MINISTERS are to consider tightening the law over fox hunting in Scotland after SNP MPs promised to vote against plans to relax legislation over the activity in England and Wales.
The move came as animal rights’ activists north of the Border stepped up their campaign against hunting after the SNP group of 56 MPs at Westminster announced on Tuesday night they would vote against proposals to weaken the ban in England and Wales.
“Scotland led the way in banning fox hunting back in 2002 and we are committed to an effective ban remaining in place,” said a Scottish Government spokeswoman.
“The current debate on the law on fox hunting elsewhere in the UK has shone a spotlight on the current legislation in Scotland, and we are considering whether it needs to be revised.”
Prime Minister David Cameron wants to relax the Hunting Act 2004 south of the Border – in a move which would bring the restrictions into line with the existing ones in Scotland – which allow more than two dogs to be used to “flush” foxes from cover before they are shot.
But campaigners against hunting say the SNP’s decision to vote against the Tory’s proposals to ease the rules now puts the Scottish Government under pressure to bring in stricter laws north of the Border -– where using packs is still allowed.
Libby Anderson, policy director of the animal protection charity OneKind, said: “We want the number of dogs that can be used in a pack in Scotland reduced to two – which would bring the law into line with that in England and Wales.
“Numerous instances have been found when guns are not being used as they should and the foxes are being torn to shreds by packs of dogs.We want new legislation which would tighten up the law and make it harder for the rules to be flouted.”
She welcomed the announcement by ministers that they would be considering whether to tighten up the Scottish law, adding: “We urge the Scottish Government to act quickly to make it quite clear that there is no place for cruelty to wild animals in this modern nation.”
She said that she was writing to the Environment Minister Aileen McLeod to seek a meeting to get a new law introduced in Holyrood after the summer recess.
The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, which dates back to 2002, was a key piece of legislation passed in the first session of the new devolved parliament and was based on a member’s bill by former Labour MSP Mike Watson. It was fiercely opposed by the Scottish Countryside Alliance, which insisted fox hunting was a centuries-old pursuit and an important part of rural life.
But 12 years on from the Bill being passed, fox hunting continues with hunts claiming to offer a pest-control service to landowners and farmers to remove foxes which are threatening livestock.
The Scottish Government has already launched its own investigation into the effectiveness of the 2002 legislation after surveillance of five of Scotland’s 10 hunts suggested they were routinely ignoring it, with a complete absence of shotguns. Covert footage taken by the League Against Cruel Sports over a three-month period apparently shows no “flushing to guns”.
McLeod confirmed in a letter to the league that MSPs intended to scrutinise the ban, writing that she “would be very concerned” if the law was being flouted and that she was referring her concerns to Police Scotland.
SNP MPs have been struck by the strength of feeling on the issue. From the moment they were elected, new SNP MPs reported being lobbied by voters in the rest of the UK who promised to holiday in Scotland and buy more whisky if they voted against the repeal of the hunting ban.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: “The Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs committee will have the opportunity to consider the operation of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 in the context of the Wildlife Crime Annual Report and the Scottish
Government will respond to that in due course.”
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