Clause 8 - Tests for registration: utility and least suffering
Hunting Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon, Conservative)
To refresh the memories of hon. Members—[Hon. Members: ''No!''] Perhaps Labour Members have not sufficiently refreshed themselves between sittings.
I was speaking to amendment No. 111. I am entirely within my rights to do that because the amendment relates to the social and cultural cohesion of an area. I was trying to educate, if not illuminate, Committee members about the importance of art and literature in hunting to date. That is reasonable because much literature on hunting has enabled people from both town and country better to understand the countryside. The Higginson collection of more than 4,000 books in the London library relates to hunting and the countryside, and the collection is as important as the Domesday book—in its own way—because it charts every parish and county in the United Kingdom. A link should be recognised.
I would not want to dwell on that and no doubt you would not allow me to, Mrs. Roe, so I shall move on to amendment No. 20, which refers to many things including
''the preservation of the landscape''.
The submission in chapter 7.5 of the Burns report, which is titled ''Habitat conservation in the interests of foxhunting'' says:
''historically, the landscape of many parts of lowland England, especially the Midlands, has been strongly influenced by the desire to establish and conserve good foxhunting country.''
That is still true. My hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker) said last week that many people still linger under the impression that the English countryside is not man-made, but natural. I must disabuse them of that.
Large tracts of the English, Scottish and Welsh landscape have been fashioned. Coverts and woods have been fashioned for shooting and lakes have been created for fishing. Rivers have been diverted, scrub has been cleared and heather moorland has been burned in the name of sport, utility, shooting, deer stalking and hunting—that is a fact. We must recognise that we have a unique landscape because of that before we finally submit to the Government's desire to concrete over most of England. Anyone who works in the tourist industry will say that the English
landscape is often the reason why people visit England. People certainly visit Devon—my part of the world—because of our unique landscape.
There is a balance to be struck and a trade off to be made in the debate on utility and conservation. Ending hunting with hounds, and especially the hunting of stags with hounds, will upset a delicate balance.