Alliance bill would ban shooting with dogs and make dog ownership 'dangerous' - former Attorney General argues
Legislation framed by the Alliance Party as a ban on fox hunting would effectively outlaw all hunting of wild mammals for food if a dog is used – and leaves dog walkers “starkly exposed to criminal liability”, according to a former attorney general.
John Larkin KC says the Hunting With Dogs Bill – which faces a key Stormont vote on Tuesday – is “confused and unnecessarily complex”.
He has given his views in a legal analysis, commissioned by and provided to the pro-hunting pressure group Countryside Alliance, and seen by the News Letter.
It comes just days before MLAs decide whether it can be allowed to proceed to the scrutiny stage in the Assembly.
The private members bill is the work of Alliance MLA John Blair, who has insisted that it is purely an attempt to ban the hunting and killing of foxes by dogs – and to close down loopholes used by hunts.
However, concerns have persisted that there will be an impact on shooting by restricting the use of gundogs – and warnings that activities like shooting rabbits and deer stalking will be impacted.
Mr Larkin, a former Attorney General for Northern Ireland, argues that the current proposals could criminalise activities far beyond hunting and killing foxes with dogs.
He says that the way the legislation defines “participation” in hunting with dogs, may leave someone walking a dog which chases a rabbit “exposed to liability”.
“If, for example, an elderly person goes for a walk with her dog and in the course of that walk the dog, quite unexpectedly, scampers off in pursuit of a rabbit or squirrel, the dog is certainly ‘pursuing’ the rabbit or squirrel and may, therefore, be regarded as hunting it even if the dog can never catch the rabbit or squirrel. In this example, the elderly person is exposed to criminal liability…as participating in hunting”, the KC states.
He argues that “dog ownership would be made more burdensome if not dangerous if this Bill were to be enacted”.
This week, the News Letter reported on concerns that exemptions which formed part of similar legislation in Scotland had not been included in the NI bill. That point is addressed in Mr Larkin’s brief to the Countryside Alliance.
He states: “…the effect of the Bill is to ban all hunting of wild mammals whether for recreation or food if a dog is used, even if the dog is never used to kill the hunted animal. While it will still be permitted to shoot birds using a dog, it will not be permitted to shoot deer or rabbits for recreation or for the purposes of eating them or for a combination of both of these purposes...”
The barrister adds: “If this Bill is enacted, ‘shooting for the pot’ is, if a dog is used, rendered unlawful.”
Backers of the bill have said that an explanatory memorandum attached to the legislation would clarify any questions over its intent. However, Mr Larkin argues that “as an aid to interpretation, the explanatory notes can be considered to have very little, if any, weight or value. That would be so even if there were not instances of the explanatory notes giving an inaccurate account of the Bill”.
This week, the Together Campaign – representing the USPCA and the League Against Cruel Sports – said that people who want to go out with one or two dogs to shoot rabbits for the pot would be able to do so under exemptions in Mr Blair’s law.
These relate to preventing serious damage to livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber or pasture. However, they said the use of dogs that are trained and bred to catch and kill rabbits would be illegal.
The DUP is treating the vote as a matter of conscience, with its MLAs allowed to make up their own minds. However, a majority are expected to oppose the bill proceeding.
It is understood that the UUP will back the bill on Tuesday, but will set tests on whether it impacts other aspects of country life such as shooting and wildlife management. If it proceeds to the next stage, scrutiny will be led by UUP MLA Robbie Butler, who chairs the agriculture committee. His has not commented publicly on his stance on the bill, but voted for similar legislation in the past.
Sinn Fein has also yet to set out its position. It recently adopted a policy of supporting a ban on fox hunting with dogs “for the sole purpose of leisure” – and mandated the party to ensure that any ban “does not unduly impact rural life”.
Alliance and the SDLP will back the legislation, with the TUV opposed.