Ann McKechin MP is today (Boxing-Day) helping to launch a national campaign to support the ban on hunting wild animals with dogs.

The ‘Back the Ban’ campaign is being launched on Boxing Day – the old centre of the fox hunting calendar - by Hilary Benn and a host of celebrities including Tony Robinson and Patrick Stewart.

This Boxing-Day is the fifth since the Bill to ban hunting with dogs was passed. The ban has already resulted in dozens of prosecutions, and the forecast dire effects on rural communities have not come to pass.

But the UK Hunting Act is under threat as pro-hunt activists prepare to spend thousands of pounds in backing candidates committed to bringing back the cruel sport.

The Opposition stance is in spite of both overwhelming public support for the ban and the many other priorities of the British public. According to a recent Ipsos Mori poll, three quarters of the population do not want hunting with dogs to be made legal again. The same poll showed that 72% of the rural population want to keep the ban in place.

Ann said:

Legislation on fox hunting within Scotland is a responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. However, the UK Parliament legislates on fox hunting for other parts of the UK. Five years ago I remember how Parliament spent hour after hour debating fox hunting with dogs and trying to follow the will of the overwhelming majority of the British public in bringing an end to this cruel practice. I remember clearly how important the ban on this cruel sport was to so many people in our area.

In Parliament, the Opposition has made it clear that they would make it a priority to overturn the ban on fox hunting. I wholeheartedly supported the ban – and I will fight for it to stay in place. My constituents can be sure that I will vote against any attempt to overturn our ban on this cruel practice. Since the law came in, it has been making a real difference to the animal welfare situation in the UK and there have been 56 prosecutions under the Hunting Act.

I believe that the threat to repeal our ban on fox hunting is a real one, and with all the really important economic and social challenges we face today, the proposal to prioritise taking us all back to the cruelty of the past just seems wrong. If anyone ever thought the hunting lobby had weakened, the Opposition’s stated policy of repealing the Hunting Act makes it absolutely clear their priorities have not changed at all.

Together we can stop the proposed repeal of this Act which has helped improve animal welfare situation in the UK.

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