THE hunting season is under way again and it could possibly be the last while the Hunting Act is in force.

The reality is the Hunting Act is a bad law that has failed.

There have been just three successful prosecutions against hunts in the five years it has been in force. Opinion polls conducted by independent organisations have consistently shown that less than three in 10 people think that the Hunting Act is working.

The ban on hunting was driven by class politics and prejudice, not animal welfare or wildlife management, which is why the law is unworkable.

Repeal would be a public benefit – the Hunting Act has wasted thousands of hours of police time with officers forced to investigate spurious allegations made by animal rights activists when they should have been tackling real crime. One judge said the Hunting Act "is far from simple to interpret or apply".

Millions of pounds of taxpayers' money has been spent bringing in, enforcing and discussing the law. I am sure the general public will agree that the money wasted on enforcing a dreadful piece of legislation would be better off spent on education, schooling, policing and the NHS.

Tim Bonner,

Countryside Alliance.