Fox Hunting

[cazmanian_minx]

It's odd; I used to follow a hunt when I lived in England and I also went on the big Liberty and Livelihood march in London. I didn't meet a single toff, most of the people out hunting were farmers or their kids, people wanting to qualify their point-to-point horses for the season, there were nurses, shop assistants, pharmacists - people from all walks of life, most of them on average or below average salaries. I'd rather a well-run hunt than indiscriminate blasting of any fox in sight by un-expert marksmen.

And Lush will never, ever get any of my money again after its decision to give financial support to the Hunt Saboteurs Association who, in my experience, are little more than vandals.

[Leanne]

With there being no hunting on horseback in Caithness farmers (and there are lots of them in Caithness) can and do shoot them to protect their livestock. The majority of the foxes you will see in Caithness are strung up on fences as proof of them being shot by the gamekeepers. Many of these foxes are shot at nights by folk in trucks with special lamps. Again not very sporting but it is what happens hence the controlled population.

So my theory of foxes becoming endangered in the future due to the hunting ban has already happened here? Or have they always been shot?

[BINBOB]

There has never been a fox hunt in Caithness, and down south where it has been, is where we have developed the brave skillfull riders who compete at the highest levels, the superb education for our horses and the day out in the country to boot, the killing of the fox is not the main aim of these sporting pursuits, they are a way of life and an integral part of british heritage enjoyed by farmers, kids from pony clubs and yes a few toffs. Removing fox hunting would lead to the death of a fabulous breed of dog which has been developed over hundreds of years, the loss of the heavy hunter horses as without hunting they prove too costly to keep and we would also lose a social scene for country folk. It truly is no worse as a sport than fishing, motor sport (think of the moths you kill doing this!) or showing of dogs etc. As foxes tend to hunt during darkening hours the chances of a healthy fox being found out and about during a hunt is scarce and is a good way to thin out the weaker or old foxes before they wander onto the road with an unsure outcome. At least with the hunt they will be killed outright by the marksman under current law.

Any old excuse.........POWER TO FOXY.

[BINBOB]

Coming from an agricultural back ground, I have had cause to shoot the fox on more than one occasion, but have never enjoyed the thought of hunting on horse back, but each to there own and as long as the animal is dispatched in an humane way, I just used to except that is the way of the country.

A film that I found very heart warming and part of it was made not far from where I lived in Shropshire gives a very different perspective of the fox.

The Belstone Fox (1973)

Found this too hard to watch............but I find any film with animals in tooo hard to watch...I was a wreck with Casper and the Fox!!

[BINBOB]

Just a quick question from a non-native...

Foxes in England are at pest proportions - I cannot remember a day when I haven't seen several; both in the countryside and the town. I'm yet to see one in Caithness...Where are they all?

Nasty men with guns and big lights have been out..................horrid people.

[Rheghead]

Is fox hunting with dogs an effective method to keep their numbers down?

[davie]

The darling little foxes should be left alone by these bad dogs and 'orrible men with guns n' lamps.
There are surely enough new born lambs and poultry out there that a percentage killed or maimed by brer fox is not going to matter to these rich landowners and farmers.

[Leanne]

rich landowners and farmers.

ha ha ha @ rich

[golach]

rich landowners and farmers.

and them horsey crowd with their red jackets and hunting horns, chasing poor wee bushy tailed animals with muckle great horses and dowgs

[Flashman]

The ban of fox hunting has always irked me because it is such a silly class issue.

The same Labour politicians that quite ardently defended the rights of a fox are the same idiots who sent our fellow poorly equipped countrymen to fight and die in a foreign land.

There are more pressing issues to be addressed in the world by our Government than worrying about some damned fox hunters.

It's was an absoloute waste of time for our parliament to be voting on that issue and it just highlights the current failings of democracy in Europe where the State constantly undermines and overules the rights of the indivdual.


