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Foxhunting Ban Amendment Vote Fails Following Scottish MPs Threat

By Mohamed Zeineldine
Published on: 05:11 PST, Jul 15, 2015

A proposal to relax a current foxhunting ban failed to find its way to the British parliament after Scottish MPs threatened to vote against it.

The British Mirror reported that a government-proposed plan to ease the current strict ban on the British traditional sport of foxhunting has been cancelled altogether. In what the British newspaper has described as a “humiliating climbdown” for Prime Minister David Cameron, a vote on the plan was cancelled after the Scottish National Party (SNP) threatened to vote against it, despite the fact that it would only affect Wales and England. The vote would have resulted in a rejection of the proposal and an utter failure for David Cameron.

This would be the first time the SNP voted on an issue affecting only areas south of the Scottish border after it promised earlier not do so.

The current foxhunting ban came in the form of the 2004 Hunting Act, which passed the British parliament and was set into effect in February, 2005. The law explicitly bans the old-time sport, as it made “hunting wild mammals with dogs” illegal in Wales and England.

Scotland had previously issued a similar foxhunting ban with the Protection of Wild Animals Act of 2002, although the law does contain more exceptions. While the Scottish law bans the deliberate hunting of “a wild mammal with a dog,” it allows such hunting in numerous cases, such as if the hunt takes place on land owned by the hunter for certain reasons, including pest-control.

According to the Daily Mail, pressure also mounted from the public against the relaxation of the foxhunting ban, as many protestors gathered in front of Parliament. That protest was met with a counter protest of hundreds of foxhunting supporters. British police had barely managed to keep things under control between the rival groups as minor scuffles took place.

Netizens and celebrities also took to Twitter and launched a #keeptheban campaign to raise awareness on the foxhunting ban and demand that the ban remains as is, as the Evening Standard reported.

British movie director and standup comedian Ricky Gervais ridiculed the government for its attempt at easing the foxhunting ban.

British TV presenter Caroline Flack also tweeted her support for the foxhunting ban.

British politician and Green Party leader Natalie Bennett called on fellow Britons to pressure their representatives to keep the foxhunting ban.

Once the decision to cancel the vote on easing the foxhunting ban was made public, British foxhunting ban supporters took to Twitter to celebrate the decision.

British singer and lead guitarist of Queen, Brian May, thanked the Scottish MPs for their work on the ban.

British television veterinarian and animal rights advocate Marc Abraham also celebrated the cancellation of the vote on the foxhunting ban and said it was a “truly historic day for animal welfare.”

Are you for keeping the foxhunting ban, or do you want to see the old traditional sport be revived again?

[Photo by Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images]

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