Scottish National Party Delays Attempt to Relax Hunting Ban
In a reversal of expectations, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has threatened to oppose the pro-hunting effort to relax a key provision of the Hunting Act in England. The SNP move appears to doom chances of passage. As Foxhunting Life reported last week, British Prime Minister David Cameron, a former foxhunter, decided not to test […]
A Plan to Modify England’s Hunting Act
With Prime Minister David Cameron now leading a majority government, pro-hunting Conservatives are looking to him to make good on his pledge to bring a free vote to the floor in Parliament to repeal the despised Hunting Act of 2002. Despite his majority, however, Cameron is loath to risk a free vote. Too many members […]
Foxhunting Remains an Issue as Elections Loom in UK
In the runup to the May 7 elections in Britain, foxhunting and the Hunting Act that outlawed traditional hunting there in 2005 are once again subjects for polarized wrangling in the British media. While issues of greater import confront the nation as a whole, foxhunting remains a burning issue in rural areas. For many in […]
Foxhunting Ban Could Be Eased After All
It would appear that British Prime Minister David Cameron’s admission in the House of Commons—that there will be no change to the Hunting Act due to lack of agreement among coalition ministers—is not his final word on the subject. (See earlier FHL news item.) The ban on fox hunting with a full pack of hounds […]
British PM Abandons Plan to Ease Hunting Ban
Speculation about any near-term relaxation of the hunting ban in England has been laid to rest. The BBC reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron informed the House of Commons that there will be no change to the Hunting Act as passed in 2004. Expressing regret, Cameron said that coalition ministers had failed to reach […]
British PM Has New Plan to Ease Hunting Ban
British Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking Members of Parliament who will support a backdoor attempt at easing the foxhunting ban, according to a report in the Sunday Times. Cameron along with environment secretary Owen Paterson want to use a device known as a “statutory instrument” in Parliament to amend the Hunting Act—which currently allows […]
Is Britain’s House of Lords Doomed?
Prime Minister David Cameron wants to replace Britain’s House of Lord’s with a smaller, elected body of legislators, according to an Associated Press report. Cameron’s plan calls for the gradual introduction of elected members to a new chamber which would replace the House of Lords—that body of hereditary peers—that has been a branch of government […]
Boxing Day Foxhunting Meets Draw Big Crowds in UK
While Boxing Day—the day after Christmas—passes largely unnoticed in the U.S., it traditionally draws large number of riders and spectators at foxhunting meets in England. According to The Daily Mail, a quarter of a million hunt supporters turned out for meets all across the country. Now a bank holiday in England, Boxing Day is thought […]
Promised Vote on British Foxhunting Ban “Dead and Buried”
A new generation of urban Tory has upset the countryside’s applecart. Notwithstanding Prime Minister David Cameron’s pre-election pledge to allow a free vote in Parliament on the hunting ban, twenty members of his party are opposed to revisiting the ban. Calling themselves the Blue Fox group, they comprise a younger set of MPs who are […]
Imminent Repeal of Britain’s Hunting Ban Is Doubtful
Notwithstanding the Prime Minister’s promise of a free vote in Parliament on the repeal of the Hunting Bill, the issue has been eclipsed by the more pressing problems of the British economy. Despite Countryside Alliance head Alice Barnard’s recent statements urging that Prime Minister David Cameron “right a great wrong” by overturning the ban, the […]