§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if hunts which are licensed to hunt on Forestry Commission land have to follow the same rules as members of the public with respect to control of dogs and use of authorised routes only. [43747]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by Forest Enterprise. I have asked its Chief Executive, Dr. Bob McIntosh, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Bob McIntosh to Jackie Ballard, dated 8 June 1998:
The Secretary of State for Scotland has asked me to reply to your question regarding the licensing of hunts on Forestry Commission land and whether hunts have to follow the same rules as members of the public with respect to the control of dogs and use of authorised routes only.As you will be aware, the Forestry Commission welcomes members of the public to its estate through a policy of freedom of access on foot where there are no legal or other restrictions. To help manage this freedom of access the Forestry Commission's Byelaws 1982 apply to all land managed by the Forestry Commission to which access is provided.The control of dogs is specifically mentioned in the Byelaws. Under Byelaw 5 (xiii) it is an offence for a person to permit any animal in his charge to be out of control, while Byelaw 5 (xiv) makes it an offence for a person to permit any dog for which he is responsible to disturb, worry or chase any bird or animal or, on being requested by an officer of the Commissioners, fail to keep the dog on a leash.Fox hunting is an activity which is controlled by licence on the Forestry Commission estate, the licences restricting the areas where hunting can take place and the activities which can be carried out.The licences which are used to authorise hunting all contain enforceable conditions, including one requiring compliance with the Forestry Commission byelaws, except as expressly authorised by the licence. I would like to assure you that the conditions are designed to ensure that hounds and terriers are kept under control, and it is the Forestry Commission's intention to tighten these conditions further in the near future.428WAt present, the licences include conditions which:Designate the specific areas of land over which the Hunt may operateProvide specific instructions for Masters of Foxhounds on the use of terriersRequire Masters of Foxhounds to ensure compliance with requirements relating to the protection and welfare of animals including the Protection of Badgers Act 1992Require Masters to call off hounds in the event of them starting to hunt deerProvide for monitoring of the activities of Hunts by Forest District Managers to ensure compliance with all the terms and conditions. In the event of non compliance, the licence may be revoked.I hope that this reassures you that the activities of fox hunts and in particular hounds and terriers associated with hunting are rigorously controlled.