Howlett Watch #1: Fox Hunting

Anti-hunt campaigners in Bath have written to new Conservative MP Ben Howlett concerning proposals to repeal the hunting ban. In response he sent out identical letters to all those who wrote to him, several of which have been passed to our team.


Dear XXXX

Thank you for contacting me about the Hunting Act 2004.

I appreciate the strong feelings that many people have on this issue and I share your concern for ensuring the welfare of all animals. Your views will therefore be incorporated into my consultation on this matter.

The Prime Minister has said that a majority Conservative Government will give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time.

I have always made it clear that the current law is not working and therefore I would vote in favour of repealing the hunting act in a free vote. If the law is repealed, I will work with my colleagues from across the House to replace it with legislation which works better for all those concerned.

I do hope this clarifies my position on this matter.

Best wishes

Ben Howlett
Member of Parliament for Bath


We fail to grasp Mr Howlett's logic. Surely, while not perfect, the Hunting Act at present reduces the amount of fox hunting undertaken, and that by repealing it, therefore making fox hunting legal, more foxes would be killed in this barbaric fashion than at present. If Mr Howlett is truly concerned about the effectiveness of the current legislation, surely he should be voting to keep it, while working on more effective legislation to replace it.

We therefore call upon the people of Bath to question Mr Howlett further, and to organise protests if he sticks to this approach.

Suggested questions to Mr Howlett (the more people that send these to him the better - please send your responses to standingstonesblog@hotmail.co.uk and we'll publish them):

- Do you agree with the practice of hunting foxes with dogs?

- What, in your view, is problematic with the current legislation?

- If you are opposed to hunting foxes with dogs, why do you think that repealing the ban without immediately replacing it with more effective legislation is a good idea?

Mr Howlett's contact details are as follows:

Address: 96 Sydney Mews, Bathwick, Bath, BA2 4ED

Phone: 01225 338555

E-mail: ben@ben4bath.co.uk

It has also been brought to our attention that Mr Howlett likes the page "Tot AlHunt"on Facebook. These hunt supporters say on the subject of the badger cull:
'There is a need to cull badgers in the United Kingdom due to the fact they spread TB to cattle. This case has been made well elsewhere. Our position on the matter at Total Hunt is that it is also a legitimate sport to cull badgers. Badger digging is a popular British field sport which has unnecessarily been criminalised.'

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Badger Cull Protest Outside Don Foster's Office, 8 July

Bath Badger Walk and Bath Against the Badger Cull have been posting details of a forthcoming demonstration outside Bath MP Don Foster's office on Monday 8th July.

Don Foster, who last week voted in favour of the badger cull (despite previously voting against it), has enraged local opponents to the cull, some of whom have written to Don to express their disappointment (see here for his response: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/foster-watch-4-dons-revised-opinion-on.html).

The demonstration will be held outside Don's office at 31 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT from 12.30 in the afternoon.

The Facebook event page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/481387925275375/

At the time of posting, 18 people had confirmed that they would be attending, with 27 maybe attending. With several weeks to go, many more may be joining them as word gets out.

This will be the third demonstration in Bath against the badger cull, following demonstrations in October 2012 and in May 2013.

For more on the badger cull, see my in-depth article here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-badger-cull-what-you-need-to-know.html

For more on Don Foster and recent actions of his that have caused his constituents to cry "shame on you", check out FOSTER WATCH here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

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Badger Cull Demo in Bath - 27/10/12

Following demonstrations elsewhere in the UK, including several recent demos in Bristol, a group of anti- badger cull activists staged two demonstrations in Bath City Centre today against supermarkets selling milk from the cull areas.

Despite the cull not going ahead this year, and a vote in parliament in which the cull was opposed by a significant majority of MPs, the government plans to proceed with the cull in June 2013. This has given the campaign against the badger cull another 6 months to up their efforts to stop it from going ahead.

Around 15 demonstrators gathered outside Sainsbury's Local in Kingsmead Square at 10am armed with placards and leaflets, and remained there until 12:00 mid-day. Several demonstrators wore masks and costumes, including badgers, foxes and a gorilla, and spoke to many members of the public about the issues surrounding the cull. A security guard stood at the entrance watching, however no attempt was made to move demonstrators.

At noon, several demonstrators relocated to Tesco Express to demonstrate there for another hour. Placards reading "Stop the Badger Slaughter" and "Stop the Cull" were leant against the walls of the store, and the manager requested that they should be removed. The police were called, however the police made no attempt to remove the placards as the demonstrators were within the law.

Now, more than ever, is the time for action on the badger cull. Protests such as today's demonstration, walks around the cull zone, petitions, lobbying government and MPs and spreading the facts about the bader cull - most importantly that the scientists who killed thousands of badgers to see if it would make a difference to bovine TB concluded that it would make "no meaningful contribution" - need to continue, and the sucesses of the past week need to be built upon in order to ensure that this senseless killing does not go ahead.

See here for background information about the badger cull with links and references (an updated version of this is in the works): http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-badger-cull-facts-alternatives-and.html

For more information, visit the Badger Killers website: http://badger-killers.co.uk/

There are many anti-cull Facebook groups, those relevant to today's demonstrations are Stop the Cull and Bath Against the Badger Cull. Please "like" these pages and share their posts.

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