Minister urges hunting compromise

A ban on hunting could become law next week

Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has urged peers to accept a compromise on hunting with dogs in England and Wales.

With a complete hunt ban set to be pushed through Parliament next week, Mr Michael said time was running out.

He said the House of Lords should back a deal which would ban deer and hare hunting but allow some licensed fox hunts if they passed certain tests.

His appeal came after peers said unrestricted hunting should be allowed to continue until the end of 2007.

That change to the Hunting Bill put Lords on another collision course with MPs.

Delays

The Commons wants an outright ban but has suggested delaying it only until July 2006.

Peers have already said they want licensed hunts to continue.

On Thursday, they said there should be no new limits on hunting before November 2007.

The House of Lords should take an active part in bridging the divide, instead of widening it Alun Michael

After that date, the laws could only come into force if the government had received a report from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on how the suffering caused by hunting compared to other methods of animal control, they said.

It should then be up to the environment secretary, rather than Parliament, to decide whether to implement the new law, they said.

In a separate vote, peers also rejected a compromise which would have banned stag hunting but allowed other hunts to continue.

Cutting confrontation?

Mr Michael said he was "disappointed" by the Lords' latest changes.

"At every stage the government has sought to reduce confrontation on this long-running issue but we are running out of time," said Mr Michael.

"The House of Lords should take an active part in bridging the divide, instead of widening it."

He suggested that backing his compromise option could stave off the use of the Parliament Act.

It would allow hunts to continue if they passed tests on "utility" and "cruelty".

But anti-hunt MPs have insisted there must be an outright ban.

Ping-pong ahead

The Hunting Bill is set to have its third reading in the Lords on Monday and return to the Commons on Tuesday.

MPs are expected to overturn the Lords' amendments and insist on an outright ban on hunting with dogs.

The bill then returns to the Lords on Wednesday for debate on amendments.

Deputy Commons Leader Phil Woolas said he was confident there was enough time to debate the plans before the current session of Parliament ends on Thursday.

The government has already said it would use the Parliament Act to push through the bill if peers try to override MPs wishes.

Responding to questions about what the procedure would be, Mr Woolas said it would be a matter for the House, but the Parliament Act was "more of a process than a decision".

Labour MPs would be given a free vote on the issue, he added.

If the parliamentary session ends without agreement, the bill effectively becomes law automatically.

Ministers do not need to take any specific measures to invoke the Parliament Act.