Cameron ‘has sympathy’ for call to relax fox-hunting regulations

A spokesman for David Cameron said yesterday the Prime Minister has “sympathy” with proposals from a cross-party group of MPs to scrap the law which bans farmers from using more than two dogs to flush out foxes.

Farmers say attacks on lambs have increased over recent years, and argue the limited pest control measures permitted under the 2004 Hunting Act are not working. They point out that the change – likely to require a vote in Parliament, but not a fresh Bill – would bring the law in England and Wales into line with that in Scotland, where there is no limit to the number of dogs which can be used to flush out a fox.

Any move to ease the restrictions on hunting introduced by the last Labour government would be controversial, but potentially popular in Tory heartlands.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “There is a very specific issue here around pest control, and the impact it has on particular farming communities, such as hill farmers.

“The Prime Minister has some sympathy with these concerns. They have been voiced by MPs from across the House. Given the cross-party nature of concerns raised, it is something the House may wish to consider.”

The Coalition Agreement, signed in 2010, promised a free vote on repealing the Hunting Ban before the next election.

David Cameron told the Yorkshire Post earlier this year that he remains committed to the pledge, but refused to offer a more detailed timetable of when the vote might be brought forward.

There is an acceptance in Westminster that the pro-hunting lobby does not have enough support in the Commons to win such a vote, given the opposition of most Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs, along with some members of the younger generation of Conservatives elected in 2010.

The pro-hunting Environment Secretary Owen Paterson revealed in February that Tories were “actively working” behind the scenes at Westminster to drum up support ahead of the promised vote.

“We need to win some more support,” Mr Paterson said. “There are some MPs who are actively working on this.”

The proposal to modify rather than scrap the ban altogether may prove a more workable compromise for the Government.

Derek Morgan, chairman of the Farmers’ Union of Wales’s hill farming committee, said: “The people who have suffered most are working-class hill farmers.

“If Government increased the number of hounds we are allowed to use, it would reduce the number of lambs we lose.”

However, Thirsk and Malton’s Conservative MP Anne McIntosh, who chairs the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee, said she does not believe the time is right for a review – suggesting Ministers should concentrate on pushing existing reforms through Parliament such as the forthcoming Water Bill.

“The law seems to be working well – albeit there have been problems for police in implementing in vast rural areas,” she said.

“While it is good to review the status and operation of the current law, it is not appropriate to do so until such time as the economy has radically improved.

“In any event, there is very real pressure on the legislative timetable – we have yet to have second reading on the Water Bill and there is the married couples tax allowance too.”

Labour was also unimpressed with the proposal, calling on the Government to focus on economic matters rather than “obsessing about hunting”.

Shadow Environment Secretary Maria Eagle said: “The biggest issue facing our rural communities is the cost of living crisis caused by falling incomes and rising prices – yet the Tories are yet again obsessing about hunting.

“Ministers are kidding themselves if they think there is a cross-party consensus on hunting. If the Tories insist on trying to change the law, they will find that they simply don’t have the votes in Parliament.”