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| Britain | ||
| Hunt ban expected despite peers (Foxes, this time) | ||
| 2004-11-18 | ||
| Nothing is sacred anymore in the UK. Junk Food. Stogies. Foxes. Next, Ale? A ban on fox hunting is expected to be forced onto the statute book after peers defied the House of Commons and voted against outlawing the practice. The House of Lords instead backed by two to one a licensed system which would not be introduced until 2007. The Parliament Act now looks sure to be invoked to force a total ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales.That would happen when the Hunting Bill returns to the House of Commons on Thursday. But pro-hunt campaigners have said they intend to challenge the use of the Act. Wednesday's Lords vote came after MPs rejected a last-ditch compromise on the issue, voting by 321 to 204 against a deal which would have allowed regulated hunting of foxes. Gesture politics? In the Lords, Environment Minister Lords Whitty urged peers to back down but in the end they opted to back a licensed hunt system - something which anti-hunting Labour MPs are just not prepared to accept. Labour's Baroness Mallalieu, who is also Countryside Alliance president, said the Hunting Bill was "rank bad", adding: "Its foundations are naked prejudice and wilful ignorance, it is without rationality and without principle". She argued it was the "worst sort of gesture politics". But a government source told BBC News that at "not point" had anti-hunt peers offered a "sensible compromise" over the issue.
Hunt supporters 'defiant' Tony Blair had favoured a deal proposed in the Commons on Wednesday to allow licensed hunting of foxes to continue which Tories in the Commons also backed the deal, though in the words of party spokesman James Gray only "through gritted teeth". Mr Gray warned that if hunting was banned "the people of the countryside will neither forget it or forgive it". Commons Speaker Michael Martin is expected to agree to allow the Parliament Act to be used. Once a ban goes through, some pro-hunt campaigners intend to exploit any loopholes or even openly defy the law. They could also mount political campaigns against Labour MPs in marginal seats in the run up to the general election. Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has already indicated a delay on implementing a hunting ban could be put in place for 18 months. Tory spokesman Tim Yeo said the delay was being touted because the government "was quite rightly fearful of the backlash in many parts of the country against this infringement of civil liberties". He told the BBC the issue could "play very badly for Labour in the general election". Legal challenge The BBC has learned the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance has already written to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith giving notice it will challenge the legality of the 1949 Parliament Act if it is invoked. Simon Hart, president of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, said: "This is not the end of our campaign - it is just the beginning of the next stage." Phyllis Campbell-McRae, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: "Banning hunting will put Britain back at the forefront of animal welfare worldwide. "It has been a long, hard campaign, won by the determination of tens of thousands of people in urban and rural communities who are dedicated to protecting animals from senseless and appalling cruelty." And I posted this story as an excuse to post these pix links to protesters, both pro and con: _1_ _2_ _3_... Cuz I'm tired of PCism.
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| Posted by:.com |
| #6 Lol, BD - hey, I'm in! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-11-18 4:46:27 AM |
| #5 .com - those all look like pro hunt campaigners. And if they don't clinch the argument, I can't think of much that would. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-11-18 4:32:24 AM |
| #4 "Banning hunting will put Britain back at the forefront of animal welfare worldwide." Enviros are right. Pollution DOES affects people. Specifically, chemical balances essential for the normal functioning of the brain. |
| Posted by: gromgorru 2004-11-18 3:22:30 AM |
| #3 Lol, O-man! Everybody's a critic! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-11-18 3:01:07 AM |
| #2 "Hurry up and take the damn picture, I can't suck my stomach in for much longer." |
| Posted by: Onionman 2004-11-18 2:57:13 AM |
| #1 Pix are NSFW, BTW. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-11-18 2:15:50 AM |
