Traditionally, the SNP have abstained from voting on policies that do not directly affect Scotland. The changes to the fox hunting bill that are to be voted on in a free vote in Westminster next Thursday whilst not directly impacting on Scotland do go against the wishes of 80% of the UK population. The SNP should make a stand on this breach of democracy as their vote is likely to be the deciding vote. Local MPs - find yours here - (https://www.writetothem.com/)

Last November, Liz Truss the Environment Secretary launched the Pollinator Strategy with its aim of protecting pollinating insects which support our food production and the diversity of our environment. As I'm sure you're already aware, bees numbers are in serious decline and action needs to be taken now. This strategy sets out a 10 year plan to help pollinating insects survive and thrive. One of the main reasons our bees are in decline is the loss of suitable food sources and a home. Councils across the UK are ignoring the letter and spirit of the pollinator strategy and continue to blindly cut roadside verges which do not need cutting for road safety purposes. It's time to ask all UK councils, the Highways Agency and businesses etc which have grass verges and grassland on site to do their bit to support the spirit of the Pollinator's strategy. The lack of suitable food for pollinators is a huge issue and our bees are starving because of our obsession with tidiness. If this strategy is adopted it would make a huge difference to the lives of bees and other pollinators across the UK before it is too late. We acknowledge that safety must come first on our roads but with the size of most road verges there should be no conflict between this and conservation. For many verges a regular annual late summer cut and removal of mowings will keep the verge open, safe and thriving with interesting wildlife. We also agree that certain verges must be cut regularly cut to maintain clear lines of visibility – this is particularly crucial at junctions where a ‘visibility splay’ has to be maintained at all times. On some busy roads this also applies to the first metre from the edge of the carriageway. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pollinator-strategy-for-bees-and-other-pollinators-in-england Please ask your local council to adopt the Pollinator strategy for managing road verges to benefit wild flowers and other nature. Priorities for safety and access, along with budget constraints and difficulties with the collection of litter and grass clippings can mean that enhancing their wildlife value is often low on the list. But we believe that the adoption of a few basic principles will improve our verges for nature, bringing benefits for wildlife, for us and for future generations.

Cruelty Free International aim to end animal experiments around the world yet are being funded by the Body Shop who are owned by L'Oreal a company well known for the use of animals in their research. Surely this shows a degree of hypocriticsm which needs to be dealt with and resolved. More information can be found at : https://crueltyfreeblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/buav-supported-by-animal-testing/

no animal should be forced to cook alive in any country... As a nation of animal lovers, this should be banned. Leave your pet at home !

The huge scale of meat consumption in the west is not sustainable for much longer as the population of our planet continues to grow. It is very inefficient to get second-hand nutrients from livestock as it can take up to 16kg of grain to produce 1kg of meat. In turn this leaves less room for edible plant life to grow because we are overbreeding our livestock and they need to somewhere to graze. In terms of Glastonbury festival it is quite shocking to see how many people habitually gravitate towards the stalls which serve meat for every meal. There seems to be a great disparity between the ethos of the festival and the actions of the organisers when it comes to catering. Lets call on the organisers of the festival to stop serving meat, or at least to drastically reduce it's availability on site, and making it a less desirable option. This will not in any way affect ticket sales of the world's biggest performing arts festival. I'm in no doubt that feeding the population of Glastonbury festival (twice the population of the Isle of Man) with just vegetarian options would send a huge message to make people think twice about eating meat so frequently but also will save many hundreds of tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere.

