This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-urges-snp-to-abstain-from-vote-to-weaken-foxhunting-ban-10386502.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| SNP to vote against weakening of fox-hunting ban | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Scottish National Party (SNP) has announced that it will vote against the Government's attempt to relax the ban on fox hunting in England and Wales, despite pressure from Downing Street to abstain in the crucial vote | |
| Angus Robertson of the SNP Westminster Group said: "We totally oppose fox hunting, and when there are moves in the Scottish Parliament to review whether the existing Scottish ban is strong enough, it is in the Scottish interest to maintain the existing ban in England and Wales for Holyrood to consider." | |
| David Cameron’s spokesman had indicated that Nicola Sturgeon’s party should continue its tradition of opting out of voting on non-Scottish matters in Westminster, ahead of an SNP meeting to decide whether to let the party’s 56 MPs vote on what looks set to be an extremely close contest. | |
| “[The Prime Minister] thinks this is about measures for England and Wales and it is about bringing them in line with Scotland. I expect they would need to set out their rationale if they were to pursue such a course [of voting to weaken the ban] in Scotland, and explain it to their voters there,” he said. | “[The Prime Minister] thinks this is about measures for England and Wales and it is about bringing them in line with Scotland. I expect they would need to set out their rationale if they were to pursue such a course [of voting to weaken the ban] in Scotland, and explain it to their voters there,” he said. |
| The Government wants to amend the 10-year old foxing ban so that packs of hounds can be used for pest-control purposes, to flush out foxes that can then be shot, or to retrieve injured or diseased animals. | The Government wants to amend the 10-year old foxing ban so that packs of hounds can be used for pest-control purposes, to flush out foxes that can then be shot, or to retrieve injured or diseased animals. |
| These amendments – which opponents fear would offer cover for illegal hunting – would bring the law in England and Wales into line with Scotland, which has its own hunting ban. | These amendments – which opponents fear would offer cover for illegal hunting – would bring the law in England and Wales into line with Scotland, which has its own hunting ban. |
| As such, it would be inappropriate for Scottish MPs to block proposals for a law that already exists in their own country, the Tories have suggested. | As such, it would be inappropriate for Scottish MPs to block proposals for a law that already exists in their own country, the Tories have suggested. |
| But the Government is also proposing an amendment – allowing packs of dogs to flush out foxes for “research and observation” purposes – which doesn’t exist in Scotland, which SNP MPs fear would encourage a resurgence in fox hunting in England and Wales that could in turn lead Scottish hunts to take a similar route. | But the Government is also proposing an amendment – allowing packs of dogs to flush out foxes for “research and observation” purposes – which doesn’t exist in Scotland, which SNP MPs fear would encourage a resurgence in fox hunting in England and Wales that could in turn lead Scottish hunts to take a similar route. |
| This could make the amendment relevant to SNP MPs’ constituencies and so qualify them to vote, they argue. Most SNP MPs were tight-lipped ahead of the meeting. An SNP spokesman said: “As with all proposals from the UK Government, SNP MPs will decide our position once we have assessed the detail of what is being proposed.” |