Anti-hunt movement is about 'hatred of people, not cruelty', President of the Countryside Alliance warns
The anti-hunting lobby is about a "hatred of people", not preventing cruelty, the president of the Countryside Alliance warns today as she calls for a vote so Government can move on to ensuring Brexit is a success for countryside.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph Baroness Ann Mallalieu QC says banning the traditional Boxing Day sport is about class, as animal rights experts have accepted that hunting is not cruel.
It follows reports that Theresa May has shelved plans for a vote in the House of Commons on the future of hunting in Britain, after pledging in her election manifesto to allow MPs the chance to repeal it.
But the Conservatives are split over the issue and Labour is strongly opposed, as both sides move to support animal rights causes in a bid to win young voters.
Baroness Mallalieu writes that hunting is more diverse than ever before as more women and young people have taken up the sport across the country.
Boxing Day is the most popular day for riders to take to their horses, despite a ban in 2004 on allowing dogs to kill foxes. She says: "Hunting is not a ‘controversial’ activity amongst those who live and work in the countryside. Some like it, some don’t, but the idea that this traditional and slightly odd activity should have become a national political issue is fairly ludicrous wherever you are viewing it from.
"The fact that somewhere in the 20th Century the eradication of hunts and the 40,000-odd people who follow them became, in the words of a leading Labour politician “totemic to the Labour party” is utterly bizarre".
The Baroness adds that the Chairman of the Government's inquiry into hunting in the early 2000s accepted that the sport was not cruel and that it remains legal to shoot a fox, meaning the animals are little better protected despite the controversial legislation.
Writing in this newspaper she says: "There can be no logical justification for such a ridiculous law so what was the real motivation for the ban?
"If that was not already obvious the admission of one MP as soon as the law was passed that it was “class war” was a bit of a giveaway, and the subsequent continuing campaigns against hunts that are no longer hunting foxes can leave only one conclusion.
"The anti-hunting movement is not really about the welfare of animals, it is about a hatred of people, and so it continues its obsessive pursuit of hunts."
The Countryside Alliance president calls for a vote in the Commons as early as possible in a bid to refocus the countryside lobby on Brexit, which she warns could have a damaging effect on rural communities if not carefully managed.
Her pleas come after Government sources said claims the Prime Minister has dropped plans for a vote on hunting are speculation, but refused to deny the reports outright.
The Tories have sought to focus attention on their green credentials in recent weeks with a spate of popular policies on environmentalism.
Hunting remains a controversial issue, even among Conservatives.
Baroness Mallalieu writes: "The real shame is that this issue continues to soak up so much energy that could be used for something positive, not least given the huge challenges facing the countryside in the coming years.
"Our ever-growing population puts more pressure on green spaces as the demand for housing and infrastructure grows and when the absolute priority should be to ensure that Brexit works for the countryside it remains bizarre that issues like hunting remain so far up the agenda of some politicians."
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...red-people-not-cruelty-president-countryside/
The anti-hunting lobby is about a "hatred of people", not preventing cruelty, the president of the Countryside Alliance warns today as she calls for a vote so Government can move on to ensuring Brexit is a success for countryside.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph Baroness Ann Mallalieu QC says banning the traditional Boxing Day sport is about class, as animal rights experts have accepted that hunting is not cruel.
It follows reports that Theresa May has shelved plans for a vote in the House of Commons on the future of hunting in Britain, after pledging in her election manifesto to allow MPs the chance to repeal it.
But the Conservatives are split over the issue and Labour is strongly opposed, as both sides move to support animal rights causes in a bid to win young voters.
Baroness Mallalieu writes that hunting is more diverse than ever before as more women and young people have taken up the sport across the country.
Boxing Day is the most popular day for riders to take to their horses, despite a ban in 2004 on allowing dogs to kill foxes. She says: "Hunting is not a ‘controversial’ activity amongst those who live and work in the countryside. Some like it, some don’t, but the idea that this traditional and slightly odd activity should have become a national political issue is fairly ludicrous wherever you are viewing it from.
"The fact that somewhere in the 20th Century the eradication of hunts and the 40,000-odd people who follow them became, in the words of a leading Labour politician “totemic to the Labour party” is utterly bizarre".
The Baroness adds that the Chairman of the Government's inquiry into hunting in the early 2000s accepted that the sport was not cruel and that it remains legal to shoot a fox, meaning the animals are little better protected despite the controversial legislation.
Writing in this newspaper she says: "There can be no logical justification for such a ridiculous law so what was the real motivation for the ban?
"If that was not already obvious the admission of one MP as soon as the law was passed that it was “class war” was a bit of a giveaway, and the subsequent continuing campaigns against hunts that are no longer hunting foxes can leave only one conclusion.
"The anti-hunting movement is not really about the welfare of animals, it is about a hatred of people, and so it continues its obsessive pursuit of hunts."
The Countryside Alliance president calls for a vote in the Commons as early as possible in a bid to refocus the countryside lobby on Brexit, which she warns could have a damaging effect on rural communities if not carefully managed.
Her pleas come after Government sources said claims the Prime Minister has dropped plans for a vote on hunting are speculation, but refused to deny the reports outright.
The Tories have sought to focus attention on their green credentials in recent weeks with a spate of popular policies on environmentalism.
Hunting remains a controversial issue, even among Conservatives.
Baroness Mallalieu writes: "The real shame is that this issue continues to soak up so much energy that could be used for something positive, not least given the huge challenges facing the countryside in the coming years.
"Our ever-growing population puts more pressure on green spaces as the demand for housing and infrastructure grows and when the absolute priority should be to ensure that Brexit works for the countryside it remains bizarre that issues like hunting remain so far up the agenda of some politicians."
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...red-people-not-cruelty-president-countryside/
