New laws clamping down on hunting with dogs have been hailed as a major step towards “the end of blood sports” in Scotland. MSPs backed legislation to bring in a two-dog limit for the use of dogs for hunting, other than certain limited circumstances subject to a new licensing scheme.
But opponents insist the tough curbs will leave other vulnerable species as well as livestock open to attack from predators. The Scottish Government said stronger laws were required to stop illegal hunts 20 years after a ban on fox hunting was first put in place.
The Hunting with Dogs Bill aims to close loopholes which allow the practice of killing wild mammals - including foxes, rabbits and hares - with packs of dogs. Scottish Greens rural affairs spokeswoman Ariane Burgess said the Bill hadn't gone far enough and still retained a handful of potential “loopholes for the privileged few.”
However, she added: "This Act may not go as far as we would have liked - but the changes represent a significant step forward in protecting animals from harm. It is thanks in no small part to the efforts of all those who have campaigned with us that we have reached this stage. The Scottish Greens will do everything we can to build on this and to end all blood sports in Scotland.
“In the debate I moved amendments to close the loopholes, which I fear will allow hunting with dogs to continue for the privileged few. We will continue to push for reform and to ensure that the Scottish Government acts on any evidence that the licensing system is being used to facilitate abuses.
“We are determined to end licensed hunting with dogs as soon as practically possible – and to finally deliver the watertight ban on fox hunting that is so badly needed."
But Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton accused the SNP-Green government - whose Bill passed by 90 votes to 30 in Holyrood on Tuesday night - of having "ignored the views of experts". She said: "If there is no hunting with dogs, predators will be left to attack other animals.
"Those predators will, left unchecked, attack livestock, like lambs and sheep, or groundnesting birds like the curlew, the capercaillie or other vulnerable species. This is not a simple Bill that protects animal welfare. It is a Bill that protects some animals' welfare at the expense of others."
Hamilton claimed the Bill could be seen as having "pinned the final nail in the coffin for many of Scotland's endangered species".
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