This issue has been raised with me several times since I became your candidate. My position is that, if I am elected, I want to seek the views of my constituents in order to reflect their views in the free vote that the Party has said will take place. Conservative Party policy is to bring the Hunting with Dogs Act 2004 back before Parliament and offer a free vote to all MPs.

I think there are two main arguments put forward on this issue:-

The Argument for Repeal of the Act

a)The impossibility of enforcement. The police have said that they can no longer attend every hunt meeting because of the time and manpower it requires. Who do they arrest - the Hunt Master?; the riders?; the followers?; the landowners who permit the hunt to ride across their land? There have been very few successful prosecutions.

b)The belief that the Government should not get involved in the way people lead their lives unless necessary for the benefit of society as a whole.

The people who support this policy are not happy for Government to interfere in the rural way of life. Many of them do not approve of Government banning something which involves very few people and relatively few foxes. They also see it as part of rural life and a means of controlling fox numbers by culling old or diseased foxes as the young and healthy are far less likely to be killed.


The Argument for Retaining the Act

Supporters of the Act believe that it is a cruel pastime which attracts people who have no concern for animal welfare, and none for foxes in particular. If Government allows it to continue, then society as a whole is seen to approve of what is a cruel and barbaric "sport".

The League Against Cruel Sports has been active and vocal in its opposition. It attended many hunt meetings and encouraged hunt "saboteurs" to prevent the hunt from setting off. It reported breaches of the Act to the police, and encouraged prosecutions.

Summary

Everyone agrees that foxes can be a pest. They kill livestock and are particularly dangerous to very young lambs. Their numbers need to be controlled. Methods of killing them include shooting and trapping. If done properly, either of these methods may be more efficient and more humane than hunting, but no method can guarantee that the fox does not suffer.

What do you think?

If elected I will obtain a fair poll from all parts of the constituency and promise to vote with the majority view.