DEVON'S Green Party has condemned a decision by the new coalition government to hold a vote on the fox-hunting ban.

Devon county councillor Paula Black, of the Green Party, said: "If this is the type of commitment we will have towards caring for our environment then it is a very sad day.

"Hunting is not a sport; sports are events in which there are rules and fairness. Chasing fox and deer across the countryside and then allowing them to be torn to pieces by a pack of dogs is vile in the extreme.

"If I was to enter into a coalition with anyone I would ensure that a lust for power did not make me blind to cruel and unnecessary activities."