AS a campaigner for animal welfare in our region, I recently wrote to the new batch of Tory prospective Parliamentary candidates in Bristol to ask how they would vote in Parliament, should they win their seats, on repealing the ban on hare- coursing and chasing down and killing foxes and deer with packs of dogs for fun.

It is Tory policy to allow a free vote on repeal of the hunt ban should they win the election and it is well known that Tory leader David Cameron is a supporter of hunting and killing wild mammals with dogs.

An Ipsos MORI poll, released earlier this year by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the League Against Cruel Sports and the RSPCA, showed that 73 per cent do not want fox-hunting to be made legal again.

Eight in 10, 81 per cent, were opposed to bringing back deer hunting, and 82 per cent were opposed to changing the law to allow hare-hunting or coursing.

It seems the Tories in Bristol do not share the decent and compassionate approach to our wildlife of the British people.

Nick Yarker, the Tory candidate for Bristol West, has made it known that, if elected, he will vote to bring back setting dogs on to our wildlife for so-called sport, as has Jack Lopresti in Filton and Bradley Stoke.

Dr Mark Lloyd Davies in Bristol South has failed to reply on the subject, as have Charlotte Leslie in Bristol North West and Chris Skidmore in Kingswood. The views of Adeela Shafi in Bristol East are not clear.

Perhaps they can enlighten readers of the Western Daily Press as to how their new and compassionate conservatism fits with setting dogs on to wild animals for fun? Why are they so reticent to say what their views are?

Bristol is a city that takes great pride in its urban wildlife and is a centre of excellence for wildlife study and film-making.

I'm confident Bristol people don't want those who would vote for wild animals to be ripped apart for fun representing them in Parliament.

Chris Gale Chippenham