Schedule 3 - Hunting with Dogs: Prohibition
Hunting Bill
10:30 am
Mr Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire, Liberal Democrat)
I have been told that it is sometimes hard to shoot a wounded animal because it is impossible to locate. Currently, gamekeepers and huntsmen would tend to use a dog to dispatch the animal in that situation. Accepting the limitations of the Bill, does the Under-Secretary agree that in a spirit of reasonableness there may be circumstances where it would be in the interests of animal welfare to allow a huntsman to use a dog to finish off the mammal?