The government's "utility" tests, proposed in the Hunting Bill, would undermine farming, fishing and shooting if applied to other activities, it has been claimed.

Forum Response: RSPCA

A spokesman for the RSPCA told ePolitix.com: "Douglas Wise is merely expressing a personal opinion that, in the RSPCA's view, is very wide of the mark. Farming to produce food has a fundamental utility, hunting with dogs does not. Farming can be regulated to minimise suffering, hunting cannot as the basic act of chasing and killing foxes with dogs is intrinsically cruel."The tests of cruelty and utility have been designed to apply to four species - foxes, hares, deer and mink. They are not intended to be imposed on other species or activities."At the DEFRA hunting hearings in September Dr Wise was the only one of eight expert witnesses who gave evidence on cruelty to express the view that no suffering is caused by hunting with dogs."

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Simon Hart, director of the Campaign for Hunting, told ePolitix.com: "We agree with Dr Wise. To limit utility in such a way is to set a very dangerous precedent. Hunting is a delicate mix of management or populations and environment, economic activity and recreation.

"That mix will vary from place to place, season to season. Its social and cultural contribution to rural Britain is also significant. There is no logic or justification in trying to eliminate these aspects from hunting anymore than there is from fishing and shooting."

A spokesman for DEFRA told ePolitix.com: "Alun Michael has consistently said the tests of utility and cruelty would not extend to other pastimes including fishing and shooting. He again made that clear during the Hunting Bill committee debate on Tuesday January 7 that the test of utility and cruelty would not apply as it strays outside the scope of the Bill.

"In the debate he said 'we have a clear manifesto commitment to enable parliament to reach a conclusion on hunting with dogs. That issue has been raised in the House time and again and both sides have debated it. We shall fulfil that manifesto commitment and we shall not be diverted into a discussion on shooting and fishing'.

"Similarly, the tests would not extend to farming as the Bill deals solely with the issue of hunting with dogs."