PC 2: The Hunting Act

[Barclay A.A. Stanley]

Should hunting with dogs be allowed?

[Will Frost]

I am proud to confirm that, when the debate begins in the House on the Government's proposals to outlaw hunting with dogs, I will be staunchly opposing the legislation. This matter is bigger than just the issue of hunting, but speaks directly to this Government's tendency to undermine the rights of the British people and to impose their own system of beliefs on law abiding citizens. Hunting is an age old tradition in this country, one that has evolved with the times and that has implemented its own very successful system of self regulation. The arrogance with which this Government operates by suggesting that the state knows best, and that they can tell the British people what they can and cannot do in their own free time, knows no bounds. I am prepared to stand up for rural Britain, I am prepared to stand up against an overbearing state, and I urge my colleagues in the House to do the same.

[Elizabeth Tanner]

Ending the practice of hunting with dogs is welcome. Ending the cruel bloodsport should be praised from corner to corner of this country because it shows that as a society we have the ability to look practices that have taken place over history and say "no, this is no longer acceptable." I am sure Conseravtive MPs and commentators will fall over themselves in their shock and horror at this move, and demonstrate their full-throated support for the pasttime of rich, upper class people riding about on their horses with a pack of hounds ready and willing to tear a fox literally a part. Frankly, they need to think up other ways to spend their Sunday afternoons, and if they cry that the Government is limiting how landowners can conserve their land I would suggest that a group of horses and hounds hunting a singular fox is not a effective way to manage land.

[Elizabeth Tanner]

And the argument that we should not ban hunting with dogs for fear of upsetting tradition I would remind those that it was a long-held tradition that married women should give up their jobs, that women should require their father or husband to allow them to get a credit card, or a tenancy, or a mortgage. It was tradition that power only resided with the upper class, meaning that men and women across this country had no way to affect change in their lives. The hallmark of a society is how it progresses, and in how it looks at issues and problems and comes to a solution to move on from it when they are no longer relevant or acceptable. Now, if Conservatives wish to uphold "tradition" that is their prerogative but let's not allow them to be hypocritical just because their donors happen to like fox-hunting.

[Will Frost]

To compare the celebrated British tradition of hunting, a sport that men and women alike partake in, to women being forced to give up their jobs is a disgusting attempt to divert the public away from the real issue at hand. What this Government is attempting to do, and what Dr. MacAndrews callously laughed at today in front of the press, is expand their authority to tell individual people what they can and cannot do in their own free time: that is wrong. Dr. MacAndrews suggestion that my opposition to their legislation is rooted in some desire to appease our "donors" highlights just how little she understands about hunting. For it is working people, rural communities, and farmers across Britain that will be disproportionately impacted when their ability to hunt and protect their land is stripped away from them. People of all backgrounds should be permitted to hunt ethically and appropriately, not just those who can keep up with Labour's proposed burdensome and illogical regulations.

[Andy Edwards]

Oh I do love it when the Conservatives lecture about what people can and can't do. But that aside, the Conservative's leading defender of foxhunting regulation- it's not a ban- is nothing less than complete removal from reality. Farmers do not use red jackets, horses, and trained-and-bred hounds to kill pests that they have to worry about. They just line up and take care of business with a firearm. And that's something this Government is not taking away.

The Conservatives will drape themselves with the flag, say that foxhunting is the most British thing you could imagine. But it's not- at least not for working and middle-class Britons. What the Conservatives want to defend is the right to "play posh" and engage in bloodsport while doing it. Foxhunting that we're looking at controlling kills only 5% of all foxes killed in a year. It does nothing to control a fox population that has remained relatively stable. But what it does allow is people's actual land rights to be trodden by hunters who spotted a poor prey. What it does allow is people like William Croft to pretend to be fancy. For that alone it should be banned outright- but I'm happy to support at least regulation that chokes off a barbaric practice that has nothing to do with being British.

[Owain Jones]

The law is what the legislature votes to decide it is, and the British people back banning these hunts, if we didnt change the law because something was legal at one time most of the statue of UKs laws would be thrown out.

The law will not impact legitimate management by landowners as part of day to day farming.

The bill is a vital step to removing the stain of a barbaric blood sport that has no place in a modern Britain tjst cares for its wildlife.

[Brown]

It is amusing to hear Tories to say with a straight face that a fox hunting ban would hurt "working people" in the United Kingdom. The Conservatives seem unaware of the fact that working class people by and large do not engage in fox hunting, do not fetch their finest hunting coats in the afternoons, mount their steed of great pedigree, and go jaunting to the countryside with their small army of hounds for hours of what they consider "fun". I'm afraid this is rather the province of the wealthy elite rather than the common worker--or perhaps the Steel Workers of Ilkeston simply forgot to invite my family to an afternoon of "the chase". The opposition to this issue by the Conservative party reiterates once again how out of touch Conservatives are with the lives of working class people in the United Kingdom.

[Sir Jack Anderson]

I stood on a manifesto that pledged to ban fox hunting with dogs. But more importantly, I stood on a manifesto that pledged to bring Britain into the modern world, and the step the government has taken today is part of that.

Fox hunting with dogs is outdated, cruel and serves no functional purpose. It poses a serious risk to the welfare of both foxes and of dogs, but perhaps more importantly it endangers the countryside, encourages trespassing and contributes nothing to the economy nor to society. Hunting is not a human right, and it should be regulated effectively just like any other sport or leisurely activity.

[Will Frost]

During the ongoing debate on the Hunting Act in the House, the Health Secretary argued that passage would have no impact on rural communities, citing the Burns Committee's finding that, "the economic effect of a ban on hunting would be unlikely to be substantial." That seems like compelling evidence... until you realize that the very next line of that same report concludes that in fact, "in the short and medium term, the individual and local effects would be more serious." The report goes on to explain that there are 6,000 to 8,000 people who are directly or indirectly employed by sport hunting, and that there jobs would likely be wiped out by a ban on hunting with dogs. These people, many of whom live in rural communities, would have their jobs taken from them and with them their ability to support their families.

These jobs might not be of any value to Tony Blair and his Government, but they are of enormous value to the thousands of people across Britain who rely upon them.