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‘Hunting
with dogs’ before Parliament once again!
THE
GOVERNMENT last week announced plans to bring back a new Bill
to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales, just months
after the last anti-hunting Bill was lost due to lack of Parliamentary
time. Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook announced a
House of Commons vote next month on banning hunting with dogs.
After intense pressure from Labour backbenchers to hold a vote,
the Commons leader said, to muted cheers, that three options
would be put before the Commons on Monday March 18.
As before, the options are: an outright ban, regulation of hunting
under the so-called “middle way” option, or no change
to the current arrangements.
Previous attempts to ban foxhunting have sparked overwhelming
votes in favour of an outright ban in the Commons but stiff
opposition in the Lords - leading to weeks of Parliamentary
debate.
The last Bill for an outright ban was stalled when the Lord
overturned the Commons vote and opted for the status quo, prompting
calls from Labour MPs for the Government to steamroller the
legislation through using the Parliament Act. However, the Bill
was lost when a general election was called by the Prime Minister
last year.
The new move would apply only to England and Wales. The Scottish
Parliament has recently voted to outlaw the sport north of the
border, although this Bill has been the subject of huge controversy
and is being challenged legally.
Mr Cook said that in the Queen’s Speech the Government
had promised a free vote on the future of hunting with dogs.
“The Government will table a motion enabling the House
to express its view in a free vote between the three options.
A similar vote will take place in the House of Lords.”
After the votes and before the Easter recess, Rural Affairs
Minister Alun Michael will bring forward the Government’s
proposals “to resolve the issue,” he told MPs.
However, any form of compromise on the issue, - i.e. allowing
hunting under licence - was roundly dismissed as “unacceptable”
by left-wing MP and Former Sports Minister, Tony Banks.
Mr Banks said he expects the Commons leader and ministers to
back the “Middle Way” proposals to licence hunting
in a bid to see legislation through the Lords.
But that would not be acceptable to MPs or the public, the leading
anti-hunt campaigner said.
Interviewed by the BBC, Mr Banks denounced the Middle Way :
“The so-called Middle Way is licensed killing. It’s
no great consolation to a wild mammal that it is being ripped
to pieces according to some form of latter-day Queensberry Rules.
It is not acceptable and it will not be accepted by the House
of Commons.”
Mr Banks said he expected peers to shift their stance from outright
opposition to reform to the Middle Way, meaning it would once
again go before MPs.
“It will be brought back to us and ministers will still
try to say it is possible to get a deal here,” he said.
“The answer is going to be no it is not. Someone’s
got to win and in my opinion and the great majority of MPs in
the House of Commons and public opinion generally the winners
have got to be those who want a total ban.”
Despite Mr Banks’ outspoken comments, the Government is
still trying to broker a deal with the House of Lords and to
reach a deal which will not alienate the rural community. To
encourage the peers to compromise, the Government has carefully
preserved the option of using the Parliament Act to force an
outright ban through a recalcitrant Lords.
After the votes, Alun Michael will draw up a proposal based
on what peers and MPs have said to present to the Commons before
Easter. This may include an outright ban on hare coursing while
foxhunting is made subject to stricter regulation. Legislation
may follow later in the year.
Confident
The
Government’s approach won cautious support from the Countryside
Alliance, the largest pressure group supporting the hunt.
“The alliance remains confident that the Government is
seeking a solution that respects both human rights and animal
welfare.
“The alliance will, however, continue to warn Government
of the consequences of any ban on hunting, which would not
help a single family and would harm many.”
Labour MPs denied that the hunting issue had been revived
to reward backbenchers for supporting Stephen Byers, the Transport
Secretary, under fire over the running of his department.
Mr Banks dismissed the idea as “journalistic tosh”
and “fanciful in the extreme”.
Tory MP Nicholas Soames, described the new Bill as “a
spiteful and reckless attack on the rights of minorities,
a total waste of time and an irresponsible delusion of public
opinion”.
Lord Strathclyde, Tory leader in the Lords, said: “We
know exactly what’s been going on.
The cry goes out from No 10 that something must be found,
something new and controversial. And, hey presto, here we
go again: it’s hunting, once more.”
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