Hunting with dogs bill will create 'chill effect' for landowners - Gareth Wilson
Newry & Armagh DUP MLA Gareth Wilson has said John Blair’s ‘Hunting with Dogs Bill in its current format would create a significant chill effect for landowners’.
The Bill proposed by John Blair, MLA is ‘to prohibit hunting wild mammals with dogs; to prohibit trail hunting; to prohibit terrier work; and to set out exemptions from these prohibitions’.
Mr Wilson said the section of the Bill which refers to landowners is fraught with difficulty and said the bill, much like the last attempt, is ‘bad law’.
He said: “Reading just a few short paragraphs of John Blair’s Hunting with Dogs Bill, it becomes very clear, very quickly, that this is bad law.
“Bad for pest control, bad for conservation, bad for animals, bad for the countryside and bad for farmers or indeed any landowner.”
He added: “As a member of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs, along with the rest of the committee members, we are only at the start of this process in terms of scrutinising this Alliance Party Bill.
"There is a very long road ahead in terms of gathering evidence from stakeholders and organisations and I very much look forward to this process continuing.
"From my own perspective, I will not be content with any attempts to shorten this important process given just how serious an issue this is.”
Speaking of his concerns for landowners, he added: “The current format of the Bill makes it an offence for any landowner or occupier of land to knowingly cause or permit another person to hunt a wild mammal using one or more dogs on that land.
"Should this Bill be passed containing this particular element, then I really would worry for landowners, I would worry for anyone who owns a dog, especially a working dog and indeed I worry for our important shooting community in Northern Ireland.”
Mr Wilson said that “during the early stages of the committee phase I have already asked officials what legal weight is given to the word ‘knowingly’ in law”.
"I want to know what that entails, what proof would be sought from anyone enforcing this bad law, were it to be passed and what potential legal scenarios this would give rise to,” he added.
"In terms of an occupier, would this relate to lands rented and would the weight of the term ‘knowingly’ fall to incriminating the person renting the land or the actual owner of the land?
"These are all important questions that need to be asked and answered.”
The Newry & Armagh DUP MLA said: “We have already had an experienced legal opinion on this Bill by KC John Larkin and his remarks are extremely important given his considerable knowledge of law generally, the implications and consequences.
"His assessment was no ringing endorsement of the Bill in its current format.
"There is of course a very long window in which MLA’s can either change this Bill or vote it down.
"There is also absolutely no requirement for the Assembly to enact ‘bad law’ and that is a point I will continue to make during this scrutiny stage.”