BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham has called on the beleaguered Government to ban trail hunting as an easy way to shore up support after its election “drubbing”.
The 65-year-old spoke at a protest in Westminster against trial hunting organised by the League Against Cruel Sports.
The gathering of around 300 people included speakers urging people to sign a Government consultation against trail and fox hunting.
The 12-week consultation on trail hunting is currently under way and seeks views on how to deliver an effective ban.
Packham, who spoke at Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday tribute at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday, told the Press Association: “I’m now 65-years old, and I cannot believe that I’m standing here, and this is still going on.
“We elected a government with a massive majority and a manifesto pledge to stop fox hunting.
“But two years into that term of government, and nothing has happened.
“They’ve had a consultation, which most of us consider unnecessary, given that at least 80% of the British public want an end to this hideous, sociopathic practice.
“Given the drubbing that they had yesterday, because they failed to satisfy not just, you know, us and fox hunting, but so many other things.
“You would think it would take this opportunity and see it as low-hanging fruit, to satisfy not just the assembled mass of people here who have a deep-rooted concern about the health and wellbeing of our environment and all of this wildlife, but the other huge numbers of people that represent that 80%.”
Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan, 79, joined Packham and condemned the “narcissistic psychopaths” who want to hunt with dogs.
Egan, who starred in the 80s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles and is an active campaigner for animal rights, told the Press Association: “I think it is so important that the Government listen to the British public, 80% of us are against fox hunting, trail hunting, trophy hunting.
“The Government seems to need to have consultations about something that is perfectly simple. These hobbies, for narcissistic psychopaths, do not need consultations.
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“We don’t have consultations about serial killers, we accept the fact that what they want to do is destroy.
“In my opinion, that’s all hunters want to do in this country. They want to destroy wildlife.”