Pro-hunt supporters lose hunting ban appeal

The latest appeal by pro-hunt campaigners, Countryside Alliance, to overturn the hunting ban, has been rejected by the Appeal Court.

The group had argued that the government's Hunting Act, which becomes law on February 18, is invalid, because the 1949 Parliament Act was used to introduce the act, following opposition in the House of Lords.

The Countryside Alliance appealed to the High Court in January, who ruled that the 1949 act was valid, before taking their case to the Appeal Court. However, three appeal court judges today upheld the High Court's decision. The Hunting Act will now come into force on February 18.

The Countryside Alliance has vowed to continue its fight, saying that they will ask the House of Lords to consider the validity of the 1949 Parliament Act. Chief Executive, Simon Hart said: "We will immediately petition the House of Lords to consider our case, and the Appeal Court ruling provides strong grounds for them to find in our favour. The court felt uneasy about overturning an Act of Parliament that has been accepted for 55 years even though there were question marks over its validity. If an Act of Parliament is incorrectly enacted, then it is invalid, irrespective of whether it was passed yesterday, last week, last year or 55 years ago. We are confident in the strength of this challenge as well as the very important challenge to the legislation on human rights grounds."

John Cooper, Chairman of the anti-hunting group, the League Against Cruel Sports, welcomed the decision. He said: "Today, we have seen democracy defended and cruelty curtailed. The cruelty of hunting has lost its appeal. The League was pleased to oppose the Alliance's application for an injunction. We are delighted that the ban will come into effect on February 18th as Parliament intended."

John Rolls, RSPCA director of animal welfare promotion, said: "Countryside Alliance must now accept the outcome of the democratic process: that hunting is cruel and unnecessary and that the Hunting Act is a perfectly valid piece of legislation. The Countryside Alliance would be better off instructing its members that they are duty bound to abide by the new law come 18 February, rather than wasting money mounting futile challenges in the courts."

However, the Countryside Alliance have stated on their web-site that hunts will be meeting as normal throughout England and Wales on February 19.

(KMcA/SP)