I’m
proud of the part I played in getting The Hunting Act 2004 on to the statute
book.
As
well as being one of the Labour government’s best achievements, it is
overwhelmingly supported across the country, in both urban and rural
areas. I’m pleased at a big poll last year confirmed that a big
majority of the British public are in favour of continuing to ban fox
hunting (80%), deer hunting (86%), hare hunting and coursing (88%), dog
fighting (98%) and badger baiting (95%).
It’s
interesting to note that fox numbers haven’t increased since the hunting ban.
Lamb loss due to fox predation is still evidenced to be less than 1% of all
lamb deaths. And, contrary to the regular assertion, culling actually appears
to increase fox numbers because it attracts foxes from surrounding areas and
increases reproduction rates.
The
Hunting Act 2004 is the most successful piece of animal welfare legislation.
Recent Government figures reveal that a total of 590 prosecutions were made
under the Act, with a success rate of 64%.
David
Cameron – a
huntsman himself - It
appears to be one of the few manifesto promises he is trying to keep. The Conservative
manifesto pledged to give ‘Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting
Act on a free vote government time’.
However,
David Cameron recognises that he does not have the required numbers for a full
repeal. So he’s trying to wreck the Act with some ‘technical’ amendments.These
are designed to wreck the Hunting Act 2004 using a back-door device in order to
appease his supporters in groups such as the Countryside Alliance.
If,
like Oscar Wilde, you think that fox-hunting is a case of ‘the unspeakable in
full pursuit of the uneatable’, it’s time to ensure that you speak out
now…..and do it loudly!
