Results 1-20 of 138 for hunting speaker:David Lidington

Hunting Bill (Programme) (No. 4) (1 Jul 2003)

Mr David Lidington: I believe that the Government's decision to give higher priority to a Bill on hunting than to a Bill on health speaks volumes about the way in which Ministers are now drifting out of touch with the priorities of the British people. I argue that, when the Government choose to set a priority and to introduce legislation, the House should have the time to subject it to proper scrutiny and...

Points of Order (1 Jul 2003)

Mr David Lidington: ...point of order, Mr. Speaker. I gave you notice that I wished to raise a point of order on the legislative mess in which the Government have left the House following last night's proceedings on the Hunting Bill. I ask for your guidance on two items in particular. The first is on the proceedings concerning the recommittal of the Bill to a Standing Committee. As the House will have noted from...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: I beg to move, That this House declines to give a Second Reading to the Hunting Bill because it seeks to impose unjustifiable restrictions on individual freedom, would increase the suffering of foxes and other animals that will be culled by less humane means, threatens the future of dogs and horses used in hunting and would rob British citizens of their livelihood; because it is intolerant of...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: To be fair to the hon. Gentleman, he has taken a long and consistent stand in favour of an outright ban on all forms of hunting with hounds. What he does not take into account, however, is that when the aim is, through legislation and as a matter of public policy, to outlaw a recreation that has been lawful and enjoyed by a large number of people—albeit a minority—for many years...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...(Paddy Tipping) teased out from the Minister something of what I believe to be the intention behind the Bill, suggesting that if it were enacted in its present form it might lead to the banning of hunting in most of lowland England and Wales while, perhaps, leaving it to survive in a few parts of upland areas. Certainly, it is clear that the Bill is very far from constituting any sort of...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: I certainly repeat the commitment given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition that were a ban on hunting to be enacted, we would, on our return to government, make time available for Parliament to reverse it. My right hon. Friend has made that perfectly clear, and we stand by it.

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...8212;and, according to my understanding of the present law, if a fox were baited as bears and other wildlife were centuries ago, that would indeed constitute a criminal offence. The Bill would make hunting a criminal offence unless it fell within the narrow range of exemptions defined in schedule 1 or, alternatively, had been registered under the system described in part 2. Much of the...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...and conservation." Even that list was inadequate because it failed to take account either of the point of my hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire (Sir P. Cormack) or of the importance of hunting as a direct and indirect provider of employment in rural areas where other employment is not easy to find. Yet the Minister's description of only a few months ago was winnowed...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: If the hon. Gentleman has not yet done so, he should study the detailed analysis of the Burns report, because it concluded that the impact on employment of banning hunting would be especially severe in remote rural areas, where it remains an important generator of work. I ask the hon. Gentleman to take it into account that drag hunting cannot easily substitute for foxhunting or mink hunting,...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: My hon. Friend makes the point well. When one considers stag hunting, the veterinary evidence about the experience of the deer is divided. The evidence that Professor Bateson originally presented has been challenged by other veterinary surgeons. There is also a powerful argument, which was most notably made by my constituent Baroness Mallalieu, that deer hunting on Exmoor contributes to the...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...the criticisms that my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) advances. The central argument of those who support the Bill and those who have long campaigned for a ban on hunting is that a ban is necessary on the ground of animal welfare, yet it is clear that the Bill is based on no consistent ethical principle whatever. Foxhunting, beagling and mink hunting are...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: I agree with my right hon. Friend. It is no secret that some of the animal rights groups that have been to the fore in campaigning for a ban on hunting will want to move on, once that goal has been achieved, to campaign against shooting and fishing.

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: My right hon. Friend is right. The sad truth about the Bill is that the Government—certainly the Prime Minister—accept that a ban on hunting is undesirable and, in practice, likely to be ineffective, but the Government do not collectively have the courage to face up to their Back Benchers who have been campaigning for a ban for many years. So we end up with this shabby, unhappy...

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...protect foxes, mink or hares. In fact, more animals will probably die if it becomes law. The reality is that a lot of farmers and land managers tolerate deer, foxes and hares because they support hunting as a sport.

Hunting Bill (16 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. The truth is that if hunting is ending, there will be little incentive for anyone who farms or owns land to conserve wild mammal populations that prey on their crops or livestock. Many of those animals that the Bill purports to help will almost certainly die more painfully if killed by methods other than hunting with hounds. One thing that came out again...

Hunting with Dogs (3 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: .... Let me begin with the licensing procedure. On whom does the Minister propose that the burden of proof should rest? Will it be for the applicant to prove—if so, to what standard?—that hunting meets the two tests, or will it be for the objector to prove that there are good reasons why the licence ought not to be granted? Once the licence has been granted, will it be permanent?...

Hunting with Dogs (3 Dec 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...on illegal meat imports or to debate today's compelling report on rural poverty from the Countryside Agency, yet they can spare scarce parliamentary and ministerial time to debate a Bill on hunting at a time when our public services are in crisis. The Minister may hope that, for a while, his statement will distract the attention of his Back-Bench colleagues, but one thing is certain: this...

Written Answers — Environment Food and Rural Affairs: Fallen Stock (25 Nov 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...intends to publish details of the National Collection Scheme for fallen stock; (2) what estimate she has made of how many fallen (a) cattle, (b) sheep and (c) pigs were disposed of last year by hunt kennels.

Rural Economy (16 Oct 2002)

Mr David Lidington: ...Government have still given us no details on how alternative arrangements are supposed to work, or on who will pay for them. At the moment, those farmers who live within reasonable distance of a hunt can get rid of livestock carcases; however, the Government have their own plans for that source of help as well. That problem is causing particular anxiety in upland areas. The subject was...

Written Answers — Environment Food and Rural Affairs: Fox Hunting (12 Jul 2002)

Mr David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which interested parties received an invitation to contribute to the consultation on the future of fox hunting; which of those bodies she (a) has met and (b) plans to meet before the consultation finishes; and if she will make a statement.