Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 22 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 November 2005. It was answered by Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 November 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Hunting

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the use of scents for (a) drag and (b) trail hunting on Forestry Commission land; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: The Forestry Commission has entered a Drag Hunting Agreement for one season with the Master of Foxhounds Association (MFHA). This sets out the terms on which their member hunts can apply to the Forestry Commission for a specific licence to drag hunt. The terms are identical to those agreed with the Master of Bloodhounds and Draghounds Association (MBDA) who have operated on the public forest estate for a number of years. The MBDA code of conduct on scents is included in the MFHA Agreement as follows:"““The scent used must be artificial and may be chemical or animal based. The scent used should not be easily confused by the hounds with a wild mammal. Under no circumstances should a carcass or part of one, the hunting of which is illegal, be used as the scent.””"

Secondary information