NORTH Thanet MP Roger Gale, long-standing opponent of hunting wild animals with dogs, has offered “one small cheer” for proposals to bring an end to foxhunting in England and Wales.

He said: “While the rhetoric has been forceful and the initial expectation high, this Government’s delivery on animal welfare has fallen short of the promises.”

Mr Gale said the House of Commons and Lords had made their stances clear on the issue and he called for “the introduction of long overdue legislation to bring about an outright ban.”

Mr Gale is a patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Group and last week joined animal rights campaigners from Thanet, Whitstable and Herne Bay in a protest in Margate.