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Our statement on 15 years of the Hunting Act

Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance said: "After 700 hours of mainly farcical parliamentary debate and a series of the largest civil liberty demonstrations in British history, the Hunting Act came into force on February 18th, 2005. It was never about animal welfare. Tony Blair has even admitted The Act was "one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret". It was an obsessive and ideological pursuit of the hunting community by Labour MPs who bizarrely saw a ban on hunting as part of their class war agenda.

But 15 years later, hunting has survived, operating within the law. The intention of the Hunting Act was to frustrate rural communities; yet today, hundreds of registered hunts continue to operate across the UK and enjoy support from a wide range of people. Meets continue to be attended by thousands of people and remain a signature part of Christmas & New Year festivities. Registered hunts continue to work within the law and within their communities, contributing to charities and local action projects including conservation and litter-picking.

Hunting was never going to bring down a government, but in the five General Elections since the Hunting Act came into force, the Labour Party has been routed from the countryside, culminating in its defeats in rural constituencies across the country in 2019.

Even if the difficulties and frustrations of the Act remain, hunts will continue to meet up and down the land. The Countryside Alliance will continue to make the case for a robust, evidence-based approach to wildlife management. There were never any valid arguments for banning hunting and the Hunting Act is almost unique in that it brings no benefits. Not to the countryside, not to rural communities, not to wildlife and not even to those who spent so long promoting it.

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