Foxhunting

[Husky]

remember, if the hunts go, all the dogs get destroyed

[maxi-glasgow]

I agree totally with what Vik posted on first page, if Foxes are a problem then kill them with a gun, to say we need to bring back foxhunting to solve any fox problems is absolutely ridiculous.

 

Dont see what the problem with urban foxes are either, not like they will kill livestock in a city. They may attack pets but pets should not be outside themselves if the owners love them.

 

I find foxes fascinating creatures, i know if i lived on a farm i would have a different opinion but i live in heart of Glasgow and i came into underground carpark very late one night and two foxes were in there.

 

I came upstairs got pack of hobnobs and went back down, one came within 15-20 feet of me but no closer so i started breaking up hobnobs and throwing them to it, it would eat for a while but then after it had eat enough it would take the bit and disappear only to come back for more, was hiding the food for later.

 

Fascinating creatures, but i am an animal lover and they have never done me any harm.

[Sarnie]

Thats like saying that if we ban dog fighting, all the American Pit Bulls will get put down........

 

If the dogs serve no other purpose than hunting then it should be made the owners responsibility to find another purpose for them..`````````

[Husky]

Thats like saying that if we ban dog fighting, all the American Pit Bulls will get put down........

 

If the dogs serve no other purpose than hunting then it should be made the owners responsibility to find another purpose for them..`````````

sadly there is no other purpose and they would be destroyed, a real shame. im not saying it to take one side or another, just saying that there are helpless animals being lost. if its banned the dogs die, if it isnt the foxes die.

[maxi-glasgow]

remember, if the hunts go, all the dogs get destroyed

 

 

Didnt the hunts go quite a few years ago? In that case WHY do they still have these dogs?

[Husky]

hey, i don't know I genuinely try not to keep track of the news as i think it is just a pile of morbid doomsaying sh**e.

if the hunts went then i feel sad for the doggies

[Bockaaarck]

Foxes are a wild and natural part of our countryside and I'm glad we have them. However; they are a menace to keepers of fowl and other animals and I believe a certain amount of control needs to be applied to their population.

 

I'm not about to criticise the fox for doing exactly what I do in a supermarket - "Mmmm I only need two chicken breasts for dinner but the butcher's got em at half price, so I'll get six, just cos he's got em...". I do support a producers right to protect his/her stock though.

 

If foxes need to be culled then my view is that they should be humanely trapped and destroyed or they should be shot by licensed keepers or marksmen/women as appropriate.

 

Having been shooting in the countryside since I was twelve, or there-abouts, I hope I have a balanced view. l love the countryside and its ongoing existence means a lot to me.

 

Should foxes be culled - Yes. Should they be hunted on horseback with hounds.....I'm not convinced by the strength of the argument .

[Beavis]

Well I suppose the current government has got to do something to appease those that voted them in because up to yet they are just as useless as the last lot that governed the country!

[Chesterfield]

I think that once again we British are the ONLY ones that are banning activities to please the minority within the EU. IF we are tackling sports which are suposedly cruel, then I think there are much better places to start. Bullfightig in southern Spain for example. Ive not read of bulls being a pest, they are just killed for fun.

 

Its about time we had a government in this country that was not afriad to speak up for common sense. I dont think any of the current lot are up to it to be honest. There are a few more important things that need sorting first before we lok at banning fox hunting.

[gazhull8474]

If we are going to ban sports like this I'm sure pheasant hunting will be the same. Where my wife lives there is people that breed pheasant and look after them all year so that toffee nose twits can come and shoot them for 4 months over the winter period on MOD land.

 

I have had to cancel training exercises before with new recruits so these type of people can have there fun. Which makes me think how much money have they put in.

[rtbiscuit]

i've been on shoots and also worked as a beater as a kid, cant say i've worked with that many toffee nosed twats; and i'm not one myself.

 

stereotyping is a wonderful technique

[DoogyRev]

I am sure many people have hit an wild animal in their cars...... how may stop to check to see if its dead....anyone?.... nope you all drive on with a small lump in your throat, while the animal if half dead dies in pain in a hedge or if its really lucky its get finished off by the next car that comes along.

 

And how many Cat owners do we have on here? What's the difference in a cat catching a rabbit or a pigeon to a hound catching a fox? I am sure the Foxes death is far quicker than a Cat with its catch.

[Ebized]

Where I live in a suburban area, so I guess I am a 'townie'. With open areas quite close by we see many foxes in our garden but we get more peeded off with a neighbour's dog that barks incessantly, and cats that foul and spray and cause more damage than the foxes and often 'seen-off' by the feline population who also take great delight clawing their way onto and off the top of cars they use as lookouts

 

Back on topic, and what I see is voiced very strongly in the posts above, and understandably so, is the attitude of the red-coats and those who go out of their way to stop hunts. Two extremes, but I am not so sure that the perception that the latter are mainly 'townies' is correct - more like the rent-a-mob brigades from all areas who just like a ruck - the student protests being the latest.

 

Do I think it is right foxes are torn apart by dogs - NO - surely if dog fighting is supposedly banned, any 'sport' that involves one animal losing its life by being torn to death, or near to death, by one or more other animals for human pleasure is just wrong.

