H&H Interview: Countryside Alliance chairman Nick Herbert *H&H Plus*

Catherine Austen talks to the Countryside Alliance chairman about where hunting lies in the political landscape and what can be done to secure its future

Catherine Austen talks to the Countryside Alliance chairman about where hunting lies in the political landscape and what can be done to secure its future

Catherine Austen talks to the Countryside Alliance chairman about where hunting lies in the political landscape and what can be done to secure its future

“We need to be clear about this: it can’t be ‘business as usual’,” says Nick Herbert, the new chairman of the Countryside Alliance. “We can’t spend the next five years waiting for the next hiatus. We have to use this time profitably, and that is about getting on to the front foot in terms of the promotion of our country sports. You can’t do that unless you are sure the sports are in shape to promote properly.”

Nick, a former minister of state for policing and criminal justice who stepped down as a Conservative MP at the last general election, does not mince his words when asked what hope there is that the Hunting Act 2004 could be altered in hunting’s favour, or even repealed.