MP applauds hunt ban (From Western Telegraph)

MP applauds hunt ban

Pembrokeshire's countryside supporters, defeated but defiant after the House of Commons voted to end fox hunting, are quietly confident of a reprieve - an optimism not shared by their MP.

While members of the Pembrokeshire and South Pembrokeshire Hunts joined a vigil in Parliament Square last week, local MP Nick Ainger was inside the House of Commons casting his vote for an outright ban.

Since his election to Parliament, Mr Ainger, MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, has consistently voted for Bills seeking to ban hunting with dogs.

His delight after MPs voted by 362 to 154 for a total ban was not shared by his constituents protesting outside the House. They argued that hunting with dogs was the only realistic pest control option available to farmers.

Dairy farmer Diane Clements, of Broomhill Farm, Martletwy, had joined the women's vigil. A pair of her pants was delivered to 10 Downing Street as part of a cheeky 'pantition' entitled 'Pants to Prejudice'.

Diane, a dairy farmer and a member of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt, is confident the Bill will be rejected by the House of Lords.

A suggestion that the Government will invoke the Parliament Act to over-rule the Lords and implement a ban within two years was unlikely, she believed. "I don't think for one moment that a ban will be in place by 2005,'' she said. "With an election looming I doubt that the Government will want to use the Parliament Act to push through an undemocratic piece of legislation.''

But Nick Ainger challenged her supposition, insisting that the Government was committed to making the Bill law 'as soon as possible'.

"The majority of people in this country want to see an end to the cruelty of hunting with dogs, and this Bill will deliver that,'' he said.

Pictured: Museum pieces: Foxes from the past on display. PICTURE: Western Telegraph (WTJG970H03).