The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act in the United Kingdom passed in 2004. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs (particularly fox hunting, but also the hunting of deer, hares and mink and organised hare coursing) in England and Wales from February 18, 2005. This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland for the years up to its dissolution in 1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1707-1719. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1720-1739. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1740-1759. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1760-1779. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1780-1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1801-1819. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1820-1839. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1840-1859. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1860-1879. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1880-1899. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1900-1919. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1920-1939. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1940-1959. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1960-1979. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1980-1999. ... This is an list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to the present. ... This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... The is a list of Church of England Measures which are church legislation Church of England. ... In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog is a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... A fox hunt Fox hunting is a form of hunting for foxes using a pack of scent hounds. ... Binomial name Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), known as Elk in North America, are the second largest species of deer in the world, after Alces alces (the moose or, in Europe, elk). ... Binomial name Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 The European Hare or Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) is a species of hare native to northern and central Europe and western Asia. ... Binomial name Mustela vison (Schreber, 1777) The American Mink, Mustela vison, is a North American member of the Mustelidae family found in Alaska, Canada and most of the United States. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Coursing. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Act is a consequence of Labour Party manifesto commitments from the 1997, 2001 and 2005 general elections, which had first appeared in the Labour general election manifesto in 1979. The 1997 manifesto stated "We will ensure greater protection for wildlife. We have advocated new measures to promote animal welfare, including a free vote in Parliament on whether hunting with hounds should be banned." The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. ...

Background

Many earlier attempts had been made to ban hunting. Two private member's bills to ban, or restrict, hunting were introduced in 1949, but one was withdrawn and the other defeated on its second reading in the House of Commons. The Labour government appointed the Scott Henderson Inquiry to investigate all forms of hunting. Opponents of hunting claimed that the membership of the committee was chosen to produce a pro-hunting report. The inquiry reported its view that "Fox hunting makes a very important contribution to the control of foxes, and involves less cruelty than most other methods of controlling them. It should therefore be allowed to continue." Fox hunting legislation refers to various laws and legislative history related to fox hunting in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. ... A Private Members Bill is a proposed law introduced by a backbench member of parliament, whether from the government or the opposition side, to that legislature or parliament. ... A second reading is the state of the legislative process where a draft of a bill is read a second time. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Twice, in 1969 and in 1975, the House of Commons passed legislation to ban hare coursing, but neither Bill became law. Three further private member's bills were introduced by Kevin McNamara in 1992 (Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill), by Tony Banks in 1993 (Fox Hunting (Abolition) Bill), and by John McFall in 1995 (Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill) - all of which failed to go on to become law. (Joseph) Kevin McNamara (born 5 September 1934) is a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament for nearly 40 years. ... The Right Honourable Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford (8 April 1943 – 8 January 2006), usually known as Tony Banks, was a British politician and Labour Party member of the House of Lords. ... John McFall (born 4 October 1944) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ...

After New Labour came to power in 1997, another private member's bill, introduced by Michael Foster MP, received a second reading with 411 MPs voting in support, but failed due to lack of parliamentary time. The Burns Report in 2000 concluded that hunting "seriously compromise the welfare of the fox", but (in line with its remit) did not draw any conclusion on whether hunting should be banned or should continue. In a later debate in the House of Lords, the inquiry chairman, Lord Burns also stated that "Naturally, people ask whether we were implying that hunting is cruel... The short answer to that question is no. There was not sufficient verifiable evidence or data safely to reach views about cruelty. It is a complex area."[1] Following the Burns inquiry, the Government introduced an 'options bill' which allowed each House of Parliament to choose between a ban, licensed hunting, and self-regulation. The House of Commons voted for a banning Bill and the House of Lords for self-regulation. The 2001 General Election was then called and the Bill ran out of parliamentary time. Michael John Foster (born March 14, 1963, Birmingham) is an English politician. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ...

Following a series of evidence hearings (details below) in 2002, on 3 December 2002, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael introduced a bill to allowing licensed hunting in 2003. The Commons passed an amendment proposed by Tony Banks to ban hunting entirely, but the bill was rejected by the House of Lords. December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The Right Honourable Alun Edward Michael (born August 2, 1943) is a Welsh politician. ...

The 2004 Bill

The identical Bill to that passed by the House of Commons in 2003 was reintroduced to the Commons on 9 September 2004. It received Royal Assent as the Hunting Act 2004 on 18 November 2004 when the Speaker of the House of Commons invoked the Parliament Act, with the Bill not having received the approval of the House of Lords who had preferred an Act that regulated hunting with dogs. September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term Speaker is usually the title given to the presiding officer of a countrys lower house of parliament or congress (ie: the House of Commons or House of Representatives). ... The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament. ...

