To hate the disingenuous, lying, underhand Hunting Brigade and there ongoing campaign to bring back fox hunting

[Boomingmarvellous]

I hate fox hunting with horses and hounds. It's cruel and barbaric. That's my only objection. I don't mind shooting foxes if they are predating livestock like chickens and lambs. The rest should be left in peace to maintain their place in rural life.

The Hunting brigade and the Countryside Alliance have lied about everything to support their 'sport'. Not least the mass euthanasia of hounds and horses and loss of countryside jobs if it was banned. 10 years on it is more popular then ever.

They still 'accidentally' kill foxes who stray across their path. Why? Because the trail they lay is still concocted to smell of foxes. They have had 10 years to raise hounds to follow a different scent. Dogs can be trained to pick up the scent of anything so why stick to fox? Of course it's because they knew if a conservative government got in they would change the law back again.

Thank you SNP for scotching that idea.

Blair had to give the antis their prize.
In return labour MPs supported him on Iraq.

Hunt supporters are expected to, and they do, do a lot of canvassing at elections for the Tories.

The hunting lobby are furious with DC for not repealing the act as a reward.

Hats off to superman. Beautifully reasoned argument. I too heard years ago how the landowners preserved areas known to be breeding grounds for foxes to 'preserve' the next 'crop' of foxes. Again disengenuous claims about vermin control.

It does sadden me to hear though that illegal hunts are taking place with an intention (as opposed to an accidental) killing of foxes.

Maybe this is why the countryside alliance throw up this smokescreen of demands each year, to shift attention from the lack of monitoring.

I absolutely loathe the countryside alliance. They claimed that once fox hunting was banned the tree huggers would start on fishing. 10 years on and still waiting CA..........

Hunt supporters are expected to, and they do, do a lot of canvassing at elections for the Tories
Yes indeed..... Vote OK headed up by that odious little man, Otis Ferry. Canvassing for Tory MP's in return for a vote in favour of repeal without divulging their allegiance to the Countryside Alliance as they went door to door.

There are a noisy group who still bleat about the Hunting Act being all about class divisions and nothing to do with animal welfare. They should ask themselves this then.... why, when DC proposed an amendment to the Hunting Act that allowed a much higher number of hounds to be used to 'flush' a fox did it lead to a huge backlash from the general public? This was a highly popular piece of legislation regardless of the sniping from a minority of pro hunt MP's who viewed it as nothing but an attack on perceived class divisions.

Booming, farmers and landowners preserve coverts, rough areas, withy beds etc for hunting and shooting, that is why hunting and other field sports are so good for conservation. Foxes are not bred for hunting, their natural habitat is simply being preserved for the chase. This is good for foxes and other wildlife. Hunting is a good method of fox control because the hounds tend to catch the older, weaker animals which are more likely to attack livestock.
There is no need for hunting to continue illegally because there are already plenty of loop holes for it to continue lawfully, hence why so few prosecutions of official hunts. I am confident that the ridiculous 'ban' will be lifted eventually but hunting has proved its strength under the 'ban'.
I cannot understand all the concern about killing a few foxes in a relatively humane and very natural manner with hounds (just like terriers ratting) when 90% of the population kill animals for the unnecessary pleasure of meat eating. Its very hypocritical. Personally I am concerned with human not animal rights.

Yanbu. Hunting with dogs belongs in the past and more needs to be done to eradicate it.

Houndpaws you disgust me.

Thank goodness there is a growing number of Tory MPs who oppose the needless slaughter of our already pressurised wildlife. The Conservatives Against Fox Hunting (Blue Fox) organisation do a fantastic job and deserve all our support.

Humane? You are sick in the head.

Kinky rather than lower yourself to insults, please can you explain to my why a hound killing a fox or a terrier killing a rat is worse than the other methods of control which often do not involve such a clean kill?

I don't condone hunting for foxes at all. It's a nasty sport. However I do have friends who drag hunt and its normally a runner who takes off across fields and the hounds follow his scent. They are normal people who want to have a good blast around the countryside on there horses. My daughter who is seven had been invited to a few meets but it's the anti hunting people who scare me. My daughter would be there to ride her pony and nothing else. It's a shame if a few hunts that are not done properly ruin it for everybody.

Hunting is a good method of fox control because the hounds tend to catch the older, weaker animals which are more likely to attack livestock

So the fact that an old,weak fox is terrorised and shredded is ok then
I wonder why the whipper in for the hunt I used to go out with said he preferred younger foxes as they gave hounds a better run.
Hunting with hounds is not a good method of fox control. During the foot and mouth crisis when hunting was banned research indicated that the number of does did not rise. There have been a number of research papers published which state quite clearly that hunting with hounds is the least effective method of controlling fox numbers.

