Hunt ban to go to the vote (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Hunt ban to go to the vote

THE FUTURE of hunting is once again hanging in the balance after it was announced that a vote on a ban will be held in Parliament later this month.

The surprise move by the Government comes just weeks after the sport was banned in Scotland.

And while hunt supporters in the area claimed this week that ending fox hunting would devastate the countryside, animal rights campaingers said they would settle for nothing less than a total ban.

A free vote due to take place in the House of Commons on March 18 is expected to back an outright ban.

But there is speculation that the Lords will vote for the so called 'middle way' option.

This would see hunting regulated by a licensing body and is seen as a compromise option.

However, John Rolls, of the anti-hunt umbrella group Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals, said there was no room for compromise.

"The 'middle way' involves licensing the barbaric practice of chasing and savaging wild mammals to death in the name of sport," he said.

He called for the Government to reintroduce last year's failed Hunting Bill, which was defeated by Peers.

He said that if the Parliament Act was used to over-rule the Lords, hunting could be banned within 18-months.

Meanwhile, the Countryside Alliance is sticking to its argument that a ban would persecute a minority.

It also claims a ban would create further economic misery in areas still recovering from the ravages of foot and mouth.

The Alliance is confident that the Government will seek a solution that 'respects both human rights and animal welfare'.

It said a ban 'would not help a single family in the UK and would harm many'.

But Paul Richardson, of Cirencester Animal Rights, poured scorn on the Alliance's position.

"Human rights have got nothing to do with it. If something is cruel it has got to be stopped," he said.

"And if someone loses their job because of it, then they should get another one."

Gill Purser, of the Cotswold Support Group for the Abolition of Hunting, believes the Government favours the 'middle way' option.

"I think Tony Blair will go for the compromise because it's the easy option.

"I don't think the Labour party will be forgiven if it doesn't introduce an outright ban."

Captain Ian Farquhar, a joint master with the Beaufort Hunt, said 'all hell will break loose' if there is a total ban.

"Any ban would not benefit the fox in any way. It would cause massive loss of jobs and the break up of the countryside," he said.

"The Scottish legislation is totally flawed, and I cannot believe that common sense will not prevail."

Biddy Brickell, a Cotswold Hunt joint master, believes it would be wrong to allow 'urban' MPs to override the Lords, who she believes are more in tune with rural issues.

She said: "A lot of MPs do not have any idea of what goes on in the countryside."

She wants hunting left alone, and said there is no need for a 'middle way' regulatory body.

"There are already an awful lot of regulations, and we have an independent body which monitors hunting," she said.