DEEPLY shocking images have been released of a fox hound impaled on metal railings and, allegedly, left to die there in agony by its hunt owners.

The incident, which traumatised villagers in Cilfynnyd, South Wales, on October 10, is a timely reminder of the true brutality of hunting with dogs and the callousness of the hunters.

If hunts really were obeying the Hunting Act and merely chasing a scent trail rather than live quarry as they claim, this sort of thing and the multiple other accidents of recent times should not be happening.

Monitors and independent witnesses all over the country frequently report seeing hunts clearly chasing live quarry, sometimes across roads and into urban areas, but, partly because the Act is so weak, the police and courts seem unable or unwilling to do anything about it.

Yet Tory leader David Cameron promises these arrogant barbarians that the Act, which is an affront and an inconvenience to them, will be repealed.

This says as much about him as them, contradicting his claim to be a 'compassionate' Conservative.

As a recent IPSOS/MORI poll has confirmed the great majority of the public — including Tory and rural voters — think hunting with dogs should be illegal.

It is so only nominally now. If criminals circumvent the law it must be strengthened to stop them, not repealed to reward them. This is what political parties should be proposing.

Alan Kirby

Protect Our Wild Animals