The Hunting Office has welcomed the news that two South Wales hunts are to merge — safeguarding the future of hunting in the area.
At the end of this season, the Llangeinor in Glamorgan will merge with the Pentyrch and will be called the Llangeinor Pentrych hunt.
The Pentyrch — which is currently a hunt club — has been severely affected by urbanisation, and was unable to sustain two meets a week.
“We have lost certain areas due to development and have been trying for a merger for the past three years,” said Pentrych secretary Rae Jones. “We have lots of support from our farmers and hunting community and this will open our country back up.”
Mair Hughes, wife of Llangeinor MFH Brian, added: “Our country borders geographically with theirs [the Pentyrch], so it was a natural progression. We’ve had a very positive meeting with their farmers, landowners and members and hope we can all kick on next season.”
Tim Easby, director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), said the merger was “terrific news”.
“They’ve been proactive and got together after pressure had been building to make a solution that is sustainable for the future,” he said. “The MFHA is not against small hunts, because some are able to work very well, but what we want is proper, sustainable set-ups, like this one.”
The Llangeinor has about 200 subscribers, while the Pentyrch has around 20 members. Although the merger will not take place until 1 May 2014, the Llangeinor will hunt the Pentyrch country once a month during the season.
