Clause 8 - Tests for registration: utility and least suffering
Hunting Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon, Conservative)
On behalf, no doubt, of all Conservative Members, I echo and identify with that groaning sound.
Jackie Ballard now speaks for a discredited organisation with a relatively small membership compared with that of the Countryside Alliance.
None the less, as we shall show, she has influence over the Committee in different ways. She is against angling, and thinks—but is not certain—that it is just about permissible to kill fish for food. I have no doubt that if the principles of utility were a criterion for the continuation of angling or fishing, those activities would be in real trouble. Likewise, the shooting fraternity should be nervous, but we will return to that later.