THE hunting ban became a political battleground between Labour and Conservatives following a high-profile visit to Carmarthen by a senior politician last week.

Labour candidate for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Nick Ainger, was joined on the campaign trail by Westminster heavyweight Hilary Benn on Monday, April 12.

The Westminster Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs joined Mr Ainger in Carmarthen's Guildhall Square to raise awareness of the hunting ban.

Nick Ainger has been elected as Labour MP for Pembrokeshire, and later Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, since 1992.

The seat is being contested by all four main political parties, as well as UKIP and independent candidate Henry Langen.

The seat is one targeted by volunteer group Vote-OK, which is active in seats where the then sitting MPs voted in favour of the hunting ban.

The group, which states it is apolitical, helps MPs and candidates who support the repeal of the Hunting Act, and was formed as a direct consequence of the ban on hunting.

Rival candidate Simon Hart, standing for the Conservatives, is in favour of repealing the 2004 act which led to the later ban on fox hunting.

Mr Hart is also chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, which is calling for a repeal of the act.

Mr Benn, contesting the Leeds Central seat, outlined his reasons for joining Mr Ainger in Carmarthen.

He said: "I'm here to support Nick, who I've known for many, many years and to talk about the hunting ban and keep it in place, and not let the Tories bring it back."

He stressed the ban was "never a town versus country or a class issue," adding: "Plenty of people in Wales don't like fox hunting."

Asked whether he was lending support because of the involvement of pro- hunting group Vote-OK, Mr Benn said: "It's not surprising those who support hunting are trying to get Conservative candidates elected. Everyone who thinks allowing foxes to be torn apart for sport should understand that there is a great deal at stake in this election."

Conservative candidate Simon Hart said that the campaigning from Vote-OK had been low-key. He also said he had asked for a head- to-head debate with Mr Benn on a raft of local issues.

"We offered Mr Benn the opportunity to talk about the many subjects that are troubling a lot of the people; agriculture, tourism and other issues. He refused to talk about any of them. It's a snub for farmers, tourism and climate change.

"I could've filled Guildhall Square five times over with people who wanted to talk to him about these issues.

"Instead, he ended up with 20 Labour activists talking about a subject of little concern to most people."