20 June, 2009

"Over 400 members of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) gave a standing ovation to shadow foreign secretary William Hague MP at their AGM in London on 9 June, after he repeated strongly the Conservative pledge to assist repeal of the hunting ban.

"A Conservative government will give parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote and in government time. This has been our position and it will remain our position," said Mr Hague.

But he warned that repeal would depend on a majority Conservative government and all hunts should play their part to help get the party elected."

Report from Horse and Hound

The majority of Liberal Democrat MPs in the House of Commons supported a hunting ban
In their policy paper, the Lib Dems 'reassert [their] existing policy of supporting a ban on hunting with dogs'.

PAD (Protecting Animals in Democracy) points out however that
"There is a tendency for Lib Dems in rural seats to be more equivocal on hunting, which betrays a worrying lack of principle."

A "sneaky way" of achieving this when public opinion is still opposed to fox hunting would not surprise me