The struggle by animal rights campaigners to have hunting with hounds outlawed will again move back to the House of Lords on Tuesday October 12th 2004. In the past members of the second Chamber have refused to support their colleagues in the House of Commons who have voted for a ban.

However the Government has indicated that they will use the Parliament Act to ensure that the vote by Members of Parliament on Wednesday September 15th for a ban will be upheld. Hunting with hounds, or foxhunting to give it its more ‘popular’ name will be banned in England and Wales from 2006 onwards. This will bring both countries into line with Scotland where Royal Assent to outlaw foxhunting was obtained on March 15th 2002 after members of the Scottish Parliament voted to outlaw foxhunting with hounds under the Protection of Wild Mammals [Scotland] Act on February 13th 2002.

The vote in the House of Commons on September 15th occurred against a background of violent protests in and around Parliament by hunt supporters, during which eight protestors were even able to gain access to the floor of the House of Commons after posing as builders and apparently enjoying some ‘inside support’ from unidentified Tory MPs backing their cause.

This invasion of the House of Commons occurred at a time when security to prevent a possible Al Queda attack is supposed to be at an all-time high. Demonstrators outside, numbering up to 10,000, battled with police. The ex- wife of Rock Star Bryan Ferry, whose son was one of those arrested [but not charged] inside said “the foxhunters want to bring down Parliament.”

This is a clear illustration that those behind the protests would like to be in a position to defy the elective will of the people; whose Parliamentary representatives have repeatedly indicated they want to ban foxhunting. By doing so MPs are simply reflecting the wishes of those who have voted for them, as opinion poll after opinion poll has indicated that the majority of
people would like a ban on hunting with hounds. In spite of this, or probably because of it, Sir Renal Fiennes, speaking to those gathered outside said the vote was an example of “the creeping degradation of democracy.”

The organisers of the protest were fearful of wholeheartedly backing those who invaded the House of Commons with most taking the line of a Country Life Editorial on 23.09.04 which stated ‘while we condemn the invasion of the commons it was a success and sheds glamour on our cause’ but in private as a leaked memo from Stephen Lambert, chairman of the Council for Hunting Associations [CHA], shows they were much more jubilant with him calling the events ‘epic.’

When Labour was elected in 1997 hunting groups became concerned that a ban on hunting with dogs would be implemented. The Countryside Alliance hadn’t even been formally launched when it held a 50,000 strong demonstration in central London in July 1997. Five years later, on September 22nd 2002, over 400,000 again marched in London although by this time the Alliance had been politically astute enough to add on to their cause a series of genuine Countryside issues such as the closure of Post Offices, the decline in public transport, unaffordable housing and poor diary prices. A MORI opinion poll of marchers on the day showed that only 27% felt that the Alliance should have hunting as its main campaign issue.

These events, and others, have failed to gain popular support amongst the vast majority of the electorate and they have not moved Labour backbench MPs in their determination to ban foxhunting. Tony Banks, in particular, deserves praise for sticking with this issue for so long and so determinedly.

This has left those organising foxhunting with a major problem, cut off from popular support, no longer certain that the Tory Party they have traditionally supported will ever be re-elected they are unsure what to do. Some have threatened a series of extra-Parliamentary and illegal measures.

In July 2002 Chris Mullin, MP, drew attention in ‘The Sunderland Echo’ to an article in ‘The Field’ which mused ‘suppose someone were to pull the plug out of a reservoir in Wales and run Birmingham short of water… anger breeds chaos.’ Mullin passed on the article to the Home Secretary, who forwarded it to the police. No prosecution was ever instigated, in what was clearly a case of incitement.

And in an article in ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ of November 17th 2002 Edward Duke from the Real Countryside Alliance, formed in response to criticism of the legalistic approach by its larger sister organisation, admitted that at a recent secret meeting, members “are talking about highly criminal acts.” These apparently included targeting “gas and water supplies” as well as lorries carrying food for supermarkets.”

Mr Duke, who appears never to have been questioned by police about these threats, claimed he was “not sanctioning what the Real CA is doing.” In fact, of course, they never did any of these things. Whether they are intent on doing them in the future is another thing.

In October 2003 37,000 people signed a pledge drawn up by the Countryside Alliance to peacefully disobey any law banning hunting.

Meanwhile after the vote in September this year Cumbria Police reported that a failed attempt to uproot an electricity pylon had been the work of ‘supporters of foxhunting’ and those involved ‘had been lucky [their use of words, not mine] not to kill themselves.’

It will never, of course be possible for supporters of foxhunting to win the popular argument to keep it. Most people are rightly horrified when they see a poor defenceless animal being chased down by a pack of hounds and a group of men and women in red coats astride an expensive horse. They are then disgusted to see it being ripped apart and then taken as a trophy by one of the riders. By calling it a sport those involved are ridiculing the English language.

At the same time the reasons why foxhunting has been able to continue to take place in England and Wales are hidden from the general public by those involved, and in particular by those involved in its organising. We refer, of course, to the massive imbalance in land ownership across Britain whereby today less then 200,000 families own almost 64% of the land.

The Morning Star has previously covered how they obtained this land in some depth so we will be brief in how so few people got it. Three periods stand out, the invasion by William the bastard in 1066 who then parcelled out land to himself and his friends. Huge tracts of land were set aside for deer hunting ­ foxhunting only became popular much later and the Master of Foxhounds Association only dates from 1856.

In the 16th century Henry the 8th dissolved the Catholic Monasteries and distributed 10 million acres of land to 1,500 families. Many of these families’ descendants are today major landowners and the organisers of foxhunting associations. In the 17th century the Acts of Enclosure prevented ordinary people from using common land and waste to graze their cattle. They were forced to ‘choose’ between starving, emigrating or moving to find work in the factories being developed in the towns and cities. In brief, therefore the land of ordinary people was stolen from them by the descendants of the major landowners today.

These are the same landowners who are an integral part of the campaign to defend hunting with hounds. Their problem is that by defending foxhunting they threaten to reveal their privileges and how they got them. And if that happens, who is to say the descendants of those who had their land stolen from them may not begin to question whether it should be handed back for public use? That surely must be the aim of all progressive peoples. Ban foxhunting; take back the land stolen by the rich.