DOGS and foxes have once again been flushed into the political arena, following the Scottish Government's introduction of a new Hunting with Dogs Bill to 'close the loopholes' left open by 2002's Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act.

There was immediate outcry from some quarters, who described the new Bill as an 'unnecessary and unjustified attack' on rural Scotland that will compromise farmers' ability to control pests – but just as fierce a welcome from anti-bloodsports campaigners, who have long complained that the pest control provisions of the 2002 Act had been used to perpetuate a version of ridden hunts following hound packs.

The new Bill will still allow dogs to be used to search for, stalk or flush a wild mammal, but only if the purpose and method meets the requirements of the legislation. Acceptable purposes will include preventing serious damage to livestock, timber or crops, protecting human health or preventing the spread of disease – while acceptable methods will be those that use no more than two dogs, unless a special licence has been granted. The Bill will also include new provisions to ban the activity of ‘trail hunting’.

Environment Minister Màiri McAllan said: “I want to make clear that chasing and killing a mammal with a dog, for sport or otherwise, has no place in modern Scotland – indeed it has been illegal for twenty years. I am seeking to close loopholes which have allowed that already illegal activity to persist, and my aim is to do that in a way that ensures the greatest possible animal welfare while facilitating legitimate predator control.

Read more: Dog limits would make Scottish fox control impossible

“As well as closing existing loopholes, I am seeking to prevent others opening. We have seen from recent events south of the border, that trail hunting is sometimes being used as a cover for illegal hunting. We therefore plan to take pre-emptive action to prevent trail hunting becoming established in Scotland in order to reduce the risk of wild mammals being killed by dogs," said Ms McAllan.

“However, I should like to be clear, that foxes can cause significant harm to livestock, as well as other wildlife such as ground nesting birds – so it is important that farmers and land managers have access to control measures that are efficient and humane. This legislation provides that."

Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg, commented: “Any licensing system must be workable for land management professionals. Lamb loss has financial and mental health implications. Land managers need help to stem the downward spiral in upland bird species. It is fact, not conjecture, the fox is one of the biggest predators of ground-nesting species and needs to be managed humanely.

“Chucking away good tools would be short-sighted and well trained scenting dogs are the best and most humane tool in forested upland environments.”

The Scottish Countryside Alliance accused ScotGov of introducing legislation which was 'in direct contradiction' of its own independent review conducted by Lord Bonomy, who had concluded that a limit on the number of hounds would 'seriously compromise effective pest control in the country'.

SCA director Jake Swindells said: "The only way the damage done by these proposals can be mitigated is by ensuring that the proposed licensing scheme is workable, practical and open to all farmers and land managers who use packs of dogs as part of their fox control measures."

Perthshire sheep farmer Ian Duncan Millar agreed with the SCA: “If we are forced to a maximum of two dogs to flush out foxes it will be a totally impractical process as we know the fox will run around in the forest without fear or opportunity of the dogs flushing it from cover, or even getting close.”