Where does Peter Lilley really stand on seal clubbing?

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

UPDATE: Peter Lilley’s office says the Twitter account is not operated by him. I’ve asked again that he clarify his position on seal slubbing and the EU bill to ban seal products.

There’s a cutting and powerful blogpost over on Letters from a Tory, which takes the form of a letter to Stockwell Day, Canada’s socially conservative international trade minister who is leading the fight against the EU ban on the import of seal products.

In a damning condemnation of his party’s views on animal hunting, the letter – written by a Conservative voter who describes himself as “a centre-right social conservative with hints of economic liberalism and fiscal conservativism as well” – says:

“Canada is already threatening to go to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge the ban…luckily for you, the vast majority of Conservatives will support you because making a sport out of murdering animals is something that many of them hold dear.”

I initially thought the letter was laced with irony, but in the manifesto for Letters from a Tory, the letter’s anonymous author clearly states that “hunting with dogs should remain outlawed.”

And in a post earlier this year, he wrote “the RSPCA exists because we as a society don’t think it’s good form to be needlessly cruel to animals. While the RSPCA may have its faults, their opposition to murdering animals is something that I find genuinely appealing.”

This is a Conservative who believes strongly in animal welfare, and quite rightly, too.

So it’s interesting to note his clear concern over his party’s views on hunting in this country, of which he writes to Day:

“If you really want some help tackling the EU ban, come and have a chat with David Cameron and all his pro-foxhunting buddies who will no doubt share your concern that the disgusting, brutal and inhumane sport of clubbing baby seals to death for fun while making a few quid on the side is under threat and will jump to the rescue…if other Conservatives stay true to their cherished principle of being allowed to murder animals just for laughs then you have their undivided support.”

One of those Conservative MPs picked up on the letter very quickly. Peter Lilley, the right wing Tory MP who voted against the ban on fox hunting in 2002, Tweeted (obviously more of a fan of the micro-blogging site than David Cameron) the original post’s headline yesterday “Conservatives should support clubbing baby seals.” Nothing more, nothing less.

As Letters from a Tory says, we are surely a society that disagrees with cruelty to animals, and as the video below shows, seal clubbing is particularly brutal.

I shall be writing to Peter Lilley, asking him to clarify asking him to clarify his position on whether he does indeed subscribe to his own Tweet that “Conservatives should support clubbing baby seals”.

Does he, like his Canadian colleague, support the contiuation of this brutal activity? Or does he support the EU bill?

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