This week I joined fellow Labour MPs to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ban on fox hunting.
It is now five years since the Fox-Hunting Bill received Royal Assent, ending the cruel practice of hunting with dogs. In that time, dozens of prosecutions have been brought under the Act, showing that this ban is making a real difference.
And people want it too. According to the results of an Ipsos Mori poll last month, three quarters of people do not want hunting with dogs to be made legal again.
I was a strong supporter of the Hunting Bill and of the previous attempts to ban fox hunting in Parliament. I am proud that the Labour Party helped to ban hunting with dogs.
But the Hunting Act remains under threat because the Conservative Party have made it clear they want to get rid of it as soon as possible.
I think they are wrong. But, more than that, I can’t understand why any government would think that one of the first things to do after a General Election is repeal the ban on fox hunting. With all the challenges in the world at the moment this just doesn’t make any sense.
