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10 Years on: Fox Hunting Ban Goes Underground?

© AP Photo / Paul EllisBritain Hunting
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Activists who won a campaign to outlaw cruel sports in 2004 are now pressing to have the law strengthened by prohibiting the use of dogs underground, inserting a ‘reckless’ provision into the law and meting out stronger sentences to those convicted.

The practice of chasing wild animals for sport, especially fox hunting, considered by many to be cruel and elitist, was banned ten years ago following the passing of the 2004 Hunting Act. The Act has since led to over 300 convictions which can incur a fine of up to £5000.

The League Against Cruel Sports had campaigned for 80 years to get the Bill passed in parliament. Now it’s saying it wants to strengthen the law by making it illegal to “flush wild animals out of the ground.” 

© AP Photo / Richard LewisPro-fox hunting protesters stand behind steel crash barriers and their banners as they protest opposite the gates of Downing Street in London, home to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Thursday Nov.4, 2004.
Pro-fox hunting protesters stand behind steel crash barriers and their banners as they protest opposite the gates of Downing Street in London, home to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Thursday Nov.4, 2004.  - Sputnik International
Pro-fox hunting protesters stand behind steel crash barriers and their banners as they protest opposite the gates of Downing Street in London, home to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Thursday Nov.4, 2004.
The League Chief Executive Joe Duckworth commented, “The Hunting Act has proven to be an effective and popular piece of legislation, with a higher number of convictions than similar wildlife laws. Public support for the prohibition of hunting has always been high, but this has also increased substantially over the past ten years.” 

Last year, an Ipsos MORI poll found that 80% of the British public thought fox hunting should remain illegal, while around 85% believed hunting deer and hares should also remain illegal. Fox hunting, with its emblematic bugles, red coats and galloping squires, has been the most widely covered and popular ‘blood sport’. 

The League also drew attention to the fact that the sport isn’t just cruel to the animals being hunted, but often endangers the lives of the hounds, which face multiple perils during the chase. 

The League says that since its introduction, the Hunting Act has been the target of a broad attack by the pro-hunt lobby, and claims that it is unworkable or unenforceable.

“Since its introduction, the Act has been the target of considerable attack from the pro-hunt lobby which has waged an ongoing and concerted campaign of disinformation to publicly discredit the legislation and promote their campaign for repeal,” said the League Against Cruel Sports CEO Joe Duckworth.

The Countryside Alliance was among those who opposed the bill, and released its own statement saying that 10 years on the hunting community is still going strong:  

“A decade on, practically every hunt that was operating when the Act was passed is still going strong and they are all still determined to overthrow this illogical, badly drafted and unfair law.”

© AP Photo / Joel RyanBritish musician Brian May stands against a giant poster of a fox, in a campaign attempting to prevent the return of legalised blood sports to the British Countryside, on London's West Cromwell Road, Tuesday, April 13, 2010.
British musician Brian May stands against a giant poster of a fox, in a campaign attempting to prevent the return of legalised blood sports to the British Countryside, on London's West Cromwell Road, Tuesday, April 13, 2010.  - Sputnik International
British musician Brian May stands against a giant poster of a fox, in a campaign attempting to prevent the return of legalised blood sports to the British Countryside, on London's West Cromwell Road, Tuesday, April 13, 2010.
Those who support hunting say it rids the countryside of foxes, which constitute a scourge for farmers. The National Farmers Union was among the groups who opposed the hunting ban, and they claim many rural trades are supported by hunting and that the rural economy has suffered as a result of the ban.

The debate around the Hunting Act comes as Wandsworth Council meanwhile calls for residents in its borough to ‘starve out’ urban foxes, saying shooting them isn’t appropriate in urban areas.

The last census of urban foxes from the 1980’s found there were around 30,000, a number that has almost certainly risen.

Wandsworth Council’s environmental spokesperson said many people viewed foxes as “pests who cause a multitude of problems”.

The council, which says it does not deal with foxes directly, urged residents to put their rubbish bags in a bin with a lid so as to limit their food supply.

In spite of several high profile incidents involving fox attacks on babies and children, many Londoners feed foxes, something that contributes to increasing populations. 

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