LESS THAN ONE IN FIVE WANT HUNT BAN REPEALED

Seventy-seven per-cent of the public want the hunt ban to be enforced, according to a new poll published today.

The League Against Cruel Sports has challenged its opponents by using their own questions to “prove the point” against repeal, according to a poll published in the Independent on Sunday today.

The poll, by YouGov for the League Against Cruel Sports, found that 77% of the public think that, “Where there is clear evidence of people breaking the Hunting Act, the police should investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute" whereas only 15% thought they should not. Less people thought that enforcement of the smoking ban should be a priority.

The poll came as hunts around the country met yesterday for the first time in this hunting season. The polling results are a clear slap in the face for the hunting community.

For years, the hunters have said that opinion polling was flawed; claiming that if only the ‘right’ question were asked the outcome would be very different. Their challenge was taken up by the League, and the results of this poll demonstrate that less than one in five people support repeal of the Hunting Act.

The Hunting Act 2004 came into force in February 2005. The League now employs a team of investigators to monitor hunts and collect evidence of illegal activity which is then passed to the police.

And this hunting season begins with representatives of four hunts about to stand trial for Hunting Act offences. So the message is clear. If hunts break the law, the League Against Cruel Sports are very likely to be there to bring them to justice.

Cases are ongoing against persons linked to the Fernie Hunt in Leicestershire, the Sinnington Hunt in North Yorkshire, the Quantock Staghounds in Somerset and the South Devon Hunt. Earlier this year a terrierman linked to the Ullswater Foxhounds in Cumbria was convicted under the Hunting Act.

Unsurprisingly the vast majority of MPs on the ConDem government benches support hunting, but not enough to win a vote to repeal the Hunting Act. This is a totemic issue and says a lot about the values each of the parties represent, with Labour supporting a progressive and compassionate society and most of the ConDem coalition wanting to take us back to a barbaric past.