A YEAR ago to the day since the biggest demonstration that London would have ever seen - had it not been for the foot and mouth epidemic - MPs devoted an entire day to the very same issue that ignited that march. In an ideal world, on the anniversary of the "march that never was" Parliament would be approving plans for investing in rural services or regenerating our farming industry. Instead, yet again, it debated foxhunting.

To "better inform the debate" the Government ordered an independent inquiry into the hunting issue - the Burns Inquiry, which found no clear justification for making hunting a criminal offence. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those MPs that voted to ban hunting have never even read this report, let alone witnessed the activity for themselves.

In response to Nigel Knowles (Letters, March 28), there is nothing democratic about a prejudiced majority imposing their ideological views on a minority. The House of Lords vote actually echoed the will of the people and their symbolic vote on March 19 was clearly a victory for common sense.

Mr Knowles is incorrect in believing that the majority of people oppose hunting. Support for a ban is at a 10-year low, slipping from 76 per cent in 1997 to just 48 per cent in 2002 (NOP poll, March)

In 2001, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against the RSPCA for an advertisement in which they claimed "most people in this country" think hunting should be banned. It concluded that such a claim was misleading.

Such foxy propaganda is all too common amongst individuals and MPs who continue to mislead and misinform in an attempt to give respectability to their own bigotry against people who support hunting.

We now look to Parliament to settle this issue once and for all and in such a way that reconciles both animal welfare and human rights. A total ban will achieve neither.

CHRIS ROGERS

Stourport

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