“When you shout for animals, some people want you to shut up. They’ll call you a fanatic, a hypocrite, an extremist, a bore. But shout anyway.” ~ Ricky Gervais

The Prime Minister in the United Kingdom believes that people should have the “freedom to hunt” and as soon as he was reelected as Prime Minister he announced plans to overturn the current ban on fox hunting and announced that a parliamentary vote will take place to repeal the ban.

Despite over half a million people signing one petition alone to stop this happening, on Wednesday, July 15th, Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom will be asked to place a vote which if successful would make changes to the current ban on fox hunting that has been in place since 2004.

The vote will allow changes in the numbers of hounds that are involved in this blood sport, as currently only two dogs are allowed to flush out the foxes which then are shot by someone on horseback.

Although the government is classing this as “technical amendments” the changes that will be put in place will mean that packs of dogs will take part in the hunt, with the most probable result being the fox will be chased before being ripped apart by the teeth of the trained hounds.

The voting could have an ironic twist as Labour call on the SNP (Scottish National Party) to also vote against making controversial changes. If the vote is successful and the changes take place, it will bring England and Wales into line with the hunting legislation that are currently in place in Scotland. If the SNP vote against the changes, it could have significant effect on the fox hunting laws the Scottish hunters have to abide to. If the SNP agree that these changes should not be effective in England and Wales, surely it could mean that they will then have to readdress their own current law too.

While the SNP do not normally vote in Westminster on issues that do not affect Scotland directly, the party are currently looking through the fine details before they make their decision. If the SNP do vote against the fox hunting changes, it could likely result in a majority win which will mean the ban will remain in place.

Campaigners are calling on the SNP to get involved amid concerns that the Scottish hunts are flaunting the law. The Scottish government have now launched an investigation into the effectiveness of the ban.

Ricky Gervais has once again waded in to be the voice for animals that cannot defend themselves. Gervais, comedian, actor and Animal Rights campaigner showed his response to the proposal to overturn the Hunting Act by posting a series of comments to his social media pages that have over 12 million followers.
Here are a few of Gervais’ comments that have been re-tweeted and shared tens of thousands of times:

“The most powerful man in Britain wants the freedom to hunt this animal and watch dogs rip it to pieces.”

Gervais’ social media accounts have also been littered with images of fluffy foxes and also of adorable fox cubs.

Ricky Gervais recently said, “Animals don’t have a voice, but I do. A loud one. I’m a fucking big mouth. My voice is for them. And I’ll never shut up while they suffer.”

The only significant way humanity progresses is by decreasing suffering and increasing compassion. ‪#‎KeepTheBan

It’s 2015. How the hell are we still trying to decide if we should allow posh psychopaths to torture wildlife if they like it? ‪#‎Keeptheban

So proud of the government on all sides for standing up against fox hunting. This isn’t about party politics. This is about cruelty versus kindness.

Fox Hunting is not about pest control. It’s about dressing up and enjoying a terrified animal being ripped apart. Sadistic thrill seeking. Thanks for writing to your Members of Parliament.

Why would anyone want the right to dress up and chase a fox to watch it ripped apart by dogs? I honestly don’t get it. ‪

Imagine if a gang of thugs set a pack of dogs on a terrified animal for a laugh. Now imagine they’re posh people on horseback. ‪#‎KeepTheBan

Relephant read:

Why Ricky Gervais is Roaring “F*ck Yeah!” & “F*ck No!”

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Author: Alex Myles

Editor: Travis May

Photo: Flickr/Beau Considine