The Hunting Ground Blog

William Powell Clearance Sale – Friday 10th and Saturday 11th February

William Powell are holding their annual Clearance Sale at their showroom in Banbury next weekend.

With up to 75% off 100’s of discontinued items, how could you afford not to pay them a visit!

Ample Free Parking Outside. Can’t get to the sale? Visit: www.williampowell.com

Senior figures have told the Daily Telegraph that the promised Commons vote on repealing the ban will not be held next year and is unlikely in 2013 either.

And even when a vote is eventually held, senior Conservatives are resigned to the Commons opting to maintain the ban.

Ministers privately accept that there is not a Commons majority in favour of repeal, since almost all Labour MPs, most Liberal Democrats and some Tories want the ban to remain.

The Prime Minister is also said to be unwilling to focus attention on the hunting issue at a time when most voters are more concerned with economic issues.

A poll today suggested just nealy half of people believe a vote to repeal the Hunting Act should not be a top animal welfare priority for the coalition Government.

The lack of progress on the hunting issue is likely to dismay pro-hunting Conservatives backing Boxing Day hunts today, who include at least one Government minister.

Hunting with dogs was outlawed by 2005 in one of the most controversial acts of the last government.

The Coalition has promised MPs a free vote on the ban as soon as parliamentary time is available.

The Commons timetable for early 2012 is light, with few pieces of major legislation before MPs. However, insiders say there are no plans for a vote for the next two years or even longer.

One pro-hunting Cabinet minister close to the Prime Minister told the Daily Telegraph he wanted a vote “as soon as we have a realistic chance of winning it.”

However, he added that there was little hope of such victory during this Parliament.

“We have to be realistic about the chances of winning a vote when you don’t have a Conservative majority and not all Conservative MPs support a repeal of the ban.”

Many traditional Conservative MPs oppose the ban but a group of Tories first elected last year is fighting to keep it.

The “Blue Foxes” group includes several women first elected last year as part of Mr Cameron’s drive to update his party’s image.

A senior Government source said the hunt vote has been “put on the backburner” for the foreseeable future.

The source said: “The Lib Dems are very clear where they stand on the whole thing, so there’s not much point in pushingthe issue. The next Parliamentary session is already full. There is not likely to be a vote before 2014 at the earliest.”

Despite the legal ban, hundreds of local hunts are expected to meet today, the busiest day of the hunting year.

The Countryside Alliance claims that more than a million people will attend over 300 hunts today. Campaigners say enforcing the hunt ban wastes police time, and suggest that many police forces now routinely turn a blind eye to breaches of the law.

Pro-hunting ministers are keen to avoid disappointing pro-hunt campaigners expecting an early vote on repeal.

Jim Paice, a Conservative minister at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has publicly backed today’s hunts.

“The current law simply doesn’t work,” he said. “I personally am in favour of hunting with dogs – and the Coalition Agreement clearly states that we will have a free vote on whether to repeal the Act when there is time in the Parliamentary calendar to do so.”

A dream clear round over the coloured poles with Parklane Hawk gave William Fox-Pitt his sixth Burghley victory – and put him in the history books as the first rider to attain this achievement. “I can’t believe it,” said William who first won here in 1994. “He was superb. I might have looked cool but deep down this mattered a lot – it is huge and a real honour”.

SHOOT BENCHMARKING SURVEY 2011
Only two thirds of commercial shoots made a profit last year, according to the
2011 Smiths Gore and GunsOnPegs Shoot Benchmarking Survey.

GunsOnPegs is super-sizing its stand at this year’s CLA Game Fair. The award-winning website is showcasing the event’s first ever double decker stand, comprising of a 2,500 sq ft balcony overlooking both Gunmakers’ Row and the main ring. The upstairs bar will be a hive of activity and open to all GunsOnPegs members, making it a great place for people to socialize, shop and compete to win exclusive prizes!

www.gunsonpegs.com

Tory plans for a free vote on scrapping the foxhunting ban are to go ahead, despite opposition from many Liberal Democrat MPs. In a further sign of the new Government’s intentions, it emerged that the Agriculture Minister Jim Paice had also been made Minister for Hunting and Shooting – the first time country sports have had a dedicated minister for decades.

Back In 1910 a group of English Academics and psychics got together and concluded that a new Messiah was needed to deliver humanity from chaos. Rather than wait around for another virgin birth they decided to take drastic action, they would create their own Messiah who would bring peace and justice to the world.

A new breed of shooting show called Bisley Live is being held at the National Shooting Centre in Surrey from 30 September until 2 October 2011, which will give visitors the opportunity to test fire the latest rifles, shotguns and air rifles from the leading manufacturers.

The Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation announced today that it is inviting entries from across the UK for its 2011 awards which will be held in November in Central London.

The Government’s “Big Society” idea could mean anti-hunt monitors are given the job of policing the controversial ban on hunting in the West, because police cuts mean officers will no longer be able to tackle wildlife crime. That is the view of the head of the League Against Cruel Sports, which has dozens of monitors keeping watch on hunts across the region, from Exmoor to the Cotswolds.