The final passing of the legislation was considered very controversial with many newspapers and broadcasters condemning Tony Blair's Labour administration for giving in to what they perceived as the prejudicial views of anti-hunting Labour backbenchers. MPs of all parties voting for the legislation asserted that hunting caused unnecessary suffering and said that they represented the majority of the public who favoured a ban on hunting with dogs. Their assertion of majority support for the thrust of the legislation seems to have some basis in evidence, a September 2002 survey commissioned by the Daily Telegraph [2] indicated that a narrow majority of people (57%) agreed with the statement that 'hunting with dogs is never acceptable'. However, a survey by MORI for the BBC [3] carried out in February 2005 found that there was no majority (47%) of support for the new legislation. For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the UK Labour Party, and Member of the UK Parliament...

Challenges

There have been a series of declarations by various groups of hunting activists (most notably the Countryside Alliance) that they will still go hunting in defiance of the law. Attempts by pro-hunting groups to challenge the Act by questioning the legality of the Parliament Act in the High Court and Court of Appeal failed, and the ban took effect on February 18, 2005. The House of Lords agreed with the lower courts in a ruling published on October 2005 (Jackson and others v. Her Majesty's Attorney General [2005] UKHL 56, 13 October 2005). The Countryside Alliance strongly opposes House of Commons plans to ban fox hunting. ... Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ... Her Majestys Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords above it. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A separate application for judicial review was made to the English High Court, arguing that the anti-hunting legislation contravenes individual human or property rights protected in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and under European Community law, that is the free movement of goods and services.[4] Some believed that there was a possibility that the challenges could obtain a degree of compensation for some of those adversely affected, although the Scottish courts did not reject the equivalent Scottish law, the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which also lacked any compensation provision (Adams & Ors [2002] ScotCS 344, 31 July 2002). The application was dismissed by the High Court in July 2005 (The Countryside Alliance and others v. H.M. Attorney General and others [2005] EWHC 1677 (Admin), 29 July 2005). Permission was granted for an appeal to the Court of Appeal. The appeal was heard in March 2006, but dismissed in a judgment published in June 2006 (R. (oao The Countryside Alliance; oao Derwin and others) v. Her Majesty's Attorney General and Secretary of State of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2006] EWCA Civ 817, 23 June 2006). Permission was subsequently granted for an appeal to the House of Lords, and this appeal is expected to be heard in 2007. Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ... The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, also known as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe[1] in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ... The European Union is unique among international organizations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ... In European Union law, the Four Freedoms (sometimes the Four Liberties) are the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour within the internal market of the European Union. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Her Majestys Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords above it. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Enforcement of the Hunting Act

Police forces have said, on a number of occasions, that enforcement of the Hunting Act is a low priority for them, although they say that they will enforce the law, most notably by assessing specific complaints made against Crown Prosecution Service evidential tests. Frustrated by this, animal welfare groups like the League Against Cruel Sports have taken on a self-appointed role of monitoring hunts that they believe may be breaking the law and, in some cases, taking private prosecutions themselves. The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. ... The League Against Cruel Sports is an animal welfare organisation registered as a limited company (prohibited by law from acting as a charity because its aims are political) campaigning against blood sports, in particular fox hunting and hare coursing. ...

Prosecutions under the Hunting Act

• In October 2005, Adam Pengilley from Liverpool was convicted of hunting rabbits and fined £155 plus £35 costs [5]
• In August 2006, Tony Wright from Somerset was convicted of fox hunting and fined £500 plus £250 costs. [6]. (Mr Wright is currently appealing against his conviction) [7]
• In October 2006, Mark Walsh and Terence Williams from Liverpool pleaded guilty in Chester Magistrates Court of hunting for foxes. Walsh was fined £500 with £2,896.07 costs payable to the RSPCA who prosecuted him. The court also ordered the forfeiture of one dog plus spades and collars.[8]. In November, Paul Kelly of Liverpool pleaded guilty for the same offence and was fined £500 with £2,846.09 costs and also had his terrier confiscated.[9]

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. ...

What the law stops: the exemption/loophole issue

The meaning of the Hunting Act is a matter of substantial public dispute. The Countryside Alliance claim that the Act is unclear, while the League Against Cruel Sports argues the opposite. The difference between the two centres around the alternative views that the Act contains either "tightly drawn exemptions" or "glaring loopholes." The Countryside Alliance strongly opposes House of Commons plans to ban fox hunting. ... The League Against Cruel Sports is an animal welfare organisation registered as a limited company (prohibited by law from acting as a charity because its aims are political) campaigning against blood sports, in particular fox hunting and hare coursing. ...

For example, letters from Countryside Alliance officials to a series of local newspapers around the UK in early 2006 [10], say, "The act makes it an offence to hunt a mouse with a dog but not a rat, you can legally hunt a rabbit but not a hare. You can flush a fox to guns with two dogs legally but if you use three it's an offence. You can flush a fox to a bird of prey with as many dogs as you like." The sections below examine whether such exemptions allow loopholes.

