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.

[1][2][7][a] 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.

[10] In 1927, the League's Advisory Committee included Henry S. Salt, Percy Scholes, several clergymen Frederic Donaldson, Robert Forman Horton, Walter Walsh and others.

[10][15] 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.

[16] 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.

[18] 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".

[19] It was reported in 1959 that members of the League were creating false chemical trails on Exmoor to confuse hounds when hunts take place.

[20] 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.

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".

[39] In 1958, Ernest 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".

[41] The League owns several wildlife reserves in and around Exmoor and Quantock Hills to prevent cruel sports from taking place.

[48] 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.

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.

[55] Andy Knott, the League's former chief executive alleged that their fundraising appeals in the run-up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election were misleading.

It was also reported that Knott is taking the League and Labour MP Dan Norris, the former chair to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.

Cooper commented that "my summary removal as president, without any prior warning, discussion or communication, is a direct result of my taking the decision to support vulnerable staff against management and trustees".

[58] In 2018, Chris Williamson was suspended from the League and expelled from their board after he raised concerns about the actions of their senior management team.

[59] Williamson alleged that they asked a computer expert to hack the email account of Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance.

[59][61] In 2018, Jordi Casamitjana alleged he was sacked by the League after disclosing it invested pension funds in firms involved in animal testing and that he was discriminated against because of his ethical vegan belief.

[64] In 2020, the League commented, "Having revisited the issue we now accept that Mr Casamitjana did nothing wrong with such communications, which were motivated by his belief in ethical veganism.