• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
1The Rt. Hon Jack Straw MPSecretary of State for the Home Department50 Queen Anne's GateLondon SW1A 0AA9 June 2000You appointed us in December 1999 to carry out an inquiry into hunting with dogs, withthe following terms of reference:“To inquire into:
•
 
the practical aspects of different types of hunting with dogs and its impact onthe rural economy, agriculture and pest control, the social and cultural life of the countryside, the management and conservation of wildlife, and animalwelfare in particular areas of England and Wales;
•
 
the consequences for these issues of any ban on hunting with dogs; and
•
 
how any ban might be implemented.To report the findings to the Secretary of State for the Home Department.”We now have pleasure in enclosing our report.Without doubt, conducting the inquiry has been a challenging experience. This is acomplex issue that is full of paradoxes. We were helped by the terms of reference, whichasked us to concentrate on the factual and analytical background to hunting. We haveaddressed those issues and we have not attempted to answer the question of whether ornot hunting should be banned. In particular, we have not sought to find a compromisesolution, which we regarded as outside our terms of reference.The result is a report that might appear long on analysis and short on solutions. But webelieve that it will help to inform the debate that will follow the publication of our report.We have travelled widely throughout England and Wales and listened to many people.We were left in no doubt about the sensitivity of the issue or the passion that it arouses.We have sought to conduct the inquiry in a very open manner. We have made as muchas possible of our evidence available on the inquiry website. Our oral evidence sessionshave been in public and transcripts have also been posted on the website as quickly aspossible. We commissioned research papers, which were made available in draft anddiscussed at seminars, also open to the public.In the process we believe that we have gone some way to reach a wider agreement aboutthe analysis of the issues, although some important differences remain. Some of these
 
2differences could be narrowed further with more research conducted over a longer timeperiod. Others are likely to remain because they are not capable of being resolved in thisway.We would like to record our thanks to the staff of the Committee. They have workedtirelessly against very tight deadlines to cope with the huge amount of material wereceived, to prepare it for publication on the website and to organise a complex series of visits, oral evidence and seminars. In particular, we would like to recognise theimportant role of Brian Caffarey, the Secretary to the Committee. We have only beenable to complete our task within the tight timetable given to us because of Brian'splanning and organisational strengths, his ability to communicate quickly and sensitivelywith people on all sides of this debate and because of his drafting skills.
 
3LORD BURNS (Chairman)DR. VICTORIA EDWARDSPROFESSOR SIR JOHN MARSHLORD SOULSBY OF SWAFFHAM PRIORPROFESSOR MICHAEL WINTER
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...