Common Decency

Tories to legalise fox hunting if they win 2015 general election. The party will offer a free vote in the next Parliament if the party wins in May, The Telegraph can disclose.

Tories to legalise fox hunting if they win 2015 general election.

The party will offer a free vote in the next Parliament if the party wins in May, The Telegraph can disclose. The Conservatives will try to lift the fox hunting ban if the party wins May’s general election.

Repealing the fox hunting ban is a waste of time

Tally-ho. Here we go again. The Conservative party are set to make a manifesto pledge to have a free vote in the House of Commons on lifting the ban on fox hunting with dogs.

Didn’t we put this one to bed a decade ago? And in 2014, don’t our politicians have more to worry about than whether a rather small and often immensely well-off group of people, dressed in ludicrous garb, have the right to chase a fox on horseback accompanied by a pack of beagles?

It’s sport, not pest control

The pro-hunting people, typified by the Countryside Alliance, like to make this issue one of town versus country.

They argue that city dwellers can’t possibly understand the ways of the countryside.

Fox-hunting is vital, they will say, foxes are vermin and a menace. Don’t be fooled by cartoons and stories of loveable Fantastic Mr Fox and the like, these are vulpine killers that will murder livestock for fun.

Natural born killer. Apparently. (Picture: Ger Bosma/Ger Bosma)

And they would be right: foxes are a headache for farmers. But horses and hounds aren’t the best way to control their number.

A keen shot is the right way to dispatch a fox as cleanly as possible. Chasing it for hours through the countryside for fun is cruel and inefficient.

Let’s be clear: fox hunting is sport, people fox hunt for fun and anyone who claims it’s the most effective way of controlling rural fox populations is being disingenuous.

The Ukip hounds are hunting the Tory fox

The Conservative plan to go for a repeal vote is another Ukip inspired knee-jerk. Farage and Co. are keeping the pressure on the Tory’s right flank and they are floundering for ways to keep their core vote on side.

I can’t see it working. Polls show that as many of 80% of Brits support the fox hunting ban.

Farage is hunting the Tory fox. (Picture: Luke Macgregor/Reuters

The real reason, though, why a repeal of the act banning fox hunting with dogs is wrong, is because it would be a massive waste of time and resources.

The original bill took months to get through parliament and our MPs and peers spent over 700 hours debating the original measure. Protesters staged the first invasion of the House of Commons since the 17th century during those debates and the Lords tried to throw it out altogether.

In the end the Speaker of the Commons had to invoke the Parliament Act and overrule the Upper House to get the law through. Other vital parliamentary business was delayed as a result and other, clearly more important activities, were delayed as the political system was clogged up.

Let sleeping beagles lie

Drag hunting is still permissible and hunters can ride to hounds if they like under the current rules to get their fix. But to spend any time whatsoever in Parliament discussing repeal would be lunacy.

The problems this country faces are far greater than fox-hunting and it would be nice if Parliament’s priorities reflected the wishes of the vast majority of people who want to retain the ban.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/12/27/repealing-the-fox-hunting-ban-is-a-waste-of-time-5000457/

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