Clause 1 - Hunting wild mammals with dogs
Hunting (Re-committed) Bill
10:45 am
Mr John Gummer (Suffolk Coastal, Conservative)
I hope to recapture the seriousness that the Minister wants. My chief constable has made it clear that there are problems of enforcement. What we are doing today relates to that. The Minister is right to say that the matter does not come under his remit, but it does come under the remit of the Government. The chief constable said that the matter was not high on the Home Office's list of priorities. The Committee needs to know whether the priorities of the Home Office will change and whether there will be additional funds if necessary. Has the Minister considered the fact that if hunting is totally abolished, many of those who are extremists on such issues will turn their attention to other sports, which will then require police intervention?