Dear Editor, - I write in response to the letters from Mrs D. Clements and Mr J. Murray Evans, claiming that the majority of people in the UK do not want to see hunting with dogs banned.
Their claim is based on an NOP poll, which hunt supporters say shows that 59% of people oppose a ban on hunting with dogs. The results of the poll, commissioned by the Countryside Alliance, have been completely distorted by the pro-hunting lobby. The poll asked which statements people agreed with:
1. Hunting should be allowed to continue as it is now because it is essentially a matter of civil liberties. Result: 18%.
2. Allowing hunting to continue under regulation would strike a balance between civil liberties and animal welfare, 41%.
3. Hunting should not be allowed to continue at all as cruelty is more important than civil liberties, 36%.
The Countryside Alliance then added the first and second results together to get the 59% figure. This is a complete distortion.
MORI Polls on this subject ask the simple question: Do you support or oppose a ban on hunting with dogs? The polls from July 1977 to March 2002 show that public opinion is consistently in favour of a ban on hunting with dogs. In the last poll the figure in favour of a ban was 62%, with only 26% against.
NICK AINGER MP Constituency Office, Ferry Lane Works, Ferry Lane, Pembroke Dock.
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