Hunts play conservation card

PRO-HUNTING ORGANISATIONS will bombard peers over the next few days with the message that hunts play an important role in countryside conservation.
Three presentations will be made in Parliament over the next three days to highlight different areas of concern about the government‘s proposal to ban hunting.
On Mon (Oct 16) the Countryside Alliance will make a presentation to members of the Lords to highlight the threat to conservation and biodiversity from a ban on hunting.
The Independent Supervisory Authority on Hunting (ISAH) will make a presentation on Tues (Oct 17) to talk about its work and the principles on which it operates.
On Wed (Oct 18) the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management will address the negative implications of a ban for animal welfare and wildlife management.
Peers are being targeted in advance of the Hunting Bill reaching Committee Stage in the Lords.
“Hunts and hunting people make up the UK‘s largest community conservation organisation,” said alliance advisor Denise Daly-Walton.
“By attacking them the government is flouting its obligations, defined in international conventions, to engage with local communities in achieving biodiversity objectives.
“70% of hunts are involved in conservation activities and hunts manage 23,000ha of mostly broadleaved woodland in the UK.
“In a typical year some 30,000m of hedgerows are planted and 18,000m of hedgerows are laid because of hunting.”