Hunting law was not about animals (From Worcester News)

Hunting law was not about animals

9:01am Monday 8th January 2007 in Read

SIR - Unfortunately, Wendy Hands (Letters, January 2) is under the impression that the Hunting Act (2004) is about animal welfare.

No, this legislation was purely to keep class war obsessed Labour MPs busy while Tony Blair got on with his war in Iraq.

As these politicians indulged themselves bashing toffs in red jackets where was their concern for our troops who often fought without the protection of flak jackets?

Using birds of prey for hunting is straightforward and allowed for under the Act. Any number of hounds can be used to flush a mammal out for a bird of prey to hunt.

Many hunts prefer this to shooting as part of their pest control service to farmers. The birds have to be at the peak of fitness so their welfare is paramount.

Since the Act came into force there have been some 30,000 days of organised hunting and only three prosecutions have taken place, two of which could have been dealt with under existing poaching legislation. The third ended with a huntsman being fined for not killing a fox by any method.

It's no wonder most people believe that Labour and its Hunting Act are a total failure.

Jon Burgess, Malvern.