PM Boris Johnson Says Counter-Extremism Rules Could Be Used Against Hunt Sabs

Boris Johnson has suggested that rules created by the Government’s Commission for Countering Extremism could be potentially be applied against hunt sabs.

He made the comments during his Conservative leadership campaign.

Bloodsports

A member of pro-bloodsports pressure group the Countryside Alliance asked: “Will you commit to implementing measures to counter animal rights extremism, including any relevant recommendations from the Government’s Commission for Countering Extremism, which is due to report this summer?”

Johnson replied: “While I am committed to protecting animal welfare, I will not tolerate extremism, intimidation, and abuse irrespective of the motives that drive it.”

The prime minister has a history of voting against a ban on foxhunting, though at his first prime minister’s speech this week, he said he would ‘promote animal welfare’.

‘Non-violent direct action’

An activist told Plant Based News: “Hunt Sabbing is about non-violent direct action used to save lives. To compare it to extremism is shocking, but it is the kind of rhetoric we are used to from the Countryside Alliance.

“Boris Johnson says he wants to promote animal welfare – but he also suggests that hunt sabs are violent and should be punished using strong laws.

“If he wants to talk about extreme violence, he should watch hounds ripping a fox apart. That is violence.”