H&M owner ‘bans hunting on massive estate’

Move said to affect activity on Ramsbury Estates with ‘immediate effect’

Hounds from the Vine & Craven Hunt parade at Newbury racecourse. The billionaire owner of H&M has reportedly banned hunting on his estate (Getty Images)

The billionaire owner of fashion chain H&M has reportedly banned hunting on his English estate with “immediate effect”.

According to ITV News, the Swedish billionaire, who owns Ramsbury Estates, which covers 19,000 acres across Wiltshire, Berkshire and Hampshire, made the decision following allegations made against The Vine & Craven Hunt. 

It is unclear what the exact allegations were. However, a spokesperson for the estate told ITV News that the hunt “have countered the allegations, but if proven, the law will take its course”.

In a tweet,  the Reading Hunt Saboteurs, an activist group that seeks to sabotage hunts in the name of animal welfare, celebrated the news, noting that it had attempted to interfere in a hunt last week. 

“After last week's Sab of The Vine and Craven Hunt on Ramsbury Estate we are pleased to let you know that the owner of the estate and chair of [H&M] Stefan Persson made the right decision to ban all hunting on the estate with immediate effect," the group said. 

In a statement sent to The Independent, the group said its members were “very pleased with the immediate decision by Ramsbury Estates to ban the Vine and Craven alongside all hunting on their land.”

“Ever since the hunting ban came into force, anti-hunt campaigners have worked tirelessly to demonstrate that hunts have continued to operate exactly as they did prior to 2004, and for the first time ever it looks like the police and landowners are paying attention,” the group said.

“Every acre of hunting territory being lost is a great win for wildlife and we look forward to other landowners following suit,” it said. 

A Ramsbury Estates spokesperson told ITV News that hunting on the property had been “stopped with immediate effect”. 

In a statement sent to The Independent, a spokesperson from the hunt said: “The Vine and Craven Hunt has always enjoyed a good working relationship with Ramsbury Estate, as it does with the many other landowners who allow the hunt to conduct trail hunting across their land.”

“We will continue to liaise with the estate to ensure they are fully aware that these are just spurious allegations and are without foundation. In the meantime, we look forward to continuing to trail hunt in a Covid-secure manner,” the spokesperson said.

This article has been updated with a statement from the  Vine and Craven Hunt and the Reading Hunt Saboteurs.