The Conservative party must commit to keeping the fox hunting ban after the general election, the The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has said.

The leading animal welfare charity was responding to reports that the party will not include a repeal of the Hunting Act in its manifesto, a direct contrast to its stance in both the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

LACS is also urging all political parties to commit to strengthening the Hunting Act by removing loopholes and exemptions that allow hunting with dogs to still take place.

Animal welfare

Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns for LACS, said: “Just keeping quiet about the fox hunting ban is not enough. It will only leave lingering suspicions that there could be future attempts by the party to repeal the fox hunting ban.”

Luffingham continued: “If the Conservatives fully reflect public opinion on animal welfare, they should also be looking to strengthen protections, and we are asking all parties to stand united against hunting and commit to strengthening the Hunting Act.”

The League recently commissioned polling by YouGov which revealed the majority of the British public want prison sentences for those caught illegally hunting foxes.

Kinder Britain

Polling commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports and carried out independently by Ipsos MORI in 2017 showed 85 percent of the British public are in favour of keeping the ban on fox hunting – this included 81 per cent of people in rural areas.

The same polling indicated that 73 per cent of Conservative Party supporters backed the fox hunting ban.

Luffingham added: “Support for a free vote on fox hunting was political poison for Theresa May two years ago costing the Tories valuable seats. Boris Johnson has the opportunity to show that he represents a kinder, more compassionate Britain committed to animal welfare.”

This Article 

This article is based on a press release from the League Against Cruel Sports.