There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.Benn attacks Cameron on fox hunting
ENVIRONMENT Secretary Hilary Benn has written to David Cameron, calling on the Conservatives to clarify their position on foxhunting and rule out a reppeal.
Labour stepped up their pre-election attack on the Tories with an article defending the hunting ban being published in the Guardian today (Thursday, February 18).
In the article, he says: “A Tory government will bring back hunting with dogs soon after the election, with a government bill, in government time.”
The timing of the letter was also significant, with today marking the fifth anniversary of the ban coming into force.
Mr Benn argues the ban has worked and is supported by a majority of the population, and in the face of increasing public support for the ban, the pro-hunting lobby has changed its tactics numerous times but is now running out of options.
He even setup a website late last year encouraging support for the ban, a seemingly unique approach to an Act which in his eyes is serving its purpose.
Jill Grieve, head of communications for the Countryside Alliance was unsure of Mr Benn’s comments and questioned the need for him to push this line of attack. She said: “It is clear the legislation is not working and I am sure people would rather see Hilary Benn focussing on current important issues such as flooding and the recent troubles at the Rural Payments Agency.
“David Cameron has been clear on his position on the matter, he has said the law is a farce and doesn’t work, and we support the campaign for repeal.”
However League Against Cruel Sports chief executive Douglas Batchelor responded differently. He said: “The Hunting Act sent out a clear message that chasing and killing wild animals for sport is unacceptable. Five years on, it’s clear the Act is working, the public overwhelmingly support it, and we are immensely proud of it.”
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Readers' comments (9)
Iwan | 18 February 2010 8:36 pm
Surely Mr Benn has much more important things to focus his time on than worry about what will happen when he is hopefully in the opposition party
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A | 19 February 2010 12:08 pm
"Five years on, it’s clear the Act is working, the public overwhelmingly support it, and we are immensely proud of it.”
Erm, is he sure?! From what I hear, hunts that are still running are catching more foxes than ever before!
As far as I'm concerned, the ban should be lifted. There are few other ways to kill foxes (which ARE pests to those with certain types of livestock) that are as quick and effective as with a pack of dogs..... poisoning is a slow and painful death, as is trapping..... you have to shoot them in exactly the right place to kill them outright, otherwise its also a long and painful death.
Now don't get me wrong, I dont agree with a lot of the pomp and tradition that goes with it. The smearing of the foxes blood for instance is unecessary and merely goes to prove to the animal rights activists that it's a blood lust sport and does not have any practical gain.
But, until there's a method of keeping the fox population down in a completely humane and timely fashion then I support the ban being lifted....... FIGHT THE BAN!
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S af Ugglas | 19 February 2010 7:28 pm
Mr. Hilary Benn
Dear Sir,
Concerning the hunting ban I totaly disagree. The classwar you are trying to wage is just pure dirt. We the people in the countryside don´t care what you urbanite people do in your spare time as long as you don´t use tax payers money and don´t disturb peace which is very much in doubt. We sincerely hope the hunting ban will be repealed as soon as possible and that you Mr. Benn concentrate and focus yourself just a tiny bit more to prevent famine and starvation of The Honourable British Citizen´s looking after the countryside who try to keep you alive.
Samuel af Ugglas
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Maria E Prior | 21 February 2010 10:00 pm
Why do hunters try to justify fox hunting as a way to controlling foxes? The only reason hunting takes place is because people enjoy seeing animals killed. Why cannot they be honest instead of trying to con the public, who overall, support a ban. My other concern is for the dogs, who are bred purely to hunt. If they are not suitable they are shot. I find the whole thing disgusting.
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Gary Hills | 22 February 2010 1:28 pm
The ban is working and has created 128 prosecutions. Yes some parts of the press and hunting lobby like to deceive the public.
Out of 318 registered hunts there are some 75 who either try to bend the law or break it. That still leaves 243 that are following the law. Those on the pro hunting side who try to hide the issue behind class or control fail to convince the public.
It makes no difference the amount of excuses given. You can not hide the reality that it is deliberate animal cruelty. The ban could be better in some parts, but that is more to do with attitudes of the Police who do not always do their job to enforce it.
Cameron is showing how unfit he is to be PM. His love of killing for fun overrides all other issues. He sees hunting as the be all and end all. He panders to a tiny section that has no legitimate reason for Killing wildlife. Why should hunters who are driving by bloodlust decide which animal lives or dies?
The Countryside Alliance and Cameron are throwbacks to distant centauries when barbaric acts of cruelty were the norm. Those that hunt and seek to kill are not part of decent society. Cameron is not decent in his pursuit of this issue.
Labour created the ban and will protect the ban. If people want to stop organised dog fighting for the pleasure of a tiny few do not vote Tory. Voting Labour is the only way to protect our wildlife from horrific suffering.
If Cameron did win (which is not as likely as made out) how long would it be before hunters started hunting Otters again? For that is the buzz amongst some of the hunters...Cameron is a disgrace and a nasty person who enjoys cruelty to animals for fun. He is incompetent on real issues facing society and is blinded by arrogance.
If people want to hunt, fine…then they can drag hunt. It’s the same as hunting but there is not deliberate killing of our wildlife. There are no so called accidents. So there are no excuses for not switching none at all.
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mhayworth | 22 February 2010 3:45 pm
As a Tory who won't be voting for Cameron over this issue, I can assure you that it does matter to a great many people and is already affecting how they will vote. You Tories who are so certain that Cameron is on to a winner, are actually driving the more decent people away from the party and into the fringes daily.
The 700 hours 'wasted' on the hunting act, was driven solely by the pro-hunt Tories trying desperately to make the debate run past the maximum time limit in the hopes it would be thrown out. Read the Hansard debates - they are all online.
You need to stop falling for the hype of the Countryside Alliance and see that even most farmers are sick to death of the hunts trampling their land, causing massive damage, intimidating them if they complain, and using this issue to divide them politically from their urban friends who actually do care about the real issues affecting them. As the Burns report concluded, lamping is the most effective and humane way to dispatch a fox - if and when necessary. If the hunts would stop breeding them for their sport, of course, it would certainly be less often 'necessary'.
M. Hayworth
Campaign For Decency
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kristen | 3 April 2010 1:16 pm
THe fox hunting bann must remain in place, it cannot be reppealed, its a vulgar past time and evil, it makes me ashamed to be human. kristen in slough.
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jeremy smyles | 14 April 2010 11:15 pm
The trouble with MANIFESTO ANNOUNCEMENTS is the ELEPHANT in the room is never mentioned, in the case of the Tories, the FOX. For more comment see;
http://torypartyflushed..blogspot.com
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Vicky | 15 May 2010 1:15 am
If there are any farmers reading this who would be actively FOR keeping the ban, ie anti-fox hunting / hunting with hounds, I'd be really interested to hear from you with a possible view to doing a short interview for a blog a friend has set up. If you're interested please put a comment here and I'll keep checking back -- we'll have to see if the site owners could put us in touch via email if so!
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