Taking the hunt to the High Court

Two hunts, the Devon and Somerset Staghounds and the Quantock staghounds, are set to discover whether they can reopen the battle to allow them to hunt on National Trust land.

They have applied for permission to seek a judicial review against a decision by the National Trust in April to prevent stag hunting on its land. The two hunts initially requested leave for a judicial review earlier this month, but were refused by Lord Justice Tucker, who said that the National Trust is a charity and the court had no jurisdiction in the matter. But he added that the hunts "had sufficient interest to challenge the decision", and that their case "on merits" was fit for a full judicial review hearing. Armed with that, the hunts decided to return to the High Court in order to declare themselves as interested parties in the National Trust through the charity commissioners, and apply for permission to seek a judicial review. They will find out today whether they have been successful.