MPs oppose fox hunting as call grows for jail terms

MOST MPs are in favour of an outright ban on fox hunting, it was claimed yesterday.

The League Against Cruel Sports made the case after canvassing would-be MPs in the run-up to the election.

The Hunting Act 2004 bans the hunting of wild mammals – foxes, deer, hares and mink – with dogs in England and Wales.

But it does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag-hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has abandoned the Tory party’s commitment to a free vote on fox hunting.

The Conservative manifesto did not contain the pledge – made in both the 2017 and 2015 elections.

Gaudy

During the election campaign Mr Johnson said: “We will certainly not be bringing back fox hunting. That’s absolutely inconceivable.”

At the last election, his predecessor Theresa May faced a backlash after she committed to a free vote on it. But she abandoned that position last year, saying she received a “clear message” from voters that the policy was unpopular.

Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “As they parade today in their gaudy finery, fox hunts will be facing the fact that, with their political support gone, hunting is history. Their 14-year campaign to repeal the fox-hunting ban hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell.”

He said the Hunting Act needed to be strengthened by jail sentences to ensure there is a strong deterrent.

Three-quarters of voters believe that people convicted of illegal hunting with dogs should face jail, not just a fine as at present, according to a YouGov poll earlier this year.