PC 2: The Hunting Act

[Andy Edwards]

Amazingly NOW the Tories care about the plight of the working man. First, as I've stated in the debate, this is not a ban on fancy foxhunting- and for the rural communities that need to actually control the fox population, this bill doesn't impact them.

But let's also be clear: The people who are employed in sport foxhunting are not those who will ever live long enough or earn enough to afford to be like Mr. Croft, whose desire to dress up and play aristocracy like the others speaking out for this bill. I absolutely care about people's livelihoods and their ability to earn a fair wage, and if it weren't for the long Thatcher years it might even be easy for those employed in bloodsport to find new jobs. This Government will absolutely be there to help those who are legitimately displaced by restrictions- not a ban- on fancy foxhunting in a way the Conservatives never were. And shame on the Conservatives for using working-class jobs to defend the last gasps of feudalistic-style aristocracy when it's clearer and clearer that a ban on foxhunting is right for Britain.

[Fred Sackville-Bagg]

The legislation doesn’t actually ban hunting with dogs as such. It creates a law which is difficult to follow. You can use a few dogs to flush out the fox ,to be shot, as long as the dog doesn’t attack the fox. So the human in this could have all intentions of just using his dogs for flushing out and if the dog has other ideas, or is too fast, then this makes a criminal of said human.

My main opposition to this is that the supporters don’t mind foxes dying. They are quite happy for foxes to be shot. Shooting a fox isn’t guaranteed to kill it, hunting by dogs is - these people would rather see a fox dying for days of a gun wound rather than instant death by dog.

[Andy Edwards]

If I understand this right, in the eyes of the Conservatives, the average Briton who would use hounds to hunt foxes in the name of sport is someone who is rural, working and/or middle class but with the resources to play dress-up AND subscribe to a hunting society AND have access to well-bred and well-trained dogs at incredible expense, who has a farm that is inundated with foxes, and is also apparently a horrible shot with a rifle now as well.

The only people that see foxhunting as an honest tradition is those who are landed nobles... and the Tories that think they're almost one of them. That's all. It's an ineffective way to actually hunt given the level of organization and cost that goes into it- we know that. It's ineffective at population control- we know that. It's eminently cruel and not a part of a modern, open caring Britain.

[Amelia Lockhart]

The Conservative Party is attempting to legitimise the blood sport of hunting based on employment. Yet the case they make - that rural employment would be devastated by protecting animal welfare - does not stand up to scrutiny. Evidence shows clearly that overall the rural economy will not be harmed.


After all the very limited employment hunting provides does not benefit the vast majority of rural communities in the UK. It provides nothing like the opportunities the new industries and businesses in the rural economy being created since 1997. Overall, banning hunting will not damage communities or families like the Conservative Party believes.

The Conservatives are attempting to defend the indefensible based on an outdated view of the rural economy and rural communities, which benefits only a minuscule slice of the population, at the risk of holding everyone back. Labour is pushing forward with a modern vision of the rural economy that creates jobs for all, and that isn’t based on low animal welfare standards and exploitation.

[Elizabeth Tanner]

The Conservative's faux-support for working class people leaves a bad taste in the mouths of millions of people. Millions that suffered under 18 years of Conservative Government that saw communities ripped apart at the seams. Those communities remember all too well the Conservative's lack of commitment to working class people and let us be under no illusions here, the Conservatives are defending a blood sport and casting it as an attempt to protect working class people, it is arrogant and deceitful. To protect working class and rural communities they need investment into jobs and training, not a blood sport that is enjoyed by a small amount of people.

[Amelia Lockhart]

If there is anyone who highlights their party’s “ignorance on the realities of rural Britain”, it is William Croft. In his speech to the Countryside Alliance, there was no focus on how rural communities could seize the opportunities of new industries, new jobs, and new investment. Professional, technical, and personal jobs are predicted to grow dramatically - offering new opportunities to hundreds of thousands of people - over the next 10 years with the right government policies. Instead, Mr Croft focused more on defending blood sports and a race to the bottom on animal welfare, rather than focusing on the opportunities for rural areas to grow strongly and prosper in the future. Yet again a Conservative MP is proving himself out of touch with what rural communities want.

[Will Frost]

This idea put forth by Amelia Lockhart that supporting modern industry while continuing to engage in celebrated traditions are somehow mutually exclusive from one another is nonsense. The Labour Party is making this argument to distract from the simple reality that their legislation does nothing to meaningfully improve rural Britain, and serves only to enforce punitive regulations on individuals for no good reason. I would love to see the Government work to attract modern industry to rural communities, and if they choose to do so they can count on my enthusiastic support. That, however, has literally nothing to do with the Hunting Act and that is precisely why I imagine they are so keen to talk about it. They know this legislation is unpopular with the communities it impacts, they know it is devoid of logic and reasoning, and they know the Burns Committee report which they commissioned doesn't even back the radical proposals they have put before the House.

Let the British people look after themselves and their own communities, they don't need to be told how to behave by politicians in Westminster. If there was a good argument for passing the Hunting Act, the Government would have made it during the debate. There isn't one, and so they're scrambling to spin their policy disaster in the press. It's New Labour 101, nothing more.

[Owain Jones]

Helping rural areas will come through improving infrastructure, housing, transport, education, health provision and environmental protections, it will not come from holding on to relics of a dead past.

[Charles Trevorrow]

I've worked as a fisherman. I've worked on farms. I've seen how the sausage is made. But there is absolutely no justification for doing that to a living creature without good reason. Because a few posh lads want to do it, it shouldn't be protected or legal, it is totally immoral. You know what, I really do think that it goes to show quite how out of touch and elitist this Conservative Party is, that they wish to defend an institution like hunting.

When I was on those boats in often harsh conditions, the Tories were never on my side. When I was working long hours as a labourer, the Tories were never on my side. Even working for a small business in agriculture, brewing ale, the Tories were never on my side. Their arguments about the jobs lost are nonsense, they don't really care - it is all about preserving an elitist institution so they don't annoy their donors, and good riddance to fox hunting when the legislation goes through, and good riddance to the posh blokes playing fancy dress who do it.

[Amelia Lockhart]

A candidate to be leader of the Liberal Democrat’s, Charles Trevorrow, has described defenders of hunting as “out of touch and elitist”. Does that include the 32 Liberal Democrat MPs who voted against the ban? Unlike the “out of touch and elitist” Liberal Democrats, Labour was united in voting for the ban and for animal welfare.