Courts will decide on fox hunting delay
The Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has said the Government would neither “oppose nor support” an application from the Countryside Alliance to delay the implementation of the ban on fox hunting.
Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons Mr Michael said that he believed it was for the courts to decide any questions on the legality of the act.
The Countryside Alliance is mounting a legal challenge to the Hunting Act on two fronts. Firstly, that the Parliament Act used to force the bill through the House of Lords was invalid and secondly that the hunting ban breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
Animal welfare groups were outraged by suggestions that the Government would not oppose an injunction sought by the alliance to delay the implementation of the ban on hunting with dogs.
But Mr Michael told MPs he was convinced that the initial legal challenge against the validity of the Parliament Act due to be heard on 25 January, would fail; and that the Government would “vigorously contest it”.
He said that only if the court granted the right of appeal to the Court of Appeal would the possibility of injunction apply.
In that scenario, the Government would “neither oppose nor support such an application”.
Ministers wanted to see the law made clear prior to commencement, he went on, reminding MPs that neither the Government nor the House of Commons had backed the 18 February date for commencement.
Mr Michael said that those who suggest the legal challenges could take years were “incorrect and misinformed”.
Any challenge under the European Convention on Human Rights would be dealt with in our own courts, he said, adding that the “challenge to the Scottish legislation failed and we do not expect a different outcome here”.
The Rural Affairs Minister said he was confident the Hunting Act was valid. He denied it was odd that Government lawyers had spoken with those representing the Countryside Alliance and said MPs shouldn’t “indulge in conspiracy theories”.