If Labour spent more time tackling the serious issues like where our energy is going to come from in 30 years time instead of cheap short term political goals then this country would be a lot better for it

[buggyracer]

The ban of fox hunting has always irked me because it is such a silly class issue.

The same Labour politicians that quite ardently defended the rights of a fox are the same idiots who sent our fellow poorly equipped countrymen to fight and die in a foreign land.

There are more pressing issues to be addressed in the world by our Government than worrying about some damned fox hunters.

It's was an absoloute waste of time for our parliament to be voting on that issue and it just highlights the current failings of democracy in Europe where the State constantly undermines and overules the rights of the indivdual.


If Labour spent more time tackling the serious issues like where our energy is going to come from in 30 years time instead of cheap short term political goals then this country would be a lot better for it

not to mention the actual bill itself being totally unworkable, the act of hunting with dogs, has had very few convictions, as to proove beyond unquestionable doubt that the intention is to actually catch and kill a fox with a pack of hounds has proven almost impossible, how many millions of our money was wasted on it?

[Flashman]

Exactly it was nonsense, it should of been something debated upon on a more local level by the people it directly affected which is what democracy is all about. Being from Caithness I dont and never will care about foxhunting, I dont vote on a national level to have them waste time on something like that.

Waste of taxpayers money, time and effort and another blow for democracy as it was a direct attack on the rural communities of England. It's not even much of an issue in Scotland.

[Dog-eared]

It still shows John "Thurso" 's stance though......

[MrsK]

There's a lot of 'class' snobbery going on here.

All those 'Toffs' hunting poor fluffy things......odd that, I was brought up in an area where all the hunts were mainly working men or people who grafted for their money.

Maybe this has more to do with people being sucked into the horrendous anthropomorphic mindset that Disney has bestowed upon the more gullible members of our community.



Rats...I like rats...perhaps we shouldn't poison them, kill them with dogs or shoot them?

Come on, let's hear some support for rats from the anti-hunt/shooting/working dog/anyone who drives a 4x4 and owns a horse brigade......

[Flashman]

It still shows John "Thurso" 's stance though......

So what?!

You make it sound as if his stance on what is basically a sporting pursuit which comes down to personal choice actually matters!

Im more intrested on what he has to say on Employment, The war in Afghanistan, The Energy Crisis, Climate Change ect...

[Stavro]

Any old excuse.........POWER TO FOXY.

A tale with a bit of a moral ....

"Boris and Bunce and Bean, one fat, one short, one lean, those horrible crooks, so different in looks, were nonetheless equally mean."
They embarked on a plan to get rid of the fantastic one and failed.

Wonder if Roald Dahl was sending out a message to those nasty hunters.

[Rheghead]

It's was an absoloute waste of time for our parliament to be voting on that issue and it just highlights the current failings of democracy in Europe where the State constantly undermines and overules the rights of the indivdual.

I disagree completely, the Labour government put through the hunting with dogs legislation because there was such a ground swell of popular support for it.

In fact passing the law has actually freed up a lot of parliamentary time because private members were putting forward their own bills on foxhunting and the tories were filibustering each attempt (iow timewasting parliamentary time) so that the popular law would not go through.

[buggyracer]

I disagree completely, the Labour government put through the hunting with dogs legislation because there was such a ground swell of popular support for it.

In fact passing the law has actually freed up a lot of parliamentary time because private members were putting forward their own bills on foxhunting and the tories were filibustering each attempt (iow timewasting parliamentary time) so that the popular law would not go through.

nothing to do with the animal rights groups giving them millions of pounds to push the bill through

[Rheghead]

nothing to do with the animal rights groups giving them millions of pounds to push the bill through

I don't think animal rights groups give money to the Labour party but I do know that rich landowners are giving money to the Tories to bring hunting back?

[BINBOB]

I don't think animal rights groups give money to the Labour party but I do know that rich landowners are giving money to the Tories to bring hunting back?

Spot on there....