Clause 13 - Application by individual
Hunting Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton, Conservative)
As hon. Members will know, the amendment relates as much to clause 2 as to the clause under discussion, which deals with hunting by an individual who is registered or by an individual who is also registered if he participates in hunting by a group. I will not dwell too much on that, but I should like to tie the two together. The Bill requires an individual or group to be registered, which is also covered by clause 14. An individual registering separately or within the group must be 18 years of age, which, if I may say so, is rather draconian. The amendments cover various ages and alternatives to the age of 18.
To most of us in this country, being 18 years old means two things: it means that a bloke can walk into a boozer and have a pint or a lady can walk into a boozer and have a glass of white wine. [Hon. Members: ''Oh!''] She can have a pint if she likes. I knew that that would get Labour Members going. It also means that a person can vote in an election, but it does not mean that a person can stand for election because, as we all know, those people have to be 21 years old. The importance of the amendments
is also backed up by amendment No. 32, under which those who are not adults would need to have the approval signed by a parent or guardian. That is fair enough.
Amendment No. 32 ensures therefore that the legal age of 18 would be covered in many respects. It is odd that elsewhere in society we are listening and giving greater trust to young people, yet the Bill is saying that 18 is the age at which a person can be a registered individual.
The Bill is draconian, because it restricts registration to adults. Perhaps that is symptomatic in that the Bill not only seeks in many ways to promote a ban on all forms of hunting, particularly deer hunting and hare coursing, but starts from the premise that hunting is an evil in which only those who are registered as 18 can be allowed to participate. As we have discussed at great length in previous sittings, the Bill already sets any individual seeking registration extremely tough tests for utility and cruelty, so whether that person is 18, 17, 16 or 12 is inconsequential.
Let me help the Committee. Sexual intercourse—unfortunately, in my view—now includes consenting homosexual acts, and people can have sex at 16. Having sex at 16 was probably a minority pursuit in the past, but it is increasingly common now, as moral standards in Britain decline.
For many decades, people have been able to marry at 16 with parental consent. In Belgium, one can marry at 14 with parental consent. People can drive a car or a tractor at 17. In fact, at 16, one can drive a tractor that is less than 2 m 45 cm wide, although many people would consider that car or tractor a lethal weapon. People are even allowed to drink some alcohol at 17. If they drove a car when under the influence of a certain amount of alcohol, they would have a licence to kill in many respects. People can ride a moped or drive an invalid carriage at 16. They can buy and smoke cigarettes—and kill themselves slowly—at 16. They can leave school at 16 and, importantly, join the Army, where they can go through basic training and learn how to kill. People can also start to study for vocational qualifications. The Government have set up the Learning and Skills Council and are promoting national professional training schemes for young people—more of that in a moment. People can use a shotgun at any age, as long as they are supervised by someone over 21. A rifle can be used from 14, again with the supervision of someone over 21. People can set a trap or snare at any age.
People can do all those things before the age of 18, but they cannot be registered to hunt under the Bill.