I'm standing in the Makerfield by-election as a Fox..

Just when I thought I might get a few months off from standing in national elections, arguably the biggest by-election in recent history gets announced.

And just as I stood in the Scottish elections dressed as a giant Gannet to raise awareness for the campaign to end the Guga hunt, I’ll now be doing the same in the ongoing fight to finally bring an end to hunting with hounds.

The costume is ready — admittedly a little more terrifying-looking than the Gannet — and today I’m in Wigan to officially hand in my paperwork and secure my place on the ballot.

Why am I doing this?

Because I simply do not trust this Government to deliver for animals.

They’ve already u-turned on banning animal trophy imports, abandoned plans to ban foie gras imports, and allowed two more years of badger culling despite manifesto promises suggesting the exact opposite.

Right now, there’s a public consultation underway on banning trail hunting, but I still fear it won’t go far enough. There is still no clarity on whether all of the loopholes and exemptions in the Hunting Act will finally be removed. No clarity on how they will actually ensure the hunting of wild mammals is ended for good. And no clarity whatsoever on when meaningful legislative action will happen.

We cannot afford to sit back, hope for the best, and allow this issue to quietly fade away.

This by-election provides a national platform to raise these concerns, to pressure the Government to finally end hunting as quickly as possible, and to send that message directly to the man who could become the next Prime Minister.

If you’re reading this and haven’t already done so, please use our handy tool to fill out the public consultation on hunting in just a matter of seconds.