Tuesday, December 14, 2004
WE WILL REBEL AGAINST BAN
PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH
MEMBERS of the Fitzwilliam Hunt are set to join a major rebellion against the fox-hunting ban, a day after it comes into force.
Joint master George Bowyer said the hunt would almost certainly join 250 other hunts across the country to test the new law on February 19.
The protest plans follow a landmark ruling in Scotland where the first attempt to prosecute a huntsman accused of breaching the ban failed.
A ban is already in place in Scotland, but the test case raised doubts about the enforcement of a ban in England and Wales.Mr Bowyer said next year's meetings would demonstrate that the legislation was "shot through with loopholes".
He said: "It is extremely likely we will be involved. The plans were only announced recently, but I would be very surprised if we were not out there testing the law.
"The recent test case demonstrates what we are saying. They banned hunting in Scotland several years ago, but there are still hunts going on as before, and that's going to happen in England as well."
Trevor Adams (46) was charged with deliberately hunting a fox with 20 hounds, but he walked free after a Scottish court ruled that he was not "hunting" but "searching" for a fox.
He argued he was operating a pest control service, using dogs to flush out foxes so people with guns could shoot them.
The ruling effectively legalised a new form of hunting with hounds.
The Fitzwilliam Hunt has been running for more than 300 years and runs across Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
In September, more than 100 members of the hunt joined thousands of protesters in a march in London protesting against plans to ban fox-hunting.
But last month, the Hunting Act was given the Royal Assent from the Queen.
The ban was going to be delayed until July 2006 because of opposition from the House of Lords, but the Government invoked the Parliament Act to push it through.
MEMBERS of the Fitzwilliam Hunt are set to join a major rebellion against the fox-hunting ban, a day after it comes into force.
Joint master George Bowyer said the hunt would almost certainly join 250 other hunts across the country to test the new law on February 19.
The protest plans follow a landmark ruling in Scotland where the first attempt to prosecute a huntsman accused of breaching the ban failed.
A ban is already in place in Scotland, but the test case raised doubts about the enforcement of a ban in England and Wales.Mr Bowyer said next year's meetings would demonstrate that the legislation was "shot through with loopholes".
He said: "It is extremely likely we will be involved. The plans were only announced recently, but I would be very surprised if we were not out there testing the law.
"The recent test case demonstrates what we are saying. They banned hunting in Scotland several years ago, but there are still hunts going on as before, and that's going to happen in England as well."
Trevor Adams (46) was charged with deliberately hunting a fox with 20 hounds, but he walked free after a Scottish court ruled that he was not "hunting" but "searching" for a fox.
He argued he was operating a pest control service, using dogs to flush out foxes so people with guns could shoot them.
The ruling effectively legalised a new form of hunting with hounds.
The Fitzwilliam Hunt has been running for more than 300 years and runs across Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
In September, more than 100 members of the hunt joined thousands of protesters in a march in London protesting against plans to ban fox-hunting.
But last month, the Hunting Act was given the Royal Assent from the Queen.
The ban was going to be delayed until July 2006 because of opposition from the House of Lords, but the Government invoked the Parliament Act to push it through.
