Tim Bonner

The Countryside Alliance believes that there would be sufficient votes in Commons to overturn the hunting ban, but for the votes of the Scottish Labour MPs. The government is being urged to reform the system which gives Scottish MPs veto rights on legislation that has no impact in Scotland. Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance said, “[T]here are a lot of people in the Westcountry who simply cannot understand why the Hunting Act cannot be repealed when a majority of English and Welsh MPs support getting rid of it. “MPs from the Westcountry have no say on hunting laws in Scotland, so why should Scottish MPs hold a veto over repealing the pointless and wasteful Hunting Act in England and Wales? “The continuing interference of Scottish Labour MPs also underlines the fact that the Hunting Act has nothing to do with animal welfare or wildlife management, but is a prejudiced, political attack on the hunting community.” The Countryside Alliance predicts that a vote in Commons to overturn the ban would prevail by thirty to forty votes if taken only by English and Welsh MPs. Click for more details in This Is Cornwall. Posted January 15, 2013

June 13, 2010The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) claims in their annual report that two thirds of British hunts flout the Hunting Act by continuing to hunt wild mammals. The League urges stricter policing. Countryside Alliance spokesman Tim Bonner counters that thousands of hours of police time have already been wasted “investigating pointless allegations.” The hunting community, in its fight to strike down the Hunting Act, argues that the law is unworkable as evidenced by the collapse in the courts of all prosecutions since January 2008. “There is no justification for any organisation wasting further public funding, especially when public service is under such financial pressure,” says Bonner. Reported by Horse and Hound.