Public Attitudes Towards A Ban On Hunting With Dogs
18 February 2007
A new poll by Ipsos MORI conducted on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the League Against Cruel Sports, and the RSPCA, shows public opinion is more than 3:1 in favour of the hunting ban remaining.
In the latest survey, 58% supported the ban remaining in place, against 17% per cent who wished to see the Hunting Act repealed. The 17% is made up of nine per cent who 'strongly supported the ban being scrapped', and an additional eight per cent who 'tended to' support the ban being scrapped. A total of 25% were either neutral or did not know.
Technical details
Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,983 GB adults aged 15+ in-home, face-to-face using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing — hand-held laptops). Fieldwork was carried out between 2-8 February 2007 and data are weighted to the national population profile. Where results do not sum to 100 per cent, this is due to computer rounding.
MORI polls, conducted on the issue of hunting from 1997 to 2007, show that typically public opinion has run nationally at between 2:1 or 3:1 in favour of a ban on hunting.
Topline Results
Q Now a question about hunting with dogs (that is fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, mink hunting and hare coursing).
As you may know, a ban on hunting with dogs was introduced in 2005 after many years of debate. This means that hunting with dogs is illegal in most circumstances.
Which statement on this card best describes your own view of the ban on hunting with dogs?
| Category | |
|---|---|
| % | |
| A) I strongly support the ban staying in place | 43 |
| B) I tend to support the ban staying in place | 14 |
| C) I neither support nor oppose the ban | 19 |
| D) I tend to support the ban being scrapped | 8 |
| E) I strongly support the ban being scrapped | 9 |
| (A+B = Total Support for Ban Staying in Place) | 58¹ |
| (D+E = Total Support for Ban Being Scrapped) | 17¹ |
| Don't Know | 2 |
| No Opinion | 3 |
| Refused | * |
¹ 'Total' scores are calculated from the actual numbers of respondents giving each answer — and so in some cases will differ marginally (up or down) from the sum of the percentages, due to rounding. On this basis, total support for the ban staying in place is 58%
* a percentage less than 0.5% but greater than zero
