MPs accused of plotting 'eradication' of hunting community in 'class war'

Enemies of the "hunting community" in the Labour party are intent on its "eradication" as they pursue a "class war", the Countryside Alliance has claimed as the Government prepares to ban trail hunting. Ministers have been urged to introduce prison sentences for people who break hunting law, and the Government will this year launch a consultation on how to bring trail hunting to an end.

Trail hunting involves laying a scent which a pack of hounds follows. When the ban on traditional fox-hunting came into force 20 years ago, many hunts took up trail hunting.

The League Against Cruel Sports claims it is a "cover for illegal hunting, designed to deceive the authorities and make the prosecution of illegal hunters very difficult". Labour's manifesto includes a pledge to "ban trail hunting".

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, condemned the plans.

He said: "The last time Labour was in Government Tony Blair wasted 700 hours of parliamentary time banning traditional hunting and it seems utter madness that it is now planning to spend even more time on trail hunting. Ministers know perfectly well that this is an issue which is completely irrelevant to the vast majority of voters and our polling has consistently shown that the public rates hunting below nearly every other current issue in terms of political priorities.

"The Government is, however, stuck with a manifesto commitment that was born of the obsession of a section of MPs and activists for whom hunting has always been a cipher for the class war that they are not allowed to fight. So, even after the bitter and politically costly battles of the 1990s and early 2000s, which saw Labour ejected from the countryside for a political generation, we are fated to return to another divisive debate over hunting with hounds."

In the House of Commons, Labour MP Perran Moon called for "custodial sentences for those who break the law".

Mr Bonner said: "The real reason they think the Hunting Act has failed is because hunts still exist. The eradication of the hunting community has always been the primary, if unspoken, aim of animal rights activists and their supporters in the Labour party. They will never be satisfied until the last hunt has closed and will be attempting to ensure that the new legislation achieves that goal."

A Defra spokesperson said: "This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious animal welfare plans in generation and that is exactly what we will do. We are committed to a ban on trail hunting and will set out next steps in due course."