So remind me again why you dont NEED a lead?

Playing devils advocate here I can see why people are having trouble seeing why this dog is let of lead ,that is why as a beagle owner myself I am very selective where ours come off lead ,although the one place we do let them off now seems to be safe and they are very good at recall ,I won't trust them in other places we have let them off reliably in the past because of incidents mainly deer! causing them to turn Beagle deaf.to you non beagle owners this is not an excuse it really is what happens when they come accross a scent trail they find very interesting. Mine tend to start grunting like pigs and then bay if you don't spot the signs and get them back on lead you're in trouble !!! I also agree that any dog can turn deaf and do a runner or get spooked ,this happened to my cousins springer who is let off lead in most areas,she ran into the road and got hit by a van she recoverd and they still let her off by roads,I would worry too much but thats their choice.I don't think any dog is 100 percent safe to let off lead,and it only takes 1 incident to cause an accident.

I dont need a lead i need people to stop feeding my dog

I don't need a lead i need people to stop feeding my dog

You're right that no dog is 100% (some are pretty darned close though) but when you have a dog who "goes deaf" due to a scent trail, when this has happened multiple times before as the OP has indicated and when the OP doesn't seem to recognize those signs (I KNOW when my dog is about to chase a furry critter or has spotted a dog and I can and do stop her ASAP, sometimes even putting the lead on), then the dog really should not be off some sort of lead.

Even with my dog who is nearly 100% with recall I won't let her off lead in certain places, like near roads and the like. If she chases 10 feet away before I can stop her while out in the woods it's no big deal. 10 feet away in the neighborhoods could mean into the middle of the road. She's off leash as much as possible but even with a dog who's pretty darned reliable (I've actually never had her NOT stop when told to stop) I wouldn't let her off in some places.

If I had a dog who wasn't reliable at all, you bet that dog would be on the end of some sort of lead no matter what the area.

You dont give us credit for our knowledge - we may not be beagle owners but as with Bassets and Bloodhounds and of course my own Springer x oh and every dog with a nose - they all can turn deaf but Jimmy law has said he walks them offlead in all areas - how it is the kind old ladies fault for giving him a tidbit once or twice or the young childs fault that he picked up on a scent and kept it to follow them? Surely if you know your dog is able of doing so - you would have a lead on or handy for the signs as you have said yourself that you do.

Dont beagles have a 35 day rentension memory of smells? Or is that Bloodhounds - or even just crap that I've just thought I'd heard off a tv training programme?

I did actually say any dog can turn deaf I haven't got a clue about memory of scent ,will have to do some research although my 2 know when theres a deer about even when they are miles away We only come accross them every month or so. so perhaps they do.Thats what they are bred for afterall. Darwin is the dog that ate the fish hook a few weeks back because it had bread on, the guy thought he still had it in his hand Darwin had it in his gob A classic case of the nose getting him in trouble .I didn't blame the guy though it was just one of those things. So yes op shouldn't be blaming otherpeople.