| |
| | Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Countryside Alliance urges last gasp deal |
 | | Last night the tit-for-tat battle began when peers sent the hunting bill back to the Commons after reinstating the provision that hunts should be licensed so long as the methods are not cruel and they necessary to control fox numbers. |
 | | The Countryside Alliance has been encouraged by a host of influential Labour MPs behind a compromise including the prime minister, the home secretary, David Blunkett, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and the former foreign secretary Robin Cook. |
 | | Baroness Mallalieu, Labour peer and president of the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance, said: "There is a mood in the countryside that if we are going to be banned, get on with it." She added: "There is no rationale for the 18 months anyway. |
| www.guardian.co.uk /uk_news/story/0,3604,1352098,00.html (664 words) |
|