Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

WhichevercandidatewinstheToryleadershipcontest,theyarefickle

friends to fi eldsports. And with friends like these, who needs enemies?

A

stheConservativeleadership

contestnearsitsclimax,it is

clearthatneithercandidatewill

supportfoxhunting.I predicted

thisa monthago(Sharpshooter, 19June),

whenI pointedoutthatthecommitmentto

a freevoteonhuntingintheConservatives’

ill-fated 2017 electionmanifestohadbeen

anowngoal.I wrotethatit “provedto

bea monumentalmistake...effectively

tarnishingallfieldsportsin the eyes of

ambitiouspoliticians”.

Don’tgetmewrong,I don’tthinkhunting

wasa majorvote-influencingfactorinthe

2017 election.Yet,unfortunately,it has

gonedowninpost-electionmythologyasa

policythatsentallthewrongsignalstothe

widerelectorate.Morerecently,wehave

seenbothfinalcandidatesbody-swerve

onhuntingintheToryleadershiprace.

Atonepoint,JeremeyHuntstatedthat

hewasinfavourofa voteonrestoring

hunting,justashadbeenproposed

twoyearsago.Thistriggereda flurryof

allegationsthatMrHuntwasoutoftouch.

Heimmediatelybeganback-pedalling.It’s

a safebetthatwewon’tseehim taking any

furtherrisksonhunting.

Inevitably,afterthe“Huntforhunting”

debacle,BorisJohnsonwasnexttobeput

onthespot.Ata hustingsinNottingham,

enemyoffieldsports,ComradeCorbyn.

Labour’sgeneralantipathytowardshunting

andshootingisdeeplyingrained.Nobody

shouldbeunderanyillusionsaboutthe

party’shostilitytowardsus.Atthesame

time,it isinterestedtonotethatoneofthe

keyfiguresatthecentreofLabour’scurrent

internalturmoilisChrisWilliamsonMP.

I havebeenwritingabouttheanticsof

thelovelyMrWilliamsonforyears,charting

hisrisefromtheranksofhuntsaboteurs

toa seniorpositionattheLeagueAgainst

CruelSports.Morerecently,hefelloutwith

currentleadershipofthatorganisation,

beingexpelledfromhispositionasa

trustee.Heremainsa hardcoreantiand

ferventCorbynista,ceaselesslymining

hispoliticalconnectionsto further his

animalrightscause.

ThereasonMrWilliamsonisattheheart

ofLabour’scivilwartodayisbecausesome

withinthepartyaccusehimofbeingtoo

lenientwithanti-Semiticbehaviour,which

hedenies.Hewassuspendedfromthe

partyafteraninternalinvestigationintohis

reactiontoanti-Jewishcomments.Thenhe

wasreinstated—onlytobere-suspended

aftera backlashfromwhathasbeencalled

themoderatewingoftheparty.Huntingis

miredina politicalswamp,besetbyfickle

friends and horrible enemies alike.

hewasaskedif hewasinfavouroffox

hunting.Boris,whoseboyhoodhome

wasanExmoorfarmandwhohadfiercely

opposedtheoriginalhuntbanonlibertarian

grounds,neatlyside-stepped.

Heresponded:“Whatpeoplewanttodo

isfocusonthethingsthatbringourcountry

together.ThelasttimeI lookedI amnot

convincedthatthatparticularissuestands

outformeastheonethatisunifying, with

a cohesivequality.”Inshort,he’snotgoing

totouchhuntingwitha bargepole.

Thesadfactisthatanytalkoflegalising

huntingispoliticallytoxicthesedays.No

realisticTorypoliticiancanseeanything

togainbyraisingtheissue—onlythe

potentialdownsideofbeingportrayed

ashopelesslybackward-looking.

Meanwhile,attheoppositeendofthe

politicalspectrum,weseeanopposition

party headed (for now) by a long-time

AlasdairMitchell

Sharpshooter

DOG BY KEITH REYNOLDS

“Thesadfactis

thatanytalkof

legalisinghunting

is politicallytoxic

these days”

98 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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