Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

A new report by the ‘Better Government Initiative’ has branded the Hunting Act a “notorious example of bad Government” along with other disastrous examples from the last 20 years including the Poll Tax, the Child Support Agency and the Millennium Dome. The report was produced by some of Whitehall's most senior figures, including the former Cabinet secretary Lord Butler and Sir John Chilcott who is chairing the Iraq war inquiry.

On Thursday 14th January, Shadow Defra Secretary Nick Herbert MP took part in an online question forum on the Guardian website. During the live forum he once again made his position clear on hunting: "In response to your question on hunting, the Conservative party's position is that we would give parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time. I appreciate that this an issue which arouses strong feelings on both sides. However, in my judgment the Hunting Act has proved to be unworkable. In many cases, it is actually detrimental to animal welfare, especially when indiscriminate methods of control which aren't outlawed are used instead.......

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart explains why "repeal" was the word this Boxing Day: Another Boxing Day brought a further opportunity to highlight the case for repeal and, as the news links below show, that chance was not missed. Most of the serious commentators, editorials and general observers are now collectively anticipating the end of the Hunting Act. Not only do they see this as an inevitable (and welcome) consequence if there is change of Government, but they also recognise that the debate is no longer about the minutiae of hunting, but a wider argument about a bad law and personal freedom.

Published exclusively in the Yorkshire Post on Boxing Day 2009 was an article by Countryside Alliance Chairman, Kate Hoey MP. The article, entitled "Hunting long and hard for any sense in this flawed law" outlined "..why all genuine supporters of our wildlife, both hunter and non-hunter alike, should demand the immediate repeal of this bad law by whichever party wins the General Election". Read Kate's piece here.

Hundreds of thousands of people came out to support their local hunts at meets across the country today, but the worst Christmas weather for many years means that hunting has been curtailed in many places. The Countryside Alliance says the crowds send a clear message to the next Government: “give Parliament a vote to scrap the Act”. (......read on for a round up of Boxing Day media coverage.)