§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the policy on his Department's land being used for hunting with hounds; what arrangements are made for service personnel, horses, and equipment to be used in this connection; what requirements and regulations are enforced to try to ensure that hunting does not occur on adjoining landowners' land; what recompense is made if this does occur; and what are the locations of his Department's land where hunting is permitted.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonIt is our policy to permit access to Ministry of Defence land for recreational purposes wherever operational and safety considerations permit, where it is consistent with the interests of our tenants and licensees, and where it does not unreasonably affect local amenities and the environment. Legal activities involving hunting with hounds could be permitted over any MOD land on which those criteria are met.
Although hunting is acknowledged as a useful form of training for both horses and riders, only members of mounted units may be permitted to hunt during duty hours, at their commanding officers' discretion. MOD personnel are entitled to hire various items of Government-owned equipment for their own personal use, subject to availability, and a charge is levied which is calculated to recover any cost to the Department arising from that use.
The question of access to the property of adjacent landowners and of any recompense would be a matter for the hunt itself.