At present  there’s a limit on the number of dogs that can be used to flush out a fox to face waiting guns. Reports suggest the Prime Minister wants to remove this limit, which would effectively reintroduce hunting with packs of hounds.

I’ve long argued that there’s nothing sporting about animal cruelty and remain steadfastly opposed to fox hunting. Rather than weakening the Hunting Act I think we should be seeking to strengthen it, as well as to ensure that the current restrictions on the use of dogs in chasing and killing wild mammals is rigorously upheld. As I said during a parliamentary debate last year about prosecutions brought under the Act: “I am  proud of the fact that the UK has laws protecting animals from abuse and neglect. There is always room for improvement, but, taken as a whole, this legislation is a marker of a civilised society that refuses to condone cruelty or tolerate the exploitation of other species.”

Last week I tabled a written parliamentary question about the evidence base being used to inform any potential changes to the Act – we’ve seen this Government wilfully ignore the evidence on the culling of badgers and I want to be assured it will not be trying to do the same when it comes to another of our much lived wildlife species. And I asked Ministers about whether any Statutory Instrument that was laid would be subjected to a free vote. When the Act was first introduced MPs were not whipped on the basis that this is not a political issue – it’s a matter of values and conscience. That’s still the case, despite the Government trying to make political capital from it and use fox hunting to attract rural voters away from UKIP.

There’s widespread public support for the Hunting Act and I know from my mailbag how much the ban means to my constituents.  So far the rumours have come to nothing, but whatever happens I’ll be standing firm against animal cruelty.