Fox hunting banned
Hunting foxes with dogs will be banned in England and Wales in three months’ time, after the Hunting Bill was forced onto the statute books.
The Government used the Parliament Act after the House of Lords rejected a late amendment from the House of Commons, which would have delayed the bill becoming law until 2006.
Had the peers agreed to the amended bill, it would have passed without the need for the Parliament Act, but they voted by 153 to 114 to introduce licensed hunting with dogs. A ban will now come into effect in February 2005.
Earlier, the Commons rejected a Government amendment to the bill, which would have postponed the ban until 2007.
The bill will also ban deer hunting and hare coursing with dogs.
Speaker Michael Martin said the Parliament Act, which overrules the wishes of the unelected chamber, had been used for only the fourth time since 1949. He told MPs: “I am satisfied that all the provisions of the Parliament Act have been met.”
The Queen gave the bill her Royal Assent, with the House of Lords hearing the traditional Norman words “La Reyne le Veult” as it became law.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said he had tried to find a compromise on hunting for the best part of two years. “For many people in the country, they would like to have seen a situation in which we dealt with the arguments as to cruelty whilst at the same time understanding the feelings of those who regard this as integral to their way of life. It was not possible to find a compromise in Parliament.”
The Act was widely welcomed by animal welfare campaigners. Phyllis Campbell-McRae, UK director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: “Banning hunting will put Britain back at the forefront of animal welfare worldwide. We know from our international campaigning work that it will have a huge impact overseas.
“It has been a long, hard campaign, won by the determination of tens of thousands of people in urban and rural communities who are dedicated to protecting animals from senseless and appalling cruelty.”
But for pro-hunt campaigners it is not the end of the road, and the Act will now face two legal challenges. The Countryside Alliance will challenge the use of the 1949 Parliament Act, which updated the original Act passed in 1911, on the basis that it was passed without the approval of the Lords.
They will also say a ban infringes their human rights and challenge it under the Human Rights Act.
Last night, hundreds of Countryside Alliance members protested outside Windsor Castle, as Mr Blair had dinner with French President Jacques Chirac and the Queen.
Lord Strathclyde, leader of the Conservatives in the Lords, said the episode “reflects shamefully” on the Prime Minister.
“Mr Blair is entirely responsible. He need never have reintroduced the Bill but decided to do so. Once he did, use of the Parliament Act was inevitable. He now faces public humiliation, holding his arms up like King Canute while waves of his own MPs flood past him into the opposing lobby.”
