Rebels let dogs out in bid to beat Bill

PRO-HUNTING campaigners were set to lead a "dog invasion" of Edinburgh today in a last-ditch bid to persuade MSPs to kick out the controversial blood sports Bill.

The protest, led by pressure group Rural Rebels, was planned to include a parade of dogs walking from Holyrood Park to the Scottish Parliament building on the Mound.

Organisers of the militant group, which was slated by police for planning to take dozens of horses through the city centre last week, today said the protest would be "responsible and non-violent".

A 70-member crowd of Rural Rebels this morning gathered outside Bute House for a noisy protest, barracking ministers arriving for the meeting of the Scottish Cabinet.

There was a heavy police presence and by 8.15am one of the demonstrators had been detained.

The action came as one MSP said protestors involved in disruptive action should be treated no differently by police to fans who cause trouble at football matches.

Supporters of the Scottish Countryside Alliance were also expected to gather today for a demonstration against Labour MSP Mike Watson’s Protection Against Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill.

But they faced a counter-protest from supporters of the Bill, which would see hunting with dogs banned north of the Border.

Animal rights activists from across Scotland were promising to defy police advice to stay away from the parliament building "for their own safety".

The Bill, first introduced more than two years ago, is thought certain to be passed by the parliament, but there has been intense lobbying over compensation for people who lose their jobs through the hunting ban.

Rural Rebels spokesman Noel Collins said today: "There will be all kinds of dogs from the countryside coming to Edinburgh to stand side-by-side with their owners. A lot of the dogs are going to be affected if this Bill goes through, not just the hunting ones."

A Scottish Countryside Alliance spokesman said a protest was planned to go on until the end of the parliamentary debate on Lord Watson’s Bill. He added: "We’re expecting hundreds of people to come along to lobby MSPs on their way into the parliament building and we’ll be demonstrating until they come out again. We’ve been in discussions with the police and, as always, everything we do will be within the terms of the law."

The Scottish Campaign Against Hunting With Dog today said it would not be demonstrating on the advice of the police, who had urged the group to "think twice about it".

Campaign leader Les Ward said: " Police have told us they would be concerned for safety if we had a counter demonstration." But several animal rights groups - including Scottish Wildlife Action, Edinburgh Animal Rights and Fife Animal Welfare Action - have pledged to join the demonstration today.

Spokeswoman for the counter-protest, Mandy Cairns, said: "We’re expecting around 30 supporters from all over Scotland to turn up." Lothian and Borders Police today refused to comment on the claims they had advised supporters of the Bill to stay away to avoid confrontations with pro-hunt campaigners.

But a spokesman said: "We’re aware of the planned demonstrations today and will be policing them appropriately."

Today Scottish Nationalist frontbencher and Lothians MSP Kenny MacAskill said laws used to combat football hooligans intent on causing trouble should be invoked to protect the Edinburgh public from the activities of the Rural Rebels.

The Evening News revealed yesterday that the rebels are planning to blockade main roads into Edinburgh tomorrow if MSPs do not vote for an acceptable compensation package during today’s debate on the Bill to ban fox-hunting.

But Mr MacAskill said if the protesters came to the city planning to cause disruption the police should be ready to stop them.

He said: "We have clear threats from the Rural Rebels that if the vote goes against them they will disrupt the city tomorrow.

"The police have powers of detention under the law. They use them in regard to terrorism and football hooliganism.

"It seems to me the chief constable should use the full weight of the powers available to detain these people if he has any reason to believe they will disrupt the city either at the periphery or at the centre.

"Their protest can be carried out with legitimacy and dignity, but if they are intent on causing trouble, they should be taken out of circulation."

Mr MacAskill said under section six of the Criminal Justice Act police could detain people for up to six hours on suspicion.