The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Conservative Government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron are clashing over the loosening of fox hunting laws in England and Wales.
The House of Commons will be considering the legislation on Wednesday.
According to the BBC, “Traditional fox hunting with dogs is illegal across Britain. However, hunts in England and Wales are able to flush out foxes for pest control purposes, using only two dogs – as long as the foxes are shot as quickly as possible. In Scotland an unlimited number of dogs can be used for this purpose.”
Although Scotland’s ban is currently more lax than that of England, the SNP’s leader Angus Robertson has stated that, “[The Scottish National Party] totally oppose[s] fox hunting, and when there are moves in the Scottish Parliament to review whether the existing Scottish ban is strong enough, it is in the Scottish interest to maintain the existing ban in England and Wales for Holyrood consider.”
However, this isn’t just about the foxes– since the UK general election in May, the SNP has felt very little respect from the incumbent government, which is notable especially considering the 2014 Scottish referendum regarding leaving the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, citizens have been protesting as well, donning fox masks and tossing orange powder. Facing overwhelming pressure from the public (surveys say 74% of Britons oppose the move) as well as the guaranteed no votes from the SNP’s 56 MPs, David Cameron cancelled the vote.
The matter is expected to be brought up again in the fall after rules are made against Scottish MPs voting on England-only laws.
