One of the UK’s foremost animal welfare charities will be visiting Milton Keynes on Saturday as part of a campaign to see fox hunting finally consigned to history.
The League Against Cruel Sports says that loopholes in the Hunting Act have allowed hunts to get away with killing foxes and now, 14 years after the ban was made law, political parties should commit to strengthening it.
The charity says recent figures show the majority of British people want tougher hunting laws, backed up by prison sentences, to prevent fox hunts from killing wildlife.
Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “How many times do we need to show pictures and film of foxes being killed by dogs before the politicians realise the Hunting Act is not doing what it’s there to do – protect the lives of wild animals?
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“Recently two individuals associated with the Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt were fined for hunting foxes and we know if the law was strengthened there would be a lot more convictions and tougher penalties. It’s time police and the courts were given the power they need – and that the public want – to bring prosecutions, and the only way to do that is if politicians unite against hunting and commit to strengthening hunting laws.”
The League has commissioned polling, run independently by YouGov, that shows a cross-party consensus for the introduction of jail sentences for illegal hunting with dogs. A fine is the only option currently available to courts. The polling showed that 74 per cent of respondents who expressed a view support prison sentences for illegal hunting.
The polling also showed that 79 per cent of respondents who expressed a view think the Hunting Act should be amended to ensure foxes are not killed by hunts, whether intentionally or otherwise, when they claim to be following trails or so-called ‘trail’ hunting.
Chris added: “Trail hunting, which was invented after the fox hunting ban was implemented in 2005, has been widely dismissed as a fraudulent activity that is used as a cover-up for the illegal pursuit of foxes.”
The League is running a series of roadshows across England and Wales during the general election campaign to highlight why the Hunting Act needs strengthening.”
Saturday’s event will be held outside Milton Keynes station between 10am and 3pm.
