He's just hoping it will be open season on Labour politicians in plus fours
I'm late for work so I'll be brief.
This is a matter of what you think is right and wrong. I think it's wrong to torture animals for my own amusement. I don't think it's wrong for a cat to kill animals, as a cat is a cat and that is what they do. You can't ascribe higher moral functions to an animal designed by nature to kill other animals, that's just silly.
As a human being, equipped with a conscience and everything, I do have the responsibility to decide right from wrong. I don't think it's right to derive pleasure from hurting people or things, not when I have so many other options available to me, like watching the TV or going to the pictures. What's wrong with just riding the horses? What's wrong with doing competitive shooting? Why do you have to kill something to be having fun? Why is it any different to fishing, in fact, if you're saying fishing is bad? If you're going to say fox-hunting is about controlling fox numbers, why the red coats and the horns and the massive crowd of people, why not just let the dogs have them? Or traps or whatever.
Not a very rigorous argument but as I said I'm late for work. Didn't have time to do the reading so I daresay you'll say I'm ignorant. (incidentally though, tell me more about how it criminalises law-abiding citizens? Surely if they abided by the law and refrained from participating in bloodsports, they wouldn't be criminals?) I think it basically comes down to whether you like it or whether you don't, at the end of the day.
I also don't think it's an especially significant issue. I mean seriously, if you think this is worth deciding your vote on... read the news more.
I have no particular love for foxes...I despise most of the types who hunted them with hounds...so bollocks to them.
P.S. If fox hunting is about controlling the fox population ...why did many hunts breed them ? why are they not shot or poisoned ? why are hordes of tossers required to trample crops and generally destroy the land they're supposed to be protecting from the evil fox?
P.P.S. if Cameron says it's alright then it can't be....it's the rules
There was me always slagging off the human rights act....obviously not all of it is bad.
A very well written arguement Bluefish, coming from someone who admits being part of the hunting fraternity since a child.
Lord Burns hmmm.
Not exactly middle class eh?
Staggers states about it being a class thing and how can I not agree with him? Lord Burns comes from a long line of, shall we say upper class, and as he no doubt mixes with the same, of course would say some of the things he has about fox hunting.
Your above comments are trying in some way to justify the cruel killing of an animal, torn to shreds by a baying hound of dogs.
I have seen this on film and I can assure others that it is not as instant as some would have you believe, It is so distressing that I found a clip but refrained from posting it on here.
This is of course an emotive subject for many and I am not a friend of the fox at all. But the thought of trying to justify the ripping to pieces of a fox by dogs, as doing the countryside some kind of favour, is quite frankly laughable.
I doubt very much if the leading huntsman is a rubbish collector, or what about a train driver? He will no doubt be just like the mentioned Lord Burns...privileged and rich. That is how most people see these people.
Sorry Bluefish....I applaud your arguements and they certainly come from the heart, and you obviously know a fair bit about this but...it is still all about setting a bunch of dogs onto a defenseless animal, and then watching whilst they rip it to pieces. Sorry if that is sport then I certainly would never want to see it's return in todays modern society.
Funny how Lord Burns appears on the front of this..
For a man so knowledgeable and obviously wise to the worlds events, for him to say it is not cruel, goes to show how far he is in the pockets of the foxhunters.
I freely admit that I see this as a class thing ,I'm happy to admit that a major part in my opposition to fox hunting is a desire to fuck with the gentry.I understand that people from all walks of life (for whatever reason -I suspect usually financial)support hunting,but my understanding is that membership of any hunt is by invitation and invitations are only handed out to the select few upon the opening of a place (by death or other) I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong...but as yet no one has addressed this.I do however feel that hunting with hounds is unnecessarily cruel and in no way as clean and instantaneous as we are told
Well at least some element of truth has come out.....money.
Most do not care about the fox or the dogs or the horses or the drinkies afterwards, just the money to be made, and then use the countryside needs to cull them, as a justification.
I understand that a lot of people either make or did make money from this, but that does not sit well with many people.
When a whole industry dies like many have,people have to move on to hopefully something else, but this industry has not died, just harder than it was before to make money.
I think now it has been banned there will be no going back to the days of yesteryear.
I think class is a distraction on this one.
It's quite simple.
Do we sell spectator tickets for abbatoirs?
If I need to have my dog put down do we invite an audience?
If I need to get rid of vermin from my land do I turn it into an entertainment extravaganza?
I have no problem with people riding horses; I would make decent drag hunting courses a part of any rural leisure plan. I just don't understand why that respectable hobby of riding a horse over challenging terrain has to be linked to animal cruelty.
Fox hunting is cruel and inefficient; if you need to control foxes for good reason call a pest specialist, not fifty of your mates on horses after a drink.