THE Hunting Act has been removed from the 2008 edition of Blackstone’s Police Manual, the required reading for officers taking exams for promotion to sergeant and inspector.
A spokesman for publisher Oxford University Press said: “We have completely reviewed the manual this year to make it as focused as possible on the promotion exams.
“The National Policing Improvement Agency asked those within the force to identify areas they thought could be cut from the book. The Hunting Act was one.
“Officers will have learnt about the Act at an earlier point in their careers and do not come across it as often as other parts of the law.”
The Hunting Act is still included in other police law manuals published in the Blackstone series, she added.
Jill Grieve of the Countryside Alliance commented: “Getting the Hunting Act consigned to the history books is our main priority, and Blackstone’s Police Manual ignoring it totally is even better.
“The police have always afforded the Hunting Act the appropriate level of priority it deserves and this latest move speaks volumes.”
This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (21 August, ’08)
