A foxhunting ban is backed by the vast majority of Britons, according to the latest Ipsos Mori Boxing Day Hunting Poll. The pollsters interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,036 adults (aged 15+) in Great Britain. People were interviewed face-to-face in their homes.
Eighty-three percent of people are against fox hunting, 85% oppose deer hunting, 87% think hare hunting and coursing should be banned, 98% are against dog fighting, and 94% oppose badger baiting.
The poll, carried out on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports, found that 84% of Britons in rural areas and 82% in urban areas believed the current ban should remain in place.
The vast majority of Britons are against the hunting of wild animals for sport.
Minister of Sports, Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford, suggests the Government should abandon its pledge to hold a vote repealing the Hunting Act because parliament has ‘better things to be concerned with’.
Tony Blair’s Labour Government banned fox hunting in England and Wales in 2004.
Fox hunting, a ‘pursuit from the past’, should be ‘consigned to history’, Ms. Crouch believes.
Cameron wants free vote on hunting
During his election campaign earlier this year, Prime Minister David Cameron said:
“We will protect hunting, shooting and fishing, for all the benefits to individuals, the environment and the rural economy that they bring. A Conservative government will give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act with a free vote, with a government bill in government time.”
“There is definitely a rural way of life which a born and bred Londoner might struggle to understand. I have always been a strong supporter of country sports.”
Sports Minister, Tracey Crouch MP said: “Fox hunting is a pursuit from the past and like the overwhelming majority of the population I believe that is where it should stay, consigned to history. I believe that the legislation as it stands today requires better enforcement, and Parliament has better things to be concerned with than bringing back hunting foxes with hounds.” (Image: Wikipedia)
An attempt was made earlier this year to relax the law. However, the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) signaled that its MPs would join fox hunting opponents, rather than abstaining because the law does not apply to Scotland.
Consign hunting of wild animals with dogs to history
Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for North Thanet, President of Conservative Animal Welfare and Patron of Blue Fox (of which Ms. Crouch is a patron) said:
“The hunting of wild animals with dogs has been consigned to the dustbin of history, along with cockfighting and bear-baiting, and the idea that this clock ought to be turned back is regressive and unpleasant.”
According to animalaid.org.uk, there are no retirement homes for old hounds. As soon as a foxhound is unable to keep up with the pack or shows any signs of no longer being ‘productive’, it is either shot in the head or clubbed to death. (Image: Wikipedia)
Conservatives Against Fox Hunting remind people that this year has seen global revulsion at the hunting of wild animals for sport. “The global outcry after the senseless killing of ‘Cecil the Lion’ was followed two weeks later by the Governments dropped plans in Westminster to introduce a Statutory Instrument that would have driven a coach and horses through the Hunting Act 2004,” it wrote.
Nearly 60 Tory MPs have said they are against relaxing the Act, and additionally indicate that they are prepared to vote according to their conscience.
Lorraine Platt Founder of Conservatives Against Fox Hunting – Blue Fox said:
“There is a growing intolerance of killing wildlife for sport, whether it be a noble lion in Africa or a humble hare here in England. We will continue to work within the Conservative Party and with our growing number of anti-hunting Conservative MPs to explain our position and put across the fundamental, unarguable fact that in the 21st century it is unacceptable to hunt and kill an animal with dogs for sport.”
Foxhounds killed too
Lynn Sawyer, a former huntswoman who is today an anti-hunt campaigner, told the Daily Mirror that thousands of dogs are shot or clubbed each year because they are no longer ‘productive’.
Ms. Sawyer said:
“The hounds are very much the other victims. With every fox hunt that goes ahead, hounds are at risk of dying too.”
As soon as a dog starts to slow down, i.e. cannot keep up with the pack, it is either shot in the head or clubbed to death, Ms. Lynn said. This often occurs when they reach half their life expectancy.
Video – Conservatives Against Fox Hunting film