Move to ease fox hunting ban in UK stirs political storm

British musician Brian May (C) stands with demonstrators during an anti-fox hunting protest in London, Britain July 14, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the party had decided to vote because Cameron was out of touch with English public opinion - and to "remind the government of how slender their majority is."

Ironically, the government's proposal would make the law in England and Wales the same as that in Scotland, where a pack of dogs can already be used to flush out a fox.

The hunting defeat gives the government extra incentive to pass promised reforms barring Scottish lawmakers from voting on bills that only affect England - a controversial plan dubbed English Votes for English Laws.

Sturgeon said the proposal would make Scottish lawmakers "second-class citizens in the House of Commons," and some English legislators have also warned the government not to rush through a major constitutional change.

A vote on the English Votes for English Laws proposals is due after Parliament returns from its summer break in September.