Police prepare to enforce Hunting Bill

Policing any kind of ban on hunting has long been considered a near-impossibility, with figures in the region of £30million quoted as the requisite funding for any successful scheme.

But following confirmation that the Hunting Bill is to be pushed through the Commons in a day next Wednesday, the Home Office have begun to look at the thorny issue of how a ban could possibly be implemented without deploying hundreds of extra forces in rural areas.

The answer, officials have decided, is closed circuit television. Police will spy on what they consider to be ‘main hunting routes’ in rural areas using CCTV. The suggestion has however, sparked ridicule from some directions.

“If CCTV doesn’t stop crime in urban areas where they have a camera every fifty yards, it is farcical to imagine that it would have any effect in the countryside,” said a spokesman for the Countryside Alliance.

Meanwhile, many farmers throughout the country have threatened to refuse to allow Ministry of Defence activity on their land should a hunting ban become law. A spokesman for the MoD was unclear of the true implications of such a threat, but admitted that it could potentially cause some disruption for the department.

“My understanding is that the vast majority of military manoeuvres are carried out on MoD-owned land,” he said. “However, there are instances when a necessity to use private land would come into play, but it is currently not clear how much significance we can attach to this threat.

“If private property were no longer available, the department would need to take a view on further implications for the department.”

• A peaceful protest by hunt supporters caused some disruption for the Blairs at Chequers. Cherie was celebrating her 50th birthday party at the Blairs’ Berkshire residence, but as tractors and trailers blocked all entrances, guests eventually had to be shipped through in undignified fashion in police vans, parking their more upmarket vehicles in the local supermarket car park.

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