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Attempt to ban hunting continues in England (12/23/2002)

A bill that would completely outlaw certain types of hunting in England is one step closer to becoming law.

The British Parliament voted 368 to 155 to allow a second reading of a bill that would severely restrict fox hunting and abolish hare and deer hunting in England. According to the BBC, Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) hope to amend the bill to an outright ban at a later stage.

Under the current proposal, an independent tribunal will decide whether to grant licenses for fox hunts on a case-by-case basis. Sportsmen will have to explain why their activity is necessary and the hunt would have to pass an anti-cruelty test.

Many of the country’s four million anglers and shooters are also concerned about the effort to ban hunting. They fear that once a hunting ban is in place, animal rights organizations will target their sports.

“It is only through unity among sportsmen – gun hunters, anglers, bowhunters, houndsmen, farmers, ranchers and others – that we can hope to defeat the growing anti-hunting movement amidst a rapidly urbanizing society,” said C. Martin Wood, vice chairman of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and past president of the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America.

CopyrightÓ  U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance- www.ussportsmen.org

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