THE League Against Cruel Sports is preparing a new campaign to close loopholes in Scotland’s ban on foxhunting.

Under the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, hunting with dogs is already illegal in Scotland, but the main hunts continue to use their foxhounds under the banner of “pest control”.

Hunt organisations have exploited a clause in the act that allows dogs to be used to flush out foxes, or other quarry, to shoot them, where it can be demonstrated that the hunt is for the purposes of pest control.

Anti-blood sports groups say they will press the Scottish parliament to effectively end the presence of hunting packs in Scotland, if the hunting bill currently going through Westminster produces a blanket ban on all hunting with hounds in England and Wales.

Last night the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), said that although they had been satisfied with Scottish legislation, they have been monitoring closely its effectiveness in practice.

If it is felt that the spirit of the law is not being observed, they will then return to the Scottish parliament and demand that MSPs look again at the bill and tighten any loopholes.

Mike Hobday, of LACS, said the group had reservations. “The bill is lacking in two areas. Firstly it allows the use of terriers underground to flush out foxes, which can often lead to fighting between the dogs and foxes. Secondly, it permits flushing with dogs, which can sometimes lead to foxes being killed by the dogs after a chase.”

LACS was watching closely the progress of the Westminster bill. Although anti-blood sports groups in Scotland believed that legislation here had delivered “95%” of what they had sought, it now looked likely that legislation for England and Wales could be tougher.

He said: “We hope that the legislation in England will be better than that in Scotland.

“I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask the Scottish parliament to revisit the legislation if we have evidence that hunting as a sport is continuing.”

Under the hunting bill, currently before the Westminster parliament, foxhunting with dogs could continue with the permission of an independent registrar granted on a case-by-case basis.

Hunters would have to show why there was a need to carry out the hunt — for instance to prevent serious damage to livestock, crops, and other property — and to show that there would be minimal suffering.

Selling the bill to sceptical MPs, Alun Michael, the rural affairs minister, said: “Where an activity has no utility and involves cruelty, it will not be allowed to continue. Incontrovertible evidence shows that the activities of hare coursing and deer hunting cannot meet the two tests, so these activities will be banned.”

However, many MPs from all parties believe the bill does not go far enough, and say that they will introduce amendments in committee that will effectively end the use of hunting with dogs.

When the bill was debated in the Commons earlier this month leading anti-hunt MP Tony Banks said he would back the bill’s second reading as a vehicle for securing an outright ban. Gerald Kaufman, a senior Labour MP, said he would do the same, warning: “Until we get the complete ban this issue will come back and back and back to this house.”

The 32-strong parliamentary committee is due to meet to amend the legislation when parliament resumes after its winter break.

Labour MP Mike Foster, sponsor of the bill, last night said: “We will finish our amendments in February and we would hope that the legislation will mean an outright ban in England.”

Meanwhile, the Countryside Alliance is to bring the first legal challenge against the Scottish legislation at the Court of Session early in the new year.

Joe Scott Plummer, joint master of the Buccleuch Hunt, said the decision to bring the action was taken because the Scottish legislation is killing the sport.

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• All that glitters is not sold in Wright’s world
• Believe it or not, Big Brother is your friend