Hunting mice, rats, rabbits and hares

To understand the law, it is helpful to consider Parliament's thinking on the hunting issue. MPs wished to ban activities that they believed were cruel sports and permit activities that they believed were necessary for land managers. They did this by banning all use of dogs except where they decided that unnecessary suffering was not involved. This was done in line with what they believed was an appropriate precautionary principle.

MPs did not believe that there was any necessity to use dogs to hunt mice or hares, which is why these activities were banned. In contrast, MPs thought that rats and rabbits were (a) pests and (b) small enough to be killed instantly by a dog breaking the animal's neck. This is why such activities were not banned.

These two exemptions do not make it possible for "traditional" hunting to continue. Rabbits tend to stay very close to their warrens and will go underground at the sight of dogs, thus not providing the chase that hunts need.

Flushing a fox to guns

Traditionally, in some upland areas, foxes were flushed by packs of dogs to be shot. This activity is still permitted in Scotland under the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002. However MPs, in making law for England and Wales, decided that this activity did result in unnecessary suffering, not least because it is difficult to control a large number of hounds in dense woodland where this activity used to take place. The restriction to two dogs was written to ensure that foxes were flushed to be shot rather than being chased to be killed by hounds.

Certainly, "traditional" hunts can perform this activity, and the mounted field can watch a legal activity. But such flushing should be differentiated from chasing. The Hunting Act requires, amongst other things:

• that the flushing can only be done "for the purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage which the [flushed] wild mammal would otherwise cause";
• that "reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as possible after being found or flushed out the wild mammal is shot dead by a competent person"; and
• that "each dog used in the stalking or flushing out is kept under sufficiently close control to ensure that it does not prevent or obstruct achievement of the objective [of shooting the fox]"

This exemption was tested in court in the private prosecution brought by the League Against Cruel Sports against the huntsman of the Exmoor Foxhounds in August 2006. In his judgement, the judge said: The League Against Cruel Sports is an animal welfare organisation registered as a limited company (prohibited by law from acting as a charity because its aims are political) campaigning against blood sports, in particular fox hunting and hare coursing. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ...

• that the conditions are "a very tight test";
• that, "after the fox is flushed, the hounds should be called off"; and
• that, if "long after the the foxes had been flushed they were still being pursued or driven by the hounds", this would be hunting not flushing

The Judge also raised the question "whether it could ever be possible, save in some limited areas of woodland or similar cover, to utilise the exemption with foxhounds."

Flushing a fox to a bird of prey

Many traditional hunts have bought birds of prey and say that they are using hounds to flush foxes so that the bird of prey can hunt them. The Act requires that the intention must be "for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal." Many experts, such as the Hawk Board, deny that any bird of prey can reasonably be used in the British countryside to kill a fox which has been flushed by (and is being chased by) a pack of hounds. If they are right, then it is unlikely that any use of dogs undertaken in this manner is legal.

It seems reasonable to assume that the judgement (above) describing the limits on flushing foxes to guns will be advisory on courts considering cases of the flushing of foxes to birds of prey.

What the law does not stop

The Hunting Act does not stop, and was not intended to stop, 'drag hunting' where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent. Because no animal is chased, Parliament did not believe that this activity was cruel.

See also

• UK topics
• Fox hunting
• Fox hunting legislation
• Beagling
• Hare coursing
• Deer hunting
• Anti-hunting

This is a list of topics related to the United Kingdom. ... A fox hunt Fox hunting is a form of hunting for foxes using a pack of scent hounds. ... Fox hunting legislation refers to various laws and legislative history related to fox hunting in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. ... Beagling has been referred to as the poor persons fox hunting, as a beagle pack (30-40 hounds) is followed on foot, not horseback. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Coursing. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

External links

• The text of the Hunting Act 2004
• Follow link and click on the video button next to the image of a horse for a BBC report of an allegation by James Barrington, former Executive Director League Against Cruel Sports of a worsened situation for the fox because of the Act.
• Judgement in private prosecution of Tony Wright of Exmoor foxhounds
• 1995: MPs move to outlaw hunting (BBC, 3 March 1995)
• BBC Q&A
• BBC - High Court upholds ban on hunting. Jan 28, 2005
• Bloomberg - Fox Hunting Ban Upheld on Appeal Feb 16, 2005

March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• YouGov Survey (Commissioned by Daily Telegraph)- 28 September 2002 - Sample Size 1997 individuals - [11]
• Full Text of the Hunting Act 2004 - [12]
• Explanatory Notes to the Hunting Act 2004 - [13]
• Defra hunting hearings - [14]