In brief
Anti-hunting protestors have failed in their bid to overturn the ban on hunting with hounds. The Countryside Alliance had argued that the ban violated the human rights of thousands of people and was putting thousands of jobs at risk. However, the law lords ruled in favour of the ban. Giving judgment Lord Bingham said: “The present case seems to me pre-eminently one in which respect should be shown to what the House of Commons decided. The democratic process is liable to be subverted if, on a question of moral and political judgment, opponents of the Act achieve through the courts what they could not achieve in Parliament.”