Ten years ago the Hunting Act became law, ending one of the most tumultuous parliamentary battles of the last two decades. It was a major moment in the campaign to halt the cruel and unnecessary practice of hunting with dogs before the act finally came into force on 18 February 2005. Ten years on it is easy to forget that battles the Labour government endured to get this one piece of legislation passed: vociferous opposition from the Conservative benches, dead horses left in the streets by pro-hunt protestors, and a parliamentary game of risk in the House of Lords.
The ban remains popular with the British public despite ongoing efforts to undermine it by some on the government benches. The law summarised the great British affection for wildlife and disdain for cruelty dressed up as sport. The ban has not brought the countryside to a standstill as many opponents suggested. The first decade of the ban should put pay to claims that foxhunting somehow defined rural life.
Figures up to the end of 2013 show that there have been over 300 convictions under the Hunting Act. Over the years several hunts, some of which with evidence from International Fund for Animal Welfare investigators and the League Against Cruel Sports, have been successfully prosecuted under this legislation.
The law is clear: it is illegal for a person to hunt a wild mammal with a dog. Most importantly, it is illegal to chase foxes, hare, deer and mink with dogs.
But there are still challenges ahead. The coalition agreement included a commitment to a free vote on repealing the hunting ban. It is likely that the Conservatives will campaign in the election to scrap the ban. David Cameron and the Tories are determined open up the debate again. The current secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Liz Truss, recently said that the Hunting Act was a ‘mistake’ and that she would ‘vote for a repeal’.
The Labour party has a long and proud tradition of protecting and improving the rights of animals. While the hunting ban does not come up on the door step often, it does speak to the kind of country we want to be. It also shows how shallow Conservative modernisation is. Some Tories are obsessed with turning back the clock to a Britain where fox hunting is acceptable.
Maria Eagle MP, shadow environment secretary, and her predecessor Mary Creagh, have done a good job keeping the government on their toes over the hunting ban. To be fair, many newer Tories are completely in favour of the ban as well, but these are not the government members of parliament that will decide the next Conservative manifesto.
The Labour party can be rightly proud of the Hunting Act. Its passage was another mark in Britain becoming a modern, more compassionate country. The challenge now is to set out Labour’s next agenda on animal welfare.
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Andrew Pakes is Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Milton Keynes South. He tweets @andrew4mk
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I am afraid Andrew Parkes is wrong when he says” the law is clear. It is illegal for a person to hunt a wild mammal with a dog” In fact it is legal under this travesty of an Act to use as many dogs as you like to hunt a rat or a rabbit , or an injured hare, but not an injured fox or any mink. You may use two dogs to hunt a deer and use a terrier to chase a fox underground if you are doing so to protect a pheasant but not a lamb. The whole sorry mess was cobbled together in this way to try to buy off as many potential opponents as possible and without any thought for the adverse animal welfare consequences which have followed ie more wild animals snared and wounded with no closed season . Not a single animal was saved by 700 hours of Parliamentary time and our Party look like fools by pretending this has been any kind of a success.
a total ban on fox hunting and new regulations tocontrol how many and how big the pheasant shoots are.