 

If horseriders want to dress up in red coats and blow horns and race around their fields with their dogs, good luck to them, just hope in the process the horses and dogs survive without serious injury.

 

Culling is surely the answer where problems arise, and in the countryside farmers are best placed for the purpose IMO. But then that should not be limited to foxes but badgers as well -a known killer of cattle albeit by disease, but which are a protected species in the same way as bats (what use are they?) both of which are often deemed more important to protect it seems (and speaking from direct experience) than the food we eat or the homes we wish to create

 

As said in one or two posts above, we should be careful as we have a passion for a car that in the eyes of the 'greenies' would be near the top of cars that should be banned, if they had their way. So I suggest we worry more about enjoying our passion while we still can, because in our hearts we know that the time is not far off that it will become one of severely controlled pleasures and we will lose, or be priced out, of our enjoyment. You only have to look at what car manufacturers are turning to in engine development because of world pressure. That development certainly dosen't include a meaty sounding fossil-fueled V6, which other new fuels are unlikely to replicate, and is the heart and soul of the ZED as we know it.

[Vik54]

Wow this thread has certainly spiralled since last night !

I really don’t think this debate has anything to do with being a ‘muesli eating greenie’ or ‘a toff’ – IMHO neither should it be influenced by if you have a so called right to comment because of where you live – we ALL live in a western democracy and therefore ALL have the right to speak out and (attempt) to influence policy. Though, I too get annoyed by life-long townies bleating on about animal rights

I’m no tree hugging greenie – I love my V6 and I eat and wear animal products – I got the tree hugging vegetarian thing out my system in my late teens – all whilst living in middle England in the heart of Pytchley Hunt territory. I followed hounds on foot (Hounds aren’t going anywhere if you’ve got a packet of choccie digestives BTW! ) witnessed a kill and took part in ‘country pursuits’ along with all the other Young Farmers (the vast majority of whom could certainly never be called ‘toffs’ ).

When horses died they went to the hunt for meat.

I’ve seen the state of a chicken coop after a fox – the coop wasn’t fit for purpose

I’d happily shoot a fox (if I had the skill to get a clean shot) – same as I’ve bashed bunnies on the head (when you realise you’ve got about 500 on a 20 acre piece of land something has to be done)- and I always go back to check animals are dead if I’ve run them over.

Bottom line is Hunting has never actually stopped since the ban – it continues all over the country – they just have to ensure to the best of their ability there’s no live kill by the pack. There is no reason the ‘sport’ can’t continue – so I don’t know what all the hullaballoo is about

Oh and I really don’t see how you can possibly compare shooting with hunting – where there are people prepared to pay for shoots there will always be business.

As Colin says – lets stay on topic

[geoff-r]

Bring it back or I'll buy a gun. Here we have a lot and they seem pretty cocky, one chased my car the other day, very odd. Last night I was woken by one in the garden, I thought we were being robbed, it was making a hell of a noise.

[pptom]

Fkin hate fox hunting and all things associated with it.

As for the stetement that they are pests - I estimate that 98% of countryside in the midlands is arable, therefore not affected by a carnivorous scavenger. The other 2% is farmed for beef and I've never heard of a fox taking down a fresian.

The killing chickens theory is also utter tosh. Again the lions share of farmed chickens in this country are intensively reared, in barns, secured, so they can't get out and foxes can't get in. Chickens do not live wild, they are livestock, and, as such should be protected, if any owners are irresponsible enough to leave them out at night or in an enclosure that can be 'broken into' by, let's face it, a small mammal, should not be considered responsible enough to keep animals. Also, foxes do not kill for fun, they kill for survival, the reason they kill all of the chickens in the coop is that instinct dictates that they never know where the next meal is comin from. They get what they can when they can and, if left alone, they would sooner or later eat all of the dead birds, may that take days or weeks. Such is the nature of the wild.

If you hadn't had a decent meal for a week and were given unlimited access to a sweet shop for 2 mins would you just have one chocolate bar, or stuff your pockets full and worry about eating it later.

By the way, I have a few chickens in the garden, I live in the middle of the countryside, about 3 miles from the nearest village, and have never had any problems because my birds are always securely locked away in the evening

The real reason that they are killed is simply blood sport, both direct and indirect. People like fox hunting and people like shooting lame birds like pheasents that can neither fly fast or high and can therefore be hit by a drunk tw@ firing a spray of lead 18 inches wide. Foxes also like to kill 'game' birds, however, they do it for survival rather than fun. Therefore we have a conflict, of course money wins and foxes die.

It may be traditional, but so was badger baiting, stoning adulterers, throwing christians to the lions etc etc. Doesn't mean its right.

Personally I just think its wrong to extract fun from any sort of activity which ultimately harms or kills animals, especially when the odds aren't exactly even.

Now, put a toff / wannabe toff in a ring with a heyena to fight to the death, we've got entertainment and maybe, as its a bit more of a level playingfield, something we could almost call sport.

[rtbiscuit]

i like to eat pheasants and rabbits, and i like to shot both, i don't horse ride or fox hunt, but have grown up on farms, its part of life/farm life.

 

rabbits in an arable field do lots of damage, and if kept unchecked breed like.. well... rabbits and the problem soon gets out of hand. same reason i shoot foxes as well.

 

you lot probably wouldn't agree with the method of catching magpies either but hey ho