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I thought foxhunting was banned
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If fox hunting has been banned and all hunts say they are hunting within the law, how come this happened two Saturdays ago, a lady had to intervene.
Why are the hunts never prosecuted? Are they areally above the law? Is it that corrupt?
Why are the hunts never prosecuted? Are they areally above the law? Is it that corrupt?
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It's not that Hunts are never prosecuted [there have been 2 sets of convictions for illegal hunting this year - the Crawley&Horsham and the Meynell], it's that there is a huge amount of pretend 'trail hunting' going on all the time. There are many, often mutually reinforcing, factors as to why they can get away with this, but Protect Our Wild Animals believes the single most important is the inherent weaknesses of. and loopholes in, the Hunting Act itself. See www.powa.org.uk for more info on that. Especially after the appeal judge in the case of the Exmoor FH huntsman in 2009 interpreted the Act in critical ways highly favourable to the Hunts, the evidential bar that the prosecution has to get over is so high that it is, in practice, usually impossible to prove illegal hunting. The difficulty is intensified, as sabs and monitors [nearly all volunteers] are frequently obstucted, threatened and assaulted by hunters, making it extraordinarily difficult and dangerous to gather [and hang on to] the necessary video evidence. Not to mention very time-consuming and expensive. This year LACS' professional monitors have twice had to run away from mobs of hunt supporters.
Even when a rare conviction is obtained, the penalties are merely financial and trifling to the hunting lobby, which has virtually bottomless pockets. All of this both puts off the authorities from trying to enforce the Hunting Act and gives them an excuse not to act, which, given the huge social power of many Hunts, police especially often seem only too happy with. An instance of Hunts' connections - the Old Berks Hunt, from whom the lady monitor bravely rescued the young vixen, has Lord Astor as its Chairman. He is not just also Chairman of the Committee to Repeal the Hunting Act, he is David Cameron's stepfather-in-law.
It looks more as if police just find the Hunting Act too difficult and don't want to get involved, in most cases, than there being any actual corruption, though, in some areas, close ties between local police and leading hunters are known about.
Judges and some police do seem to be starting to wise up to what, in October 2011, Judge Pert called the 'cynical subterfuge' Hunts are employing to get away with live quarry hunting. There's a big crucial case about to start against the Heythrop [David Cameron's home hunt]. This is being brought by the RSPCA - the police wouldn't touch it. But, whether this case succeeds or not, POWA still believes that no amount of enforcement is ever going to make up for the Act's innate weaknesses and that it is essential that it should be substantially strengthened and its sanctions toughened up. It doesn't help in trying to persuade public and politicians alike that this is needed when certain anti-hunt organisations keep saying how 'successful' the Hunting Act has been in terms of numbers of prosecutions, when they know the vast majority of these have been for 'poaching' type offences [the lurcher brigade], which were already illegal anyway. The Hunting Act has had one singular success in that it has stopped organised hare coursing events like the Waterloo Cup completely. But its main purpose was to end organised Hunts going out with packs of hounds and terrorising and killing wild mammals, especially foxes, for 'sport'. In this aim it has done little more than slightly inconvenience them. The present Government, or the Tory heirarchy anyway, would, of course, love to get rid of the Act - but don't have enough Commons votes [solely because around 20 Tory MPs with urban seats stand out against the blue mob and oppose repeal]. But we say, when criminals circumvent the law, it must be strengthened to stop them, not repealed to reward them.
Nobody wants hunting to be a party political issue, but in reality it is - and the only way we will have a chance [by no means a guarantee though] of getting the Hunting Act strengthened and organised Hunts reined in is if we have a Labour government.
Even when a rare conviction is obtained, the penalties are merely financial and trifling to the hunting lobby, which has virtually bottomless pockets. All of this both puts off the authorities from trying to enforce the Hunting Act and gives them an excuse not to act, which, given the huge social power of many Hunts, police especially often seem only too happy with. An instance of Hunts' connections - the Old Berks Hunt, from whom the lady monitor bravely rescued the young vixen, has Lord Astor as its Chairman. He is not just also Chairman of the Committee to Repeal the Hunting Act, he is David Cameron's stepfather-in-law.
It looks more as if police just find the Hunting Act too difficult and don't want to get involved, in most cases, than there being any actual corruption, though, in some areas, close ties between local police and leading hunters are known about.
Judges and some police do seem to be starting to wise up to what, in October 2011, Judge Pert called the 'cynical subterfuge' Hunts are employing to get away with live quarry hunting. There's a big crucial case about to start against the Heythrop [David Cameron's home hunt]. This is being brought by the RSPCA - the police wouldn't touch it. But, whether this case succeeds or not, POWA still believes that no amount of enforcement is ever going to make up for the Act's innate weaknesses and that it is essential that it should be substantially strengthened and its sanctions toughened up. It doesn't help in trying to persuade public and politicians alike that this is needed when certain anti-hunt organisations keep saying how 'successful' the Hunting Act has been in terms of numbers of prosecutions, when they know the vast majority of these have been for 'poaching' type offences [the lurcher brigade], which were already illegal anyway. The Hunting Act has had one singular success in that it has stopped organised hare coursing events like the Waterloo Cup completely. But its main purpose was to end organised Hunts going out with packs of hounds and terrorising and killing wild mammals, especially foxes, for 'sport'. In this aim it has done little more than slightly inconvenience them. The present Government, or the Tory heirarchy anyway, would, of course, love to get rid of the Act - but don't have enough Commons votes [solely because around 20 Tory MPs with urban seats stand out against the blue mob and oppose repeal]. But we say, when criminals circumvent the law, it must be strengthened to stop them, not repealed to reward them.
Nobody wants hunting to be a party political issue, but in reality it is - and the only way we will have a chance [by no means a guarantee though] of getting the Hunting Act strengthened and organised Hunts reined in is if we have a Labour government.
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