Clause 8 - Tests for registration:
Hunting Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Alun Michael (Minister of State (Rural Affairs), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Cardiff South and Penarth, Labour/Co-operative)
If we are not careful, we shall be in danger of having a discussion on semi-rural foxes.
Seriously, the Committee is starting to tease out the real issues that legislation needs to address. The real issues that my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test has sought to bring out in the amendment are what type of activity is useful, what the purpose of utility is, what the reason for undertaking certain activities is and why populations, groups of animals, or individual animals should be caught and killed or pursued. Those issues are at the heart of the Bill because without addressing necessity, we cannot go on to deal with cruelty.