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Meeting of minds needed before fox hunting decision, warns peer

Marie Woolf,Chief Political Correspondent
Tuesday 10 September 2002 00:00 BST
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Lord Burns, who wrote the Government's official report into hunting, warned ministers yesterday not to rush ahead with a law banning the use of dogs in the sport.

The former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury said yesterday that the Government should wait until there is a greater "meeting of minds" on the issue. He warned that by pressing ahead with a bill this autumn the Government could only find a gradual solution to the problem.

Lord Burns urged MPs not to act without public support and urged caution in framing a law on the future of fox hunting. "Parliament has got to decide whether it wishes to carry as many people with it as possible," he said. "The only way I can see to do it, is to do it over a period. My personal view is that there is unlikely to be, in a short time. a meeting of minds on this."

Lord Burns' remarks were seized on by pro-hunting campaigners. "Lord Burns made quite clear this morning that in his view the only chance of a workable solution from the Government is one that carries the people with it," said Richard Burge, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance. "Trying for a quick solution would not be a solution at all."

The peer's remarks came on the first day of a three-day hearing on the future of hunting with dogs which brought together representatives from the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, the main animal welfare charities which want to ban hunting and the Middle Way group, which wants to regulate hunts and license them.

The government-sponsored hearings took evidence from experts, including conservationists, on the effect of hunting. The hearings will inform ministers' plans to press ahead with a bill later this year and are designed to find common ground.

Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "We are confident that any new evidence will back up what is already an overwhelming moral and scientific case against hunting with dogs."

He added: "There is no utility argument. There is no need to control deer, foxes, hare and mink by hunting with dogs."

Meanwhile, Dr Piran White, a wildlife ecologist from York University released a report showing that a tiny minority of lambs are killed by foxes.

The study, found that only 0.4 per cent of lambs are killed in this way and concluded that the best way of preserving their lives is to keep them inside for the first hours of their lives. The report also found that fox predation of other livestock, including hens, turkeys, piglets and geese is extremely low.

The RSPCA said that the report strengthened "an overwhelming scientific case against hunting with dogs".

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