I AM unhappy at the failure of Devon and Cornwall police to properly enforce the Hunting Act 2004. They regard it as a low priority. Regrettably, the Oxford University Press (OUP) also appears to consider hunting with dogs for sport to be of little importance.

Blackstone's Police Manuals, published annually by the OUP, are described as an essential study guide for police promotion examinations and a definitive reference manual. I regret to note that the Hunting Act 2004 has been omitted from the 2008 edition, but it was included in previous editions of this excellent publication. I suspect the Hunting Act has also been omitted from the police examinations syllabus.

Nevertheless, the 2008 edition of Blackstone's cites saboteurs disrupting a fox hunt as an example of a contravention of the Justice and Public Order Act 1994. But as fox hunting with hounds for sport is now banned, I question whether it would be an offence to disrupt such an illegal activity.

I wrote to the OUP in May complaining about this, but the publishers failed to respond. I then wrote to the police, but they, too, failed to address my concerns. Is this another deliberate attempt to lessen the effectiveness of the Hunting Act?

John Phelps

Argyll Road, Exeter

(by email)