Fed up with dogs of leads attacking smaller dogs like my yorkies, it is really bad here in fife

Blood sports need to be confined to the history books. In recent surveys over 80% of the public are against fox hunting and other such 'sports' such as hare coursing and yet within this year there will be an open vote amongst MPs which could mean the views of the people are ignored. Please sign this petition to show your support against barbaric and sickening blood sports that have no place in today's society.. Show us some support on Facebook: Facebook/KeepTheBan

As your constituent, I was concerned recently in the local press to hear you state “In the event of such a vote, I would vote to repeal it. In my judgement, and the judgement of others, the Act does nothing to protect wild animals and, in many cases, is actually detrimental to animal welfare when other methods of control are deployed, several of which can be indiscriminate.” what concerns me is not your statement which is based not on any research or based on facts but rather ideology but you seem to think this is a common view held by your constituents. I would also like to highlight there are many within your own political party who do not support the repeal of this law http://www.conservativesagainstfoxhunting.com/ Also I would recommend you read the following report http://www.league.org.uk/~/media/Files/LACS/Publications/Hunting-Act-Report-2014.pdf I’ve seen a video about hunting that I just had to send you. One of the key arguments of those who support hunting is that it is necessary for ‘wildlife management’ – put more simply, they suggest it is good for controlling fox numbers. I really want you to watch this as it is vital to the debate about the potential repeal of the Hunting Act. A League Against Cruel Sports investigation found 16 fox cubs being kept in a barn, 200 metres from a hunt kennels. An employee of the hunt, their terrier man who is registered as living at the hunt kennels, was filmed entering the barn. Why would a hunt be keeping foxes? The only sensible conclusion is that they had been taken and kept simply to be hunted. The video shows other examples which back up this conclusion. This is not ‘wildlife management’, it is animal cruelty. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/D7PjfphDsc0 If you would like to hear more information about Wildlife management and help dispel some of the myths from the pro hunting lobby. we will love to see our MP for a local debate on the matter. I hope you will consider this information when voting on the repeal of the Hunting Act. If you would still consider voting for repeal in light of this evidence, I’d really appreciate an explanation why? MPs are meant to be local representatives who vote according best interest of their constituents. Basingstoke is mostly a urban seat and this vote will little impact on them but our MP should at lest speak to her constituents as many would have strong views on animal welfare In the ten years since the Act was passed, it has proven to be an effective and popular piece of legislation. Yet, since its introduction, the Hunting Act has been the target of considerable attack from the pro-hunt lobby which has waged an on-going and concerted campaign of disinformation about the Act. Ministry of Justice figures demonstrate that the Hunting Act out-performs all other wild mammal legislation in England and Wales, having both the highest number of convictions since it was introduced (341 from 2005 to 2013) and conviction rate (65% of charges laid under the Act have resulted in convictions). The successful prosecution of registered hunts private prosecutions against illegal hunters. Subsequently, evidence gathered by team of professional investigators has been used to convict 18 people associated with registered hunts, with more cases still proceeding through the courts. While public support for the prohibition of hunting has always been high, it has increased substantially in the past ten years. The latest polling from Ipsos MORI, conducted in 2014 on behalf of the League, shows: 80% of people think fox hunting should remain illegal 86% think stag hunting should remain illegal and 88% think hare hunting and coursing should remain illegal Some of those pushing for repeal of the Act point out that illegal hunting still takes place. Unfortunately this is true, and like everything from drug laws to speed limits - the problem lies not with the Act, but with those who flout the law. So, ten years on, the Act is working well and with a few simple improvements in some specific areas it can be even more effective. If the law is kept it can be improved on in the future Prohibiting the use of dogs below ground - this is arguably where the worst cruelty occurs in hunting, not only to wild mammals pursued underground with limited opportunity to escape (usually foxes and badgers), but also to the dogs sent below ground to find these animals and either flush them out or hold them at bay. Inserting a ‘reckless’ provision to ensure the killing of wild mammals during a trail hunt cannot be passed off as an ‘unfortunate accident’. Increasing the punishments available to the courts so that the Act is brought in line with other animal protection legislation. Thank you for your time. Thank you in advance for your reply.

