Britain scraps plan for vote on lifting fox hunting ban
FILE - In this file photo dated Tuesday, July 14, 2015, a protestors dressed as a fox demonstrates to keep a ban on fox hunting, near to the Houses of Parliament in London. During a TV interview broadcast Sunday Jan. 7, 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May said the British government is scrapping a promise to reconsider the current ban on fox hunting until after the next election, due in 2022, a centuries-old rural tradition contentiously outlawed more than a decade ago. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, FILE)
LONDON — The British government said yesterday it is scrapping a promise to reconsider the ban on fox hunting, a centuries-old rural tradition contentiously outlawed more than a decade ago.
Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party pledged during last year's election to let lawmakers vote on repealing the ban.
The party did worse than expected, losing its majority in Parliament.
May said in a BBC interview that she had received a "clear message" from the public and would not hold a vote before the next election, due by 2022.
Allowing dogs to chase and kill wild mammals was banned in 2004 amid concerns about animal cruelty. Polls suggest most Britons oppose lifting the ban.
The ban did not end traditional hunts, in which mounted riders and a pack of hounds race across the countryside. Many hunts now follow a scent trail instead of a fox, or work around loopholes in the law.
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