The Tory minister making a principled stand against fox hunting

Despite hundreds of thousands of people saying they would take part in the traditional Boxing Day hunt and strong support for a repeal of the ban from sections of her own party, one Tory minister is a making a principled stand against killing foxes for sport.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, said parliament has "better things to be concerned with" than debate fox hunting - a sport which should be "consigned to history".

Her words follow the Conservative party's election pledge to offer MPs a vote on whether to repeal the ban which came into force in 2004.

Fox hunting is a pursuit from the past and like the overwhelming majority of the population I believe that is where it should stay, consigned to history.

I believe that the legislation as it stands today requires better enforcement, and Parliament has better things to be concerned with than bringing back hunting foxes with hounds.

According to the BBC, a survey for the Countryside Alliance said 250,000 people would take part in a hunt on Boxing Day and the chief executive of the pro-hunting alliance said the ban was nothing but a "great political totem" even though 83 per cent of people believe the ban should remain.

A parliamentary vote on the issue was postponed earlier this year after the government feared it did not have enough support in the House of Commons.

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