Sea Lice numbers in the west coast of Scotland have exploded in recent years as a result of the increasing number of fish farms and their inability to effectively control sea lice numbers. This is not just a seasonal spike, the sea lice numbers have consistently been above the threshold set by the Scottish Government at many locations over the last 8 months, it is now time for the Government to enforce necessary 'cull orders' under section 6 of the Aquaculture Act 2007 Quotes from the Salmon and Trout Association Scotland: "Wild salmon and sea-trout are a key part of Scotland's world-renowned natural heritage, but the latest figures for wild salmon numbers are very poor indeed. We know that wild fish need a huge conservation effort. What we simply cannot afford now is fish-farms like those in Loch Fyne or Loch Torridon pouring millions of mobile young lice into the paths of migrating juvenile salmon and sea-trout. The question for Scottish Government is 'how much more evidence of failure to control lice do you need before you start to use your powers to protect wild fish?'" "Conservation bodies keep being told that salmon-farming is a highly-regulated industry, but regulations only work if they are enforced. Those parts of this industry that fail to control lice must now face robust enforcement action. The statutory powers to control on-farm sea lice numbers to protect juvenile wild fish from lethal infestations exist – they must now be used. Its time for the Minister to tell the inspectors to get tough." The levels are now upto 23 times ABOVE the threshold limit at some locations - action is needed now. Recent evidence shows that one juvenile sea trout was covered in over 500 lice which is unprecedented and almost certainly fatal. further information on sea lice infestations can be found at: www.standupforwildsalmon.org

It's important to the people & the wildlife in Cornwall to KEEP THE BAN! Being torn apart by dogs is barbaric & not 'humane'. Our wildlife deserves to be protected & defended!

Contact your local MP and ask them to keep the Hunting Ban in place. Go to https://www.writetothem.com/ and ask them their views. If they are voting to repel the ban then you can send through letters to push the other point of view and we use the following as a guideline: We can only hope that the crisis in the NHS and our economy and the poverty situation are now under control in the UK in order for 'traditional countryside pastimes and elite hobbies' such as fox hunting to get any air time in parliament at all. Maybe this is coming straight from Mr. Cameron with orders for all Conservative MPs to vote for repeal ? Many MPs complain of Mr. Blair wasting time previously on this - I disagree as I think it was a landmark in our society of humane overcoming inhumane and to repeal an act that went through 10 years ago is a waste of time for sure. Many counties are indeed rural constituency but foxes are of no threat to arable land and indeed keep rabbit numbers down protecting crops. Then there is the cost of running the hunt - it is not cheap to keep that many dogs and horses in good health and this is surely a waste of farmers time and money if the land is mainly arable - perhaps not the farmers that are fox hunting? Farmers are not the richest people in the world as we know due to the criminal acts of supermarkets and EU issues and we are fully aware of the costs linked into being part of the elite world of fox hunting. Which brings us onto the word 'tradition' - bear bating was a tradition once as was cock fighting and both are now banned - and rightly so! Surely the chasing of a fox through the countryside with a load of people dressed up in finery is not really the issue - the issue we are taking about here is its classification as sport - how can it be sport with so many against one fox? Have you ever witnessed the kill - it is not humane, it is not quick. In ecological terms if you kill an animal another will take its place - this is how the nature works so well without us - so maybe we should be protecting our livestock better - just a thought? Also many people have been caught up in the hunt whilst out in the fields, on footpaths and even walking through villages whilst on the footpath! You can not contain and control a pack of hounds on the scent of a fox and there will only be more conflict as they run across arable land, private land and through villages and people's gardens. They must surely damage crops in their pursuit of the fox and surely this is an issue?! If the area is one with livestock you often here the woeful cry from the fox hunters that they never catch one - then why would you go to so much effort and cost just to ride around on horse back and damage the environment and scare the life out of countryside walkers and people enjoying the serenity and beauty of the countryside for no supposed benefit to farmers? This is surely then classed as a leisure activity and therefore we ask again - why waste time on trying to reintroduce it when you can still drag hunt? I wonder how many of your constituents realise you are voting to repeal the ban?

Following the 2015 General Election and the success of the SNP, it is vital that all the elected MPs take a part in the voting to get the voice across for our wildlife.