Snares

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Jim Dowd

Thursday 21st July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hart]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Government and, indeed, his sponsors in this debate—the League Against Cruel Sports—have occasionally used snares for research and tagging purposes. All the descriptions he has just attached to this practice apply when it is used for those purposes, which could be construed as important.

[Jim Dowd]

I would say, Mr Deputy Speaker, that I thought I had been rather generous with my time, as the expression has it.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. What I would say is that you have been very generous—maybe over-generous. The fact is that it is normally 15 minutes for the opening of a debate. I have been very generous and very tolerant—quite rightly, because this is a very important subject—but I do want to get other Members in because we have another debate to follow.

[Jim Dowd]

Mr Deputy Speaker, I accept your direction implicitly. I shall draw my remarks to a conclusion.

This motion is overwhelmingly supported by animal welfare organisations—not just the League Against Cruel Sports, but Animal Aid, Cats Protection, the RSPCA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and many others. If a medical product was as ineffective as snares are in achieving their purpose, and if it had the same hideous and detrimental side effects as snares, it would be banned, and I believe that snares should be as well.

I will leave the final word to Mr Chris Packham, a naturalist and well-known TV broadcaster, who said:

“Indiscriminate and inhumane, they should be illegal—there is not much more to say about snares.”

[Several hon. Members rose—]