The Hunting Act is considered flawed by both hunt supporters and anti-hunt campaigners, but the ban on hunting with dogs reflects public opinion and is seen as a symbol of overwhelming public rejection of hunting live prey for pleasure.
On 18th October 2009 the Conservative Party stated “There will be no watering down or retreat from the pledge to give parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act.”
Vote OK—the pro-repeal pressure group—is supplementing the Conservative party’s campaigning base with the specific aim of restoring hunting with dogs to legal status. During the Norwich North by-election one of the four main Tory campaign centres was staffed exclusively by Vote OK volunteers.
If the ban is repealed it means that hunting down wild animals for sport will be legal again. In foxhunting, this will include the yearly‘cub hunting’ or ‘cubbing’, now called ‘autumn hunting’, in which new hounds are trained to kill immature foxes which are still in their family group.
If the ban is repealed, saboteurs and monitors fear that legal steps will be taken to prevent them observing the processes of hunting in the public interest.
