What a year this has been for all of us! Conservatives Against Fox Hunting was launched in January 2010 to represent the two thirds of Conservative supporters who are against the hunting of wild mammals with dogs. The new Coalition Government has promised to bring forward a motion for a free vote to repeal the Hunting Act 2004 which bans this currently illegal activity. We decided to dispel the myth that all Conservatives are pro hunt. Currently twenty two Conservative MPs have publicly stated that they are against the repeal of the Hunting Act and we will continue to encourage our representatives in Parliament to join us and the two thirds of Conservative supporters who do not wish to see any reversal of the Hunting Act.
It was nine months into our campaign that we held our first formal event, a fringe breakfast meeting at the Conservative Annual Conference in Birmingham which we co hosted with The League Against Cruel Sports. Dominic Raab MP and Andrew Rosindell MP were our key speakers and this was well attended by both sides of the debate.
In December we held our first Parliamentary Breakfast event at the House of Commons, again co hosted with The League Against Cruel Sports. The event brought together Conservative MP’s who supported our campaign against a return to hunting wild mammals with dogs. A number of Conservative MPs attended along with our guest speakers Douglas Batchelor , Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, the UK Director of IFAW, Robbie Marsland and Brian May of Queen. It was a successful, positive discussion and has laid the foundation for future events and meetings.
We are delighted that there now appears a sea of change within the Conservative Party with Conservative MP’s recognising that society has evolved and moved forward in relation to hunting with dogs. The Conservative Party is a progressive party and a party that represents the nation as a whole. As Benjamin Disraeli said “In a progressive country, change is constant, change is inevitable.” We are pleased to hear that the Coalition Government is now delaying plans to bring forward a free vote since there are more pressing concerns for our country. This is very welcome news. Currently out of 650 MPs only 257 would vote for repeal.
Our message for 2011 is simple and positive, it is very much about continuity and spreading our message. We want to encourage undecided and unknown Conservative MPs to make the right decision and represent the mainstream Conservative supporter’s view against hunting wild mammals with dogs. We will continue to campaign for more fairer representation by our Conservative MPs on this issue and to show they are in touch with the majority opinion not only within the party but in the country and say no to Hunting wild mammals with dogs for sport.
We should look to the future for our inspiration towards a better world and not return to outmoded activities of the past. It’s time to move on and embrace what lies ahead and welcome better times for all of us and our planet.
Conservatives Against Fox Hunting.
