concluded "an inescapable conclusion which must be drawn from the result is that the RSPCA, as at present constituted, is not any longer a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals".
The League supported the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, passed in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament, and the Hunting Act 2004. The League has campaigned against commercial breeding of non-native game birds for shooting, and against hunts that it believes are continuing to hunt wild mammals contrary to the 2004 ban.
It also campaigns to extend hunting legislation from Scotland, England and Wales to Northern Ireland. Between 2006 and 2008, it successfully undertook private prosecutions against four hunt officials under the Hunting Act, because the police would not take action, and argued that this showed that the Hunting Act was clear in its meaning.Rethink ahead as huntsman is fined for breaking ban The Guardian, Retrieved 29 September 2007Pair guilty of hunting with dogs BBC, Retrieved 02/11/07 The first prosecution led to a conviction, but this was overturned on appeal,Huntsman conviction appeal upheld BBC, Retrieved 13 March 2008 and the second conviction was upheld in the Crown Court.Hunting duo appeal is turned down BBC, Retrieved 02/11/07
The League considers commercial greyhound racing to be cruel and inhumane. In 2014, the League published a report with GREY2K USA Worldwide on the state of greyhound racing in Great Britain.
In 2024, the League expressed concerns about fox hunters exploiting a loophole in The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023. The law introduced a licensing scheme which allows the use of more than two dogs in limited circumstances. The league noted that at least 41 licences were issued in the first hunting season since the act was introduced.
Presidents
Early presidents included Lady Cory, Alasdair Alpin MacGregor, Stephen Coleridge and Hamilton Fyfe."Notes on the resignation of A. A. MacGregor from the presidency of the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports". d.lib.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2024.Who's Who 1935. The Macmillan Company. p. 575Kean, Hilda. (1998). Animal Rights: Political and Social Change in Britain since 1800. Reaktion Books. p. 186. In 1947, Edith Sitwell was president of the League. Lord Grey de Ruthyn was president in the 1950s up until his death in 1963. In 1958, he announced his intention of speaking in the House of Lords to further the League's campaign against hunting. The Earl of Listowel was president from 1963 to 1967.
Donald Soper was president of the League from 1967 to 1997. Annette Crosbie was president from 2003 to 2006.
Wildlife reserves
In 1958, Edward Hemingway and Joseph Sharp purchased the freehold for Slowley Woods, near Luxborough which was the first League Against Cruel Sports sanctuary "for wild animals, particular those that are hunted". In 1988, it was reported that the League purchased 36 properties at a cost of 2.5 million to establish 2500 acres of wildlife. The League owns several wildlife reserves in and around Exmoor and Quantock Hills to prevent cruel sports from taking place.
In January 2026, volunteers from the League were being recruited to plant trees on their Exmoor wildlife reserve Baronsdown.
Controversies
James Barrington a former Executive Director of the League Against Cruel Sports who later became a consultant to the Countryside Alliance has alleged that mismanagement by the League on Baronsdown reserve has caused large outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis in deer. He has criticised the League for its lack of wildlife management. The League has denied the allegation. John Bryant a former Press Officer and Wildlife Research Officer commented that James Barrington met with leading members of the hunting fraternity without the knowledge of the League's Executive Committee. After Barrington resigned from the League over a claim of constructive dismissal, he accepted a settlement of £20,000 and became pro-hunting.
In 2019, it was reported that saboteurs have refused to co-operate with the League after accusing them of using information they gained to promote themselves. Martin Sims, the League's Director of Investigations has been criticized by saboteurs for attending hunt fundraising events including a point to point race organized by the Cornwall Hunt Club. In response, a spokesperson for the League commented that Sims attended the races because his daughter is pursuing a career as a jockey and given the dangers he wanted to attend.
Political allegations
In 1983, Richard Course a former Executive Director of the League was quoted in The Times as pledging to give the Labour Party £100,000 for the general election. After Labour lost the election it is alleged that Richard Course had never intended to give the party the money. Course denied such allegations and stated they were being promoted by the British Field Sports Society to spread disinformation and the League has never given money to a political party. In 1986, Charles Nodder, Information Officer for the British Field Sports Society stated that Course had "misrepresented the facts" as in the annual report of the League for 1979 there is a statement which says "The League made a donation of £80,000 to the Labour party".
In May, 1983 a High Court Judge ruled that the Labour Party must repay 50,000 of the election gift from the League. The other £30,000 given by the League to publicize Labour's animal welfare policies need not be returned. Eric Heffer a vice-president of the League stated the situation was "regrettable" but the Labour party would obey the court's decision to repay £50,000 to the league.
In 1988, Richard Course resigned over a dispute with the committee. He alleged that donations from the League had been made to fund Labour candidates without knowledge of its members and that accounts had been faked to conceal transactions. He demanded a department of trade investigation into the League. The allegations were denied by Donald Soper.
In 2010, the League was censured by the Charity Commission for describing the Conservatives as the "nasty party". The commission said the League's claim, published in a press release, had contravened charity rules on party political neutrality. In a regulatory case report, the Commission stated that the "wording chosen by the charity was party political in character and went beyond the sort of statement that a charity can properly make". The League agreed to withdraw its press release.