Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to monitor the effectiveness of police enforcement of the ban on live hunting under the Hunting Act 2004.

The enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace, protect communities and prevent the commission of offences, working within the provisions of the legal framework set by Parliament.

It is for individual Chief Constables to determine how their resources are deployed and it is for locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners to hold their forces to account. This includes consideration of how the police tackle the crimes that matter most to residents and businesses in rural and urban areas alike.