A LOCAL MP has backed calls for the Government to take decisive action to ban hunting with hounds.
More than 50 Members of Parliament have signed a letter to Daniel Zeichner MP, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, on the issue.
In it, the group – which includes Sarah Edwards, whose Tamworth constituency includes Stonnall, Shenstone, Fazeley and Whittington – say the debate needs to move from consultation to action in a bid to halt trail hunting which campaigners say is being used to as a smokescreen to allow hunts to continue.
The letter calls for a firm legislative response to end “another season of suffering” for animals.
It adds:
“Alongside the brutal deaths of foxes, stags, hares, and other wild animals, dogs continue to be abused and killed on an industrial scale to facilitate the enjoyment of those who flout the law.
“Polling consistently shows that strengthening the law on hunting is overwhelmingly popular across the country, in every constituency, urban and rural.”
The letter has been produced in conjunction with The New Hunting Ban, a cross-party campaign which works with parliamentarians from across the political spectrum to develop and push for legislation.
Rhys Giles, director of The New Hunting Ban, said:
“This letter is a clear signal to the government that the public are tired of waiting for action on an ongoing outrage that should have been resolved two decades ago.
“Representatives from across the country – urban, rural and everywhere in between – are standing up for wildlife, dogs and the countryside. Now we need Defra to do the same.”
