UK-wide campaign arrives in Edinburgh to protest against plans to reverse ban
Two of Scotland’s leading animal welfare charities are staging a rally in the centre of Edinburgh this weekend in their campaign to protect the laws which ban fox hunting in Scotland, England and Wales.
The rally is part of a UK-wide campaign ‘Votes for Vinny’ calling on General Election candidates to support a cruelty free future for animals.
A battle bus set off from London on Monday and will arrive in Edinburgh on Sunday (21 May) for the last stop on the tour of Great Britain.
The event in Edinburgh takes place just days after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged her support for fox hunting saying she had “always supported fox hunting” and that she would give parliament a free vote on the issue.
In Scotland, despite the legislation banning fox hunting being different to that south of the border, the issue has also featured prominently on the political agenda in recent months.
Robbie Marsland, Director of the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland, said: “We are appalled that the Prime Minister has pledged to hold a free vote to turn the clocks back to cruelty, potentially bringing back fox hunting in England and Wales.
While the situation in Scotland is different and we welcomed the first minister’s statement on the issue this week, we certainly can’t afford to be complacent.
“Fox hunting is not a party political issue. It is about common decency and where, as a nation, we should be as a compassionate and caring society.”
Harry Huyton, director of OneKind, added: “I welcome the clear statement from the first minister this week that she and the Scottish Government is totally opposed to fox hunting. Fox hunting is cruel, outdated and unnecessary.
There is no place for it in a modern Scotland, and today we are calling on the Scottish Government to deliver on the first minister’s statement and issue a public consultation that specifically puts forward a proposal for a full ban on mounted fox hunting.”
Green MSP for Lothian Alison Johnstone, who is speaking at the rally, said: “While the prime minister proudly declares that she has ‘always supported fox hunting’ and maintains a commitment to its reintroduction in England and Wales, by contrast in Scotland, the first minister has assured my Green colleague, Patrick Harvie MSP, of her personal opposition to this cruel and barbaric act.
“It is untenable then that the law in Scotland remains even weaker than that south of the border, as I highlighted in 2015, and it is time for the SNP to finally deliver on their rhetoric, stand up to the hunting lobby, and deliver the ban they apparently support and the Scottish public overwhelmingly want to see.”
