IFAW: Cross-party support for fox hunting ban

Monday, 5 October 2009 12:00 AM

New polling published today (Monday) reveals that the majority of Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters back the continued ban on fox hunting.

The poll, by Ipsos MORI, shows that nearly twice as many Tory supporters favour the ban as want it repealed. More than six out of 10 (62%) say that fox hunting should NOT be made legal again, with just one in three (33%) saying it should be (five per cent say they do not know).

Over eight in 10 (83%) of Labour supporters are against fox hunting being legalised, compared to 13% in favour. Just three per cent say they do not know.

Three quarters (77%) of Liberal Democrat voters are against repeal, against 19% in favour - with the undecideds at five per cent.

Among the general public as a whole, three in four (75%) support the ban on fox hunting remaining, and only 21% want repeal. Over eight in 10 (84%) think the ban on deer hunting should stay in place. A similar number - 85% - think hare coursing and hunting should remain illegal.

In rural communities, support for the ban is also high. Seven in 10 (72%) want to see foxhunting remain illegal, whilst 82% think deer hunting should continue to be banned and 86% support the ban on hare hunting and coursing.

Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: "It is clear that the vast majority of British people, regardless of their political affiliation, find hunting repugnant."

Notes

1.The polling was conducted by Ipsos MORI who interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,003 adults aged 15+ in Great Britain between 4 and 10 September 2009.

2.The poll was jointly released by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the League Against Cruel Sports. Robbie Marsland is available for interview.

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Clare Sterling at IFAW on 020 7587 6708, mobile 07917 507717 or email csterling@ifaw.org

Ipsos MORI contact: Bob Worcester, tel 020 7347 3000 or email bob.worcester@ipsos.com

Technical note:

Interviews were carried out face-to-face, in home, using CAPI (Computer Aided Personal Interviewing Laptops), as part of the regular Ipsos MORI Omnibus survey ('Capibus').

The sample design ensures that the survey accurately reflects the GB population in terms of region and area types as well as respondent demographics. All results are weighted to the GB population profile.

Party support is based on those who would either intend or be inclined to vote for a given party 'if there were a general election tomorrow'.

Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated.

Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of don't knows/not stated. An asterisk (*) denotes a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero.

The full tabulations of the poll can be found on the Ipsos MORI website www.ipsos-mori.com

Tags: