Schedule 3 - Hunting with dogs: prohibition
Hunting Bill
6:15 pm
Ms Jane Kennedy (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department; Liverpool, Wavertree, Labour)
I hope that I will have explained that question by the end of my comments. I hope that my later comments will help hon. Members.
Last but certainly not least, I turn to amendments Nos. 118 and 125, which relate to the rodent control exception in paragraph 8. They reflect previous discussions that we have had in Committee about the use of rats in cellars. As the Committee knows—although some members of the Committee do not acknowledge that—the Government have a responsibility, which they take seriously, to ensure that the Bill is workable and properly reflects the policy that the Committee has decided. As part of that responsibility I always consider carefully, as does my hon. Friend the Minister, questions raised in Committee and whether the drafting of the Bill reflects those points.
I have sought the views of parliamentary counsel on the question of the use of rats in cellars. Parliamentary counsel is of the view that a court could interpret the Bill as drafted in such a way as to prohibit the use of dogs to hunt for rodents in cellars. That is undesirable, and does not reflect the intention of the House, nor, I suspect, of the Committee, although that will be for the Committee to decide. Accordingly, we intend to amend the Bill to put beyond doubt that it should be lawful to hunt for rodents with dogs in cellars and other buildings below ground. We will introduce a Government amendment on Report. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Berwick-Upon-Tweed and others for raising the issue.