Hunt will ignore any ban (From Gazette & Herald)

Hunt will ignore any ban

HUNT supporters from across Yorkshire will come to Ryedale to "stand up and be counted" by signing a declaration that commits them to not co-operating with a ban on hunting.

More than 1,000 people who back the freedom to hunt, will meet at Birdsall, near Malton, on Saturday, November 1, at 10am for Declaration Day, organised by the Countryside Alliance.

Pro-hunting campaigners hope that a large number of people will sign the Hunting Declaration, and therefore pledge their intention to ignore any ban on hunting with hounds - and also to break the law - by continuing to hunt. Its purpose is to demonstrate the number of people who will not accept a ban on hunting with dogs. It also aims to show that any ban would be unenforceable.

Frank Houghton Brown, joint master and huntsman for the Birdsall-based Middleton Hunt, said he would sign the declaration. "Hunting is my life and the life of several of my employees and my hounds," he said. "If a law against hunting does come into force I am prepared to break it. I think 'no' to a ban on hunting is the sentiment of a lot of people.

"In the last opinion poll, 59 per cent said they were against a ban. I think people are against a ban because they are libertarian; whether they agree with hunting is not the issue. A lot of people don't agree with it, but they don't want to ban it."

John Haigh, Countryside Alliance regional director for Yorkshire, said: "This nationwide show of strength and unity will send a clear message that we will not accept unjust law. We remain committed to and confident of a just outcome for hunting.

"However, this event allows everyone to declare the lengths to which they are prepared to go for justice.

"This is not a step that anyone will be taking lightly, but many people feel that it is a legitimate act of protest in response to the threat of deeply prejudiced legislation."

Updated: 08:41 Saturday, October 11, 2003