Burnham victory rekindles hope for animal welfare campaigners
- Hayley O'Keeffe
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
The election of Andy Burnham as MP for Makerfield has been warmly welcomed by North-West animal welfare campaigners, including a family whose opposition to blood sports stretches back generations to Manchester's Downing Street.
Dr Jane Washington-Evans, speaking on behalf of hunt monitoring group Wildlife Guardian, said Mr Burnham's dramatic return to Parliament had reignited hopes of long-promised reforms on trail hunting and trophy hunting imports.
She said: "I warmly welcome Andy Burnham's election in Makerfield. It is particularly significant for people in the North West because he understands the communities and countryside where hunting has remained a contentious issue for generations."
Dr Washington-Evans, who has monitored hunts across Cheshire, North Wales and the wider North West for decades, said she believed the newly elected MP would support stronger protections for wildlife.
"Andy has a long-standing record of supporting legislation to protect animals," she said. "He helped get the Hunting Act and the Animal Welfare Act across the line and I have great hope, now he is an MP again, for progress to end the smokescreen of trail hunt lies.
"Trail hunting remains deeply controversial because many people believe it is being used as a cover for illegal fox hunting. We are hopeful of a ban that cannot be exploited to cruelly chase and kill wild animals for so-called sport."
She added that many campaigners also hoped the Government would honour its commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies.
Trophy hunting has no place in a modern society that claims to value conservation and animal welfare.
"Like many campaigners, I hope the Government will now act on its promises. With submissions to the trail hunting consultation being analysed, we hope to see legislation to ban trophy hunting imports included in the next King's Speech."
Dr Washington-Evans, who supports the work of Eduardo Gonçalves and the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, has spent much of her life documenting hunting activities and alleged breaches of hunting legislation.
Her campaigning roots run deep. Her father, Terry Washington, originally from central Manchester, and grandmother Ellen, who grew up on Downing Street, Manchester, were lifelong opponents of hunting. After witnessing hunting firsthand while living in rural Cheshire, Mr Washington dedicated more than six decades to campaigning against blood sports.
Now aged 91 and in poor health, he remains steadfast in his views. Asked what should happen to fox hunters who break the law, he replied simply: "Prison."
"My family has spent more than sixty years exposing cruelty and standing up for andimals and wildlife," said Dr Washington-Evans. "My mother, father, stepfather, uncle and cousins have all played a part.
In Stockport in the 1930's my great grandma intervened when a cart horse was being flogged for falling on the cobbles, my Mother Sylvia said she took the whip off the man and chased him with it.
She said hunt monitors often faced hostility while carrying out their work, but remained committed to protecting wildlife.
"There have been many occasions when monitors and protesters have found themselves in difficult and intimidating situations. Yet we continue because wildlife deserves protection and public opinion is overwhelmingly against cruel sports.
"People consistently support stronger protections for foxes, hares, deer and other wildlife. They also oppose trophy hunters travelling overseas to kill endangered animals and bring home their body parts."
Wildlife Guardian said Mr Burnham's victory could have significance far beyond Makerfield.
"Labour promised action on hunting and trophy hunting in 2024, and animal lovers across the country now have renewed hope that those promises will be honoured," said Dr Washington-Evans.
"Our political leaders have an opportunity to leave a legacy of compassion. We hope Andy Burnham will seize it."
