A CALL to introduce an outright ban on any all forms of fox hunting will be considered by the SNP's governing body.
It came after the Sunday Herald revealed the law was being blatantly flouted by hunts 15 years after the original ban was passed.
A resolution to the SNP's national council says an exemption in the legislation that allows foxes to be flushed from cover and shot dead for pest control should be ended.
The motion also backs limiting the number of dogs to two and says "that these measures would ensure that fox-hunting is really banned in Scotland”.
Nicola Sturgeon is to speak at the national council event in Perth on December 2, which will consider a series of policy motions, including the hunting proposal from the SNP's Edinburgh Central branch.
The resolution says: "Council shares the concerns of animal welfare charities and individuals across Scotland about the widespread continued hunting of foxes with dogs, as a result of loopholes in the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which was intended to ban this practice."
A dossier of evidence collated by the animal welfare charity League Against Cruel Sports Scotland (LACS) and seen by the Sunday Herald argues that Scotland’s mounted hunts regularly break the law a year on from a review of the existing legislation by Lord Bonomy.
The former judge recommended strengthening legislation that has led to only two convictions since fox hunting was banned in Scotland.
The Scottish Government opened a consultation on the findings last month.
Investigators from LACS filmed six of 10 Scottish hunts during last season and found “no discernible presence of guns waiting to shoot flushed foxes”.
In response to the SNP debate, a Scottish Government spokesman said: "We are currently consulting on Lord Bonomy’s recommendations for legislative reform and would encourage everyone with an interest to take part.
"We have also established a stakeholder group to develop a new code of practice and assess the feasibility of a new monitoring scheme.
“We remain committed to ensuring the highest welfare standards for all animals, including those in the wild, and encourage everyone to notify Police Scotland if anyone is suspected of breaking the law."
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