Tim Bonner, who claims that the Hunting Act has failed and should be repealed (Chronicle Letters November 5), is a representative of the Countryside Alliance (CA).

The CA is a child of the British Field (read 'blood') Sports Society. It masquerades as a representative of rural dwellers and, shamefully, is often accepted as such by the media and even the Government. In reality, it represents and cares only about a narrow, sectional minority whose passion is killing wildlife for fun.

The latest polling (IPSOS/MORI) actually shows 72 per cent of rural dwellers think fox hunting should be illegal. Even higher percentages deplore the hunting of other quarry.

Mr Bonner is, however, right that the Hunting Act – long overdue and hugely popular – is not working well. This is due to a combination of weak wording and loopholes, inadequate enforcement and the hunters' arrogant and ruthless readiness to bend and even break the law – as a claimed 50,000 of them declared they would do before the Act's passage.

So, when criminals circumvent the law, it must be strengthened to stop them, not repealed to reward them.

It is highly alarming and regrettable that the bloodsports lobby now seems to exercise a great and highly disproportionate influence over the Conservative Party – and hunters fund and canvass for it generously. Especially as that same recent poll showed 62 per cent of Tory voters wanting the Hunting Act retained.

David Cameron, a hunter himself, and whose first stated policy was to re-legalise the cruel and barbaric 'sport' of hunting with dogs, can be seen as the CA's 'man'. Yet he also claims to represent 'compassionate Conservatism'. This, surely, reveals the moral rot and hypocrisy at the heart of the modern Tory leadership.

ALAN KIRBY Details supplied

Yet more propagandist nonsense is being spouted from the dictatorial and desperate hunting lobby.

Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance claims that the Hunting Act should be repealed because it is a bad law, that has failed, with just three prosecutions of hunts in five years.

If we follow that bizarre logic, should we then remove laws on speeding because not enough people have been prosecuted?

Indeed the opposite must be true, that if not enough people are being prosecuted then the act needs tightening to close loopholes which are allowing hunts to literally get away with murder.

The Hunting Act was brought in to prevent unnecessary suffering to wild mammals by making hunting with dogs illegal and contrary to Mr Bonner's nonsense there were actually 14 prosecutions in the first two years of the Act and many more since. The act is working, but not to his liking. I wonder why?

So while Labour is focusing on getting the country out of recession, would-be Prime Minister David Cameron and his Tory hunting MPs want to waste Parliamentary time bringing back an activity that most of their own voters don't even support let alone the vast majority of the public who want to keep the ban in place.

A vote for the Tories is certainly a vote for change – a change for the worse. Do we really want a return to stag, fox, and deer hunting and the equally despicable fox baiting and hare coursing? Taking Britain back to the dark ages is not what the public are looking for. Same old Tories, same old cruelty, same old 'Nasty Party'.

CHRIS EDWARDS FACCT (Fight Against Cameron Cruelty Threat), Chester