Eight in ten Scots support fox hunting ban

The research, commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland and published on the biggest day in the hunting calendar, found that 80% thought hunting foxes should be against the law.

Fox hunting with dogs was banned in Scotland through the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act in 2002, with an exemption for using dogs to flush out foxes for pest control or protecting livestock or ground-nesting birds.

Mounted hunts in Scotland have since offered farmers, landowners and estate managers a pest control service but a review by Lord Bonomy published last year found there were "grounds to suspect'' fox hunting takes place illegally and he recommended having independent monitors to police hunts.

Polling was carried out for the league by Mark Diffley Consultancy and Research - the new venture from the former director of the research institute Ipsos Mori Scotland - using the online research panel ScotPulse, with 1,463 responses received between September 5 and 13.

It found a majority of supporters of all political parties were in favour of maintaining the ban, ranging from 60% of Tory voters to 83% and 88% respectively for Labour and SNP voters.

Robbie Marsland, director of the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland, said: "These latest figures show the vast majority of the public fully support a ban on fox hunting with 80% of those polled voicing support for the activity to be illegal.

"Repeated polling over many years has consistently shown this to be the case with public opinion rooted firmly against this cruel and outdated pastime.

"Fox hunting with hounds was banned in Scotland fifteen years ago yet sadly we have a law which has not served the purpose for which it was intended.

"This means hunts are continuing to go out two or three times a week over the hunting season, hunting in a way which is almost identical to pre-ban hunting making the law a complete waste of time.

"The League will continue to campaign for a law which does what was originally intended and really ban hunting.''

Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone recently announced plans to lodge a member's bill to outlaw fox hunting, claiming the current legal restrictions have "failed''.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We are currently consulting on Lord Bonomy's recommendations for legislative reform and would encourage everyone with an interest to take part. We have also established a stakeholder group to develop a new code of practice and assess the feasibility of a new monitoring scheme.

"We remain committed to ensuring the highest welfare standards for all animals, including those in the wild, and encourage everyone to notify Police Scotland if anyone is suspected of breaking the law.'