Labour MP pressures government to ban foxhunting for good with private member’s bill
Pressure builds to ban foxhunting for good
- A Parliament-based campaign group and Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan are intensifying efforts to strengthen the ban on illegal foxhunting in England and Wales.
- Mr Duncan-Jordan plans to introduce a private member's Bill in the new year to close loopholes in the 2004 Hunting Act, specifically targeting trail-hunting.
- The New Hunting Ban campaign group will publish proposed "gold-standard" reforms next week, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of the original Act.
- Critics, including police and monitors, argue that trail-hunting is often used as a "smokescreen" for actual foxhunting, with evidence suggesting widespread breaches.
- The government is preparing for a public consultation on the issue early next year, while the British Hound Sports Association maintains that trail-hunting is a lawful and regulated activity.