Animal protection campaigners today welcomed the support of local MP Mark Hunter for important advances in the effort to reduce the use of animals in laboratories.

Local MP, Mark Hunter, joins forces with animal welfare charities to mark success of Hunting Act ten years on

Today, February 18 marks ten years since the Hunting Act 2004 came into force. This important legislation was introduced to stop hunting with dogs for sport due to the profound suffering caused by the prolonged chase and violent death. Ten years on, the Act has outperformed all other wild mammal legislation and is now the most successful piece of wild animal welfare legislation in England and Wales.

Mark Hunter, MP for Cheadle constituency, commenting on the anniversary said: “I am delighted to celebrate the Hunting Act ten years on from when it first came into force. As a society we decided to protect animal welfare and I am delighted that the Act has been so successful. I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries of this important legislation.”

Joe Duckworth, Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said:  “Hunting wild animals with dogs for sport was banned ten years ago on animal welfare grounds. A decade on, this important and popular legislation has both the highest number of convictions and highest conviction rate above all other wild mammal legislation. Many more people have been deterred from chasing and killing animals for pleasure - something worth celebrating. The problem is not with the law.  It’s with those that flout it.”

David Bowles, RSPCA Head of Public Affairs said: “The RSPCA firmly believes that the cruel practice of chasing and killing live animals with dogs is a barbaric and outdated pastime and has no place in modern Britain. This is a sentiment echoed by the vast majority of the British public. A decade on, public feeling towards the hunting ban is still strong. The fact remains that it is only a tiny minority of people who, seek a return to cruelty.

“The RSPCA also believes that the Hunting Act is a workable, enforceable piece of legislation - since it came into force in 2004, 344 defendants have been found guilty of offences.”

The Hunting Act prohibited the hunting of wild mammals, including foxes, deer, hares and mink with dogs, something which the vast majority of the British public ten years on do not want to see a return to.

Latest opinion polling carried out by Ipsos MORI¹ at the end of 2014 shows that 80 per cent of people in Great Britain think that fox hunting should remain illegal, 86 per cent for deer hunting and 88 per cent for hare hunting/coursing. These figures are about the same in both rural and urban areas.

Local MP Mark Hunter has welcomed Liberal Democrat Schools Minister David Laws MP to Cheadle constituency today for a major announcement regarding the next phase of the Priority Schools Building Programme, a £2bn government scheme spearheaded by the Liberal Democrats to rebuild those schools across the country suffering most from wear and tear. Locally, both Cheadle Primary School and Great Moor Junior School have been awarded government money to realise their renovation proposals.

Mark Hunter MP is backing a new campaign by leading animal welfare charity, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to urge prospective dog owners to think twice about how they buy a dog, in an attempt to crack down on the horrific practice of backstreet dog breeding.

Earlier this week  Mark Hunter MP attended a reception held by Living Streets and made a pledge to keep on campaigning to reduce the default speed limit to 20mph in all residential areas to make walking safer and easier for older people. 

Mark Hunter MP for Cheadle constituency has pledged his support to Prostate Cancer UK’s Men United campaign at a reception at the House of Commons.

Local MP for Cheadle constituency, Mark Hunter MP, has welcomed news that the Secretary of State for Transport has today confirmed the orders for the A6 Manchester Airport Relief Road (A555), showing the green light for construction to begin.

Unemployment in Cheadle constituency has been halved since spring 2010.  In May of that year there were 1,144 economically active people aged 16 to 64 claiming unemployment benefits.  In December 2014 this number had fallen to 553 people, a rate of just 1.3%, a record low.

This week Mark Hunter MP signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust as well as paying tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people.

Health bosses in the North West have been urged to back a campaign aimed at dramatically reducing the number of suicides across the NHS.