Clause 8 - Tests for registration: utility and least suffering
Hunting Bill
10:00 am
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire, Conservative)
There is a very important and delicate discussion to be had, which is at the centre of the Bill; is it right for hare coursing and stag hunting to be considered privately by the Minister and banned outright, or should they be considered by the registrar under clause 8? That is the particular, precise matter currently under discussion. The hon. Member for Worcester was referring to transportation in Northern Ireland, but we will return to that later. That is not relevant at all to amendment No. 94, which is directed precisely at the consideration of whether coursing should be banned outright, which the Minister has chosen to do, or whether the registrar and tribunal should have the opportunity to consider that difficult matter.
I must make it clear to the Committee that it would be unhelpful, as we are discussing delicate, legal matters, to allow the debate to degenerate into a discussion of whether hare coursing is cruel or has utility. That is not the purpose of the debate. That debate will occur when we discuss clause 7.