Police forces are to stop monitoring hunts in a change of policy that sounds the death knell for the hunting ban, The Times has learnt.All things that were pointed out ad nauseam before this grossly flawed bill was ever put before the Commons.
New guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) states that gathering evidence of illegal hunting is difficult, that the ban is hard to enforce and that chief constables have more pressing priorities.
And all things that were glossed over or ignored by a Labour government eager to throw its supporters some red meat and stamp its unrepresentative authority on the social fabric of the country.
In future, forces should rely on anti-hunt activists to produce information, it says. But they should also be “very cautious” of such groups and recognise that hunting is an “emotionally charged” subject.Quite. Pity that attitude doesn’t extend to other single-minded activists too….
And you know you’ve lost the battle, and the war, when even the authoritarian’s authoritarian throws in the towel:
Richard Brunstrom, Chief Constable of North Wales and the Acpo spokesman on rural affairs, said: “Hunting is definitely not a policing priority. It is not illegal to wear a red coat and ride a horse in a public place.”It’s not something that most people would even consider ought to be on the police radar at all.
But the single-issue activists are, predictably, throwing an almighty strop:
A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sport said: “We fought for 80 years for the hunting ban and, while we accept it is not a high priority for police, a ban was the will of Parliament and is the will of the people and we are going to press for more prosecution cases to be brought.”Heh. Press away, boys.
The simple fact of the matter is that it never was the ‘will of the people’. And everyone knows it. It was the will of a bunch of corrupt, thieving crooks who have now been found out, and are about to reap the whirlwind.
And no-one’s paying any attention to their pet projects and favoured groups anymore…
Have the LACS ever offered any justification for this 'will of the people' claim?
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like the government lawyers opposing open-air Hindu cremation because 'it would be abhorrent to the majority of the British population'(my post on funeral pyres, 24/3/09).
The LACS sounds like a bunch of 1930's bespectacled vegetarians in sensible tweeds but I have a horrible feeling that the reality, deprived of a restraining police presence, might be less benign.
After all, think of the ALF thugs who think nothing of assaulting mere humans in their 'just cause' of animal welfare.
"and is the will of the people".......er no it isn't unless there was a general referendum on the matter. Since it was so trivial there was none (can't set a precedent can we?). This stupid bill was simply debated to deflect criticism of the war in Iraq and for a bit of class war fun.
ReplyDelete"Have the LACS ever offered any justification for this 'will of the people' claim?"
ReplyDeleteNope, they are just making use of the old 'Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth' ploy.
"It's a bit like the government lawyers opposing open-air Hindu cremation because 'it would be abhorrent to the majority of the British population'.."
Well, indeed. As long as they don't do it next door when I'm hanging my washing out, I couldn't give two hoots. And I'm sure most people feel the same way.
"This stupid bill was simply debated to deflect criticism of the war in Iraq and for a bit of class war fun."
Precisely. If it was a red button issue for the general public, ACPO would never dare to treat it so casually.