IFAW response to European Court ruling on Hunting Act

Thursday, 17 December 2009 12:00 AM

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has welcomed a landmark legal ruling that the Hunting Act does NOT breach human rights.

The challenge to the Hunting Act and the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act by the Countryside Alliance and Brian Friend failed with the European Court of Human Rights finding that the bans on hunting are there to stop this morally unjustifiable 'sport'.

Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: "The European Court of Human Rights speaks for the majority of the British public in upholding the Hunting Act, a law which banned unnecessary suffering in the name of sport. It is time to move on and embrace riding to hounds without having to kill."

The court concluded that 'the bans had been designed to eliminate the hunting and killing of animals for sport in a manner causing suffering and being morally objectionable'.

Prophesies that the hunt ban would end the livelihoods of many in the countryside were rightly dismissed by the court. Hunters can still enjoy the spectacle and excitement of hunting without the pursuit of 'live quarry' by going drag or trail hunting, which involves following a pre-laid scent.

The Court also found that the law 'did not affect negatively the applicants' right to private and family life'.

Ends

For more information please contact Tania McCrea-Steele at IFAW on 020 7587 6709, mobile 07801 613520 or email tmccrea@ifaw.org

About the International Fund for Animal Welfare - As one of the world's leading animal welfare organisations, IFAW has representation in 16 countries and carries out its animal welfare work in more than 40. IFAW works from its global headquarters in the United States and focuses its campaigns on improving the welfare of wild and domestic animals by reducing the commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats and assisting animals in distress. IFAW works both on the ground and in the halls of government to safeguard wild and domestic animals and seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people. Visit www.ifaw.org

Further details on the ruling can be found in a press release on the ECHR website at http://tinyurl.com/ECHRhunting

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