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Hunting
poll shows even split on ban
Britain
is split down the middle on foxhunting and there is no longer
a ‘natural’ majority in favour of a ban, a new poll
shows. While 50% of the people questioned in a Daily Telegraph/YouGov
poll believed that hunting should be criminalised, 48% favoured
tighter regulations or keeping the status quo.
The shift in public opinion has been dramatic since Tony Blair
came to power in 1997. Then, about three out of four people
favoured a ban. As recently as last year, the figure was 57%
The poll highlights concerns that the Government is devoting
too much time and effort to the issue. While 26% of people surveyed
felt it should be ‘an important priority’, 70% felt
it was either ‘not at all important’ or that there
were ‘many other issues that are more important’.
The Prince of Wales and the organisers of last month’s
Liberty and Livelihood march in London can take heart from the
poll’s findings.
More than half of those polled said the Government should be
more sympathetic and determined to help those involved in the
march; 64% said the Prince was justified in writing to the Prime
Minister about countryside issues.
The opinion poll was carried out after the march. It shows that
opposition for a ban extends into the traditional heartlands
of the anti-hunting campaigners.
A spokesman for the Countryside Alliance campaign for hunting
said: “Five or six years ago the polls showed people were
almost fanatically anti. Now, after the issues have been aired
and debated, it is more like 50:50. Given that the rural population
is smaller than the urban one, we must be winning the argument
in towns.”
The survey showed some confusion over how foxes should be dealt
with in rural areas. When asked whether they should be controlled,
70% of people surveyed said yes, 22% said no and 8% were not
sure.
When asked which method of fox control inflicted most cruelty,
27% said ‘snaring, shooting or trapping’ and 25% said
hunting with dogs.
Battery farming was rated more cruel than foxhunting (33% compared
to 21%), with 43% believing they were equally cruel.
Affection
Foxes also seem to have a special place in the public's affections.
While 50% want to ban foxhunting with dogs, only 42% want the
same ban for hunting rats or rabbits.
Most people share one of the main concerns of the countryside
campaigners. When asked if people living in towns and cities
were concerned about the future of the countryside, 56% said
no, 37% said yes and 7% were unsure.
Supporters of farmers outnumbered critics by two to one, with
63% saying they were ‘hard-working people whose work benefits
the nation and should be helped’ and 31% saying they had
‘had it too good for too long and should stop complaining’.
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