Anti-Cruelty Bill to Test Parliament

Wide-ranging Anti animal suffering Bill tests true motives of hunt ban MPs

In a surprise move, Lord Donoughue and Lembit Öpik MP will introduce a Bill to outlaw all suffering to all wild mammals in all circumstances into BOTH Houses of Parliament at the same time. As a result, the Bill will test the true motives of MPs who have continually voted against hunting with dogs. The announcement is made on Boxing Day, one of the most important days in the hunting calendar.

Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomeryshire and co-chair of the Middle Way Group, said “I have decided to use my Private Members ballot Bill to introduce the Wild Mammals (Protection) (Amendment) Bill in the Commons. It’s the same Bill which Lord Donoughue introduced in the House of Lords.

“There are those who claim hunting with dogs causes excessive suffering, compared to other control methods. Well, my Bill means they can test their belief in a court of law. This approach was suggested as a possible alternative to a ban by the Burns Report.

“It’s good the public care about animal suffering. So do I. And obviously there’s no point banning one method of control, while leaving other methods legal that can cause as much - or more - suffering. This Bill addresses that problem precisely.”

Lord Donoughue, a former Labour Agriculture Minister from 1997- 1999, said “ The hunting debate is flawed as it ignores the other methods of control. After many months of consultation with interested groups, I introduced a similar Bill into the Lords in the last session of Parliament. That Bill was passed by the Lords with support from all sides; so this measure has already completed half its journey through Parliament. This surely must be acknowledged by members of the Government, who seem to be in a difficulty over the hunting issue.”

Peter Luff MP, co-chair of the Middle Way Group said, “If MPs really care about cruelty, they will fight even harder for this new bill than they did for the more limited anti-hunting bill. People whose first concern is to reduce animal suffering will certainly want to ensure this new bill passes through both Houses. Those who oppose it will have merely shown, publicly, that their anti-hunting views are just a sham for their personal prejudices.”

Baroness Golding, co-chair of the Middle Way Group said, “What this Bill will do is allow views on cruelty to be tested in the proper manner. It will also indicate how much confidence the anti-hunt groups have in their evidence that hunting causes excessive suffering. The Bill is a test of sincerity for MPs and anti-hunt organisations.”

ENDS