In 2001, the unfortunate and devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease initiated a temporary and total ban on fox hunting from February through to the December. This provided scientists with a rare opportunity to measure the changes in fox numbers during a period with no fox hunting. Charlotte Webbon, Stephen Harris and Philip Baker from the University of Bristol, looked at changes in fox numbers based on the amount of their poo at 160 sites up and down the country, before and towards the end of the temporary ban. They then looked for a relationship between the difference in fox numbers in an area and the decrease in fox hunting pressure which that area experienced during the ban, which was greatest in South West England where hunting is most common. What they found was that whilst there were the sorts of slight differences between individual sites that you might expect from wild environments, on the whole, in every region of the UK, far from the surge predicted by pro-hunting groups, there was no change at all in fox numbers and even slight declines in some areas

Personally I am concerned with human not animal rights
Many of us have the capacity to be concerned with both

I am confident that the ridiculous 'ban' will be lifted eventually
It really wont

Booming, farmers and landowners preserve coverts, rough areas, withy beds etc for hunting and shooting, that is why hunting and other field sports are so good for conservation

And of course nothing to do with farmers being paid money by the government to set aside land for wildlife habitats...(now replaced with voluntary set aside) or the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme where farmers are paid to preserve woodland

I cannot understand all the concern about killing a few foxes in a relatively humane and very natural manner with hounds
You don't say..... shocker
DEFRA would disagree..... they claim that shooting is the most humane method of control.

natasha you are confused by the types of hunting and I am offended that you call my sport 'nasty' which is not, it is a time honoured sport which builds character and confidence as well as a love of horses, hounds and the countryside. I am very proud to be a hunt follower.
But back to your confusion. A hunt which follows a human runner is not a drag hunt, it is called 'hunting the clean boot' and the hounds are blood hounds. A drag hunt follows a scent not a human runner.
I suspect you are getting confused with trail hunting?

Hound is right about preservation of habitat.

Why pay to maintain hedges when barbed wire is cheaper?

haha Superman you are quoting Stephen Harris who is a rabid anti! I gather he is the reason the recent anti case was kicked out recently!!

You have obviously not seen injured foxes dragging their intestines along after being badly shot. Plus, much of England is too urban to shoot safely. Shooting in the right location, with the right calibre of rifle CAN be humane but it is not the best and only answer to fox control.
Personally I dont see the problem with sport hunting at all, it is a truly wonderful sport and I recommend people to go out and follow hounds before making their minds up.

I have.

HoundPaws just out of interest

If you had a rat infestation or a cockroach infestation and they obviously needed to be exterminated, would you not be concerned to find your DP or kids laughingly pulling the legs off of them or getting positive enjoyment out of inflicting death upon them?

Would that not make you concerned for their state of mind?

Trail hunting uses fox scent (urine). Rather odd to use this.... may help explain all those 'accidents' when hounds then go into cry on the scent of a live fox.

I wonder why they drag the rag across roads and railways.

aha Superman you are quoting Stephen Harris who is a rabid anti! I gather he is the reason the recent anti case was kicked out recently!!

Try harder

Worra, I am more worried about yhour state of mind. I have hunted for 30 years and have never once got enjoyment from the death of a fox. As I thought I had explained the pleasure is from the thrilling ride over hedges and fences and watching hounds work. The fact that you do not understand this basic fact about my sport means there is no point debating with you sadly :(

PS Superman it is not illegal to hunt foxes accidentally!!!

You have obviously not seen injured foxes dragging their intestines along after being badly shot

hmmm...... strange therefore that the Countryside Alliance suddenly became very supportive of shooting when a possible amendment was proposed in July after the election. In their 2015 election manifesto shooting was indiscriminate, inhumane and ineffective.

You can ride a horse over hedges and fences without killing another living being.

I don't believe for a second that you would take part in a 'sport' that ends in the death of an animal and not take pleasure in it.

Or are you trying to convince yourself that you're a martyr to it?

Worra
Don't you know....... none of them enjoy the kill ..... apparently

ps Hound you have clearly struggled to understand the point I made about hunts using fox scent.... but that is to be expected

Worra believe what you like, there is clearly no point in debating with you if you have so little understanding. I have no problem killing animals, I have pulled the necks of many chickens over the last few months. If I enjoyed killing foxes I would happily admit it. But I hunt for the amazing ride.
I do enjoy the chase side though, as it is very thrilling; that's why millions of people enjoy watching wildlife programmes with wild cats hunting their prey. A pack of hounds hunting its prey is a breath taking sight whether you are pro and anti