"The result of the motion 7600 in the name of Mairi McAllan is Yes, 90, and No, 30. There were no abstentions. The motion is therefore agreed, and the Hunting with Dogs Scotland Bill is passed."

Twenty years after the first attempt to outlaw the hunting of foxes and other wild mammals with packs of hounds, Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone made that announcement as a round of applause rang out across the Scottish Parliament's debating chamber. MSPs supporting the move are hoping this will be watertight legislation.

Not everyone is as confident that it will. The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act was replaced by the Hunting with Dogs Scotland Bill, which restricted the employment of dogs to a few special circumstances, such as livestock protection, pest control, and the requirement that animals be shot after being flushed from cover.

The Scottish Government's justification for the statutes was to stop cruelty in bloodsports and the harm it did to wildlife. The hunting lobby fiercely opposed the 2002 prohibition, which was highly contentious.

The prohibition was improved by lawmakers under the direction of Environment Minister Mairi McAllan by tightening the rules, fixing the gaps, and simplifying the language.

With limited exceptions, the bill passed on Tuesday outlawed trail hunting—the practice of using a prey's scent to guide hounds—and instituted a two-dog limit for chasing animals out of cover. The controversial licence system was also adopted by MSPs, allowing the use of dog packs for "legitimate wildlife management." It may be legal to hunt if, for example, foxes attacked a farmer's lambs or an invading species, like stoats on Orkney, damaged biodiversity.

Critics of this "major stride forward" do exist despite the fact that more than 84% of Scots favour a total prohibition, the successful motion has already aroused considerable controversy.