A SYSTEM of local tribunals to decide the fate of hunting is emerging as the compromise from the Government to regulate the sport.

Ministers are shaping new legislation, pledged in the Queen’s Speech yesterday, which would offer a total ban on hunting in England and Wales, except for specific exemptions which include licensed hunting.

The Bill, to be published before Christmas, will trigger another row involving MPs and peers of all parties who refuse to accept any notion of compromise and will fight hard for a complete ban.

Anti-hunt MPs are already planning to hijack a Bill which allows the survival of some hunting with dogs by tabling numerous amendments to ensure that there is a total ban on foxhunting, hare coursing and stag hunting.

If they succeed in getting the majority vote in the Commons, even if it is then reversed in the Lords, these MPs will demand the Government uses the Parliament Act to force through a ban.

The Government, however, is planning to woo MPs less committed to a ban and to persuade them to back the Bill even though the issue is to be decided on a free vote. Tony Blair and Alun Michael, Rural Affairs Minister, long-time opponents of hunting, are to meet backbenchers and explain why they are prepared to allow some hunting to continue.

Mr Michael is to meet some Labour MPs next week. One of his arguments is to point to the legal muddle created by the hunting ban in Scotland and new concerns about animal welfare as more foxes are being shot and left wounded.

He will emphasise that licences can only be granted by a tribunal if strict criteria are met in terms of wildlife management and pest control. These tribunals are expected to be chaired by a legally qualified person but will operate outside the criminal justice system. People persistently flouting the licence or accused of animal cruelty would be liable to prosecution. Mr Michael is shortly to publish a summary of the main proposals for new hunting laws. This document will then be followed by the hunting Bill.

Hunting in upland Britain, which is largely carried out by gunpacks on foot, is to be spared — exemptions for these packs have been included in previous hunting Bills and were accepted by anti-hunt MPs. Another exemption will be for the control of rabbits and other rodents.

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