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Hunting
Bill threatens sheepdog trials
SHEEPDOG TRIALS in England and Wales could be banned as a result
of the Government's Hunting Bill, a leading farming organisation
has claimed.
The legal conundrum arises because dogs undergoing trials risk
putting up hares or foxes and are in danger of failing the Government's
test of "utility" because they are unnecessary.
"The strict definition of the proposed new law could mean
that since the sole purpose of sheepdog trials is competition
it could be construed in some quarters as failing the Bill's utility
test," said Rhian Nowell-Phillips, the senior policy officer
of the Farmers' Union of Wales.
"Some welfare groups may claim that a wild animal such as
a hare or a fox could be flushed out during the trials and argue
that those involved should therefore apply for a licence under
the Government's Hunting Bill."
To be legally registered under the Bill, anyone who uses dogs
to flush mammals must convince a national tribunal that their
sport has a necessary purpose, such as pest control, and that
it is less cruel than alternative options.
The Farmers' Union of Wales is insistent that its interpretation
is not far-fetched.
Miss Nowell-Phillips said: "Alun Michael, the rural affairs
minister, has already indicated that handlers competing in field
trails - in which gun dogs are judged on their performance and
ability under shooting conditions - will have to be registered
under the new law if the animals flush out hares during the competitions.
But any application for a licence would probably be unsuccessful
as the purpose of field trials is competition, immediately failing
the 'utility' and 'cruelty' tests which are the cornerstone of
the Hunting Bill."
Miss Nowell-Phillips added: "The same argument can also be
made in respect of other competition involving dogs, such as sheepdog
trials, in which the sole purpose of the activity is again competition."
She said the Bill still contained many anomalies which would have
a negative impact on a wide range of country pursuits unless it
was changed before it became law.
A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs denied that this was a valid interpretation of the Bill
as drafted. "Sheepdogs are for running round sheep,"
the spokesman said. "It is not part of a trial to chase hares.
There has to be an intention to hunt and this is no clear intention
to hunt."
Farmers remain un-convinced and say that it is up to the interpretation
of the Bill by the courts when it becomes an Act. They also suspect
that DEFRA does not know that some Welsh farmers use sheepdogs
to kill foxes.
Simon Hart, of the Countryside Alliance, said: "This is another
example of the unintended consequences of this Bill. Because it
reverses the burden of proof, anybody who uses a dog in the countryside
would have to prove that they are not engaged in hunting, whether
or not they were, and this could take a great deal of time and
money."
It is clear that the Labour Government have not learned the lessons
of the Dangerous Dogs Act, in which the burden of proof is reversed,
and thereby criminalizing dog owners as a matter of course. Despite
clear warnings given at both Drafting and Committee stages of
this and previous hunting Bills, the burden of proof in the Hunting
Bill remains reversed. |
