Britain scraps plan for vote on lifting fox hunting ban

LONDON – The British government said Sunday it is scrapping a promise to reconsider the ban on fox hunting, a centuries-old rural tradition contentiously outlawed more than a decade ago.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party pledged during last year’s election to let lawmakers vote on repealing the ban.

The party did worse than expected, losing its majority in Parliament.

May said in a BBC interview that she had received a “clear message” from the public and would not hold a vote before the next election, due by 2022.

Allowing dogs to chase and kill wild mammals was banned in 2004 amid concerns about animal cruelty. Polls suggest most Britons oppose lifting the ban.

The ban did not end traditional hunts, in which mounted riders and a pack of hounds race across the countryside. Many hunts now follow a scent trail instead of a fox, or work around loopholes in the law.