6 March 2003

Alan Whitehead joins anti-hunting roadshow in Southampton

Alan Whitehead, who has been a member of the standing committee on the hunting bill, will be lending his support to the 'Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals' (CPHA) roadshow at the Bargate at 11am on Saturday 8 March.

Alan Whitehead, MP for Southampton Test, says,
"The visit of the CPHA roadshow to Southampton is very timely. Parliament has been debating a Bill on foxhunting, and I have spent many hours looking at it in detail in Committee. It really is time we made up our minds about foxhunting in this country. My view is that it should have no future as a so-called sport and the roadshow sets out very clearly why it shouldn't"

The hunting bill, which has been scrutinised by MPs in the standing committee, will be sent to the House of Commons for final decision in the spring. Alan Whitehead has been a long time supporter of a ban on hunting and has played a key role in strengthening the provisions to ban hunting in the bill.

ENDS
Notes to editors
- The CPHA roadshow will take place in the West Quay Retail Centre car park (near Staples) between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 8 March.
- Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals (CPHA) is a coalition of the RSPCA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the League Against Cruel Sports. We are taking a branded bus around the country for 11 weeks. The tour bus is emblazoned with signatures of celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney and Twiggy as well as prominent politicians including Tony Banks and Ann Widdecombe MP. We are visiting town to collect signatures, raise the issue of hunting with dogs and to do publicity work with local media and MPs.

Contact
Mike Collins in the constituency office on 023 8023 1942 or 07855 328914 or
Lis Key Press Officer at Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals on 07801 613531