... to feel disgusted at fox-chasing toff-twits!

[counterpoint]

On my way to a local town for lunch today, we had to slow down and stop as a horse came galloping up towards us in the middle of the road. On his back sat a dandified twit who was looking for his hounds. In the nearby field some 100 (I kid you not) other starched twits sat on brainwashed horses with hungry hounds running amok. Traffic swayed and stopped as these twits had clearly lost the little sense they had and were dispersing all over the highway, horses looking dazed at being led among cars at great speed on slippery tarmac. Hounds confusedly sniffing all over the road and verges. How much had these twit-toffs drunk? It was not yet noon!

My friends in our car tried to calm me down saying it must be a drag when all of a sudden a poor defenseless fox jumped on the dry-stone wall looking wild-eyed as it tried to determine whether he was safer making a run for it across a busy road or turn back into a field of crazed, uncontrolled hounds and drunken (British?) twits. The fox froze and the driver of my car sped on as I screamed with panic for the predictable fate of the fox.

Why the f*ck is a supposedly civilized country allowing this kind of savagery to continue?

Yes, Either the foxes need controlling in which case shoot them....which is more humane. Or they don’t need controlling in which case why have the hunts? And if they do need controlling I don’t see many Hunt followers signing up for fox shoots.

But the hunts don’t kill foxes anymore so the whole fox population control argument is nul and void.

Anti hunt people. I challenge you to make an order of types of animal killing from the worst to the least worst, with reasons based on animal welfare.

Hunting is banned, Blair did this to placate his lefties after he got the country involved in Middle East wars. There don’t seem to be many in the rural area I live in, the estates much shoot them

So the only argument left is doing it for fun/sport.

I saw our local hunt out the other week. Terrier men on quad bikes. So just a scent/drag hunt was it? Don’t think so!

Viva - I've no idea of any stats but presumably lots more foxes are being shot now that they can't be hunted.

Viva - what's the argument for fishing?

I disagree with any animal killing for sport/fun. So that includes shooting and fishing. I don’t particularly feel the need to rank them but I would definitely put hunting at the top if I did because of the time element.....that the fox can be chased for a lengthy amount of time during which period it must be terrified.

And before you ask no I’m not vegetarian and for the purpose of this argument I don’t believe that makes me a hypocrite. Animal welfare standards in this country are generally fairly robust and abattoirs have to meet requirements about lack of suffering and quick deaths which can’t be said for hunting.

I don’t agree with fishing.

Though I think it’s less bad than hunting as the fish isn’t chased for hours, terrified and exhausted. Though I have heard an argument by neurobiologist that fish don’t feel pain the same way that mammals do so I guess I can’t get quite as worked up about it. I don’t even know if most fishermen put them back alive or kill them? I thought most were put back.

so you want to join class war then?

what I mean is, I do not see much concern for animal welfare in your post, more general chippiness about how you perceive horse riders.

Sittin - ranking something shit in order of how much that shit stinks isn't the point.

What disturbs people about hunting are the dicks who enjoy it.

I have no idea what the stats for fox shooting are. If a farmer/land owner feels the need to shoot a fox then to be honest I don’t have an issue with that. I’d prefer it didn’t happen but I respect the fact the land owner is in the best place to make a judgement call over whether or not they have a fox problem which needs sorting.

But to be honest I don’t see or hear of many farmers round here shooting foxes. My friend who’s a sheep farmer doesn’t, they don’t have a problem with foxes killing lambs so not bothered about local foxes. All the chicken farms round here are 100% bio security focused, no way a fox is getting in a commercial chicken shed. Which leaves backyard chicken flocks like mine. I never even bother shutting the pop hole and in 15 years have never had a fox attack. I’ve seen a fox sat outside my house but they don’t come in the garden and if they did it would be my fault for not securing the hens.

Just because there are things in this country that are deemed worse, doesn't mean fox hunting should just be left alone. People campaign for better animal welfare in the food industry, for better welfare in conservation. Why the fuck shouldn't they get angry about people who watch dogs rip apart a defenceless fox for sport?

dullandold are you directing that at me? Genuinely not sure.

Viva - it can take a long time to wind the fish in, the fish will be fighting the whole time. Fish are increasingly regarded as much more intelligent than previously thought.

oh! no not you viva - I meant the OP with her 'toff-twits' ..

www.huntsabs.org.uk

Photos of the results of recent Boxing Day meets. This is the reality.

I don't personally give a damn about what social class you consider yourself. I am unfortunate enough to know people from all walks of life that shoot or hunt for pleasure. It has sod all to do with class nowadays. Doesn't change how people feel about it

Rebeca - so it is a 'class warfare' thing then? You've not really bothered about the fox - you just don't want to see 'posh' people dressed up on horses.

It's not a class hatred thing for me, I hate all the hunt Scum. From the lump in a red-coat tooting his tiny horn to the knuckle-dragging swamp monster driving a quad. All vermin to me :)

Well I’ve never fished and like I say I don’t agree with it as a sport.

Rebeca - I've met loads of people who hunt and hardly any of them were anything other than perfectly nice, normal people.

There was a recent thread regarding shooting of birds where a lot of people were saying at least it’s quick.

And I pointed out then that these birds are captivity reared prior to their release and the conditions they’re kept in fairly grim conditions. Farm I buy my hay from has sheds of overcrowded birds waiting to be let out and then blasted to death. Don’t like that either.

anyway I have met some hunt sabs and they are invariably chippy idiots who eg go to work for ICI once they have graduated.

The ones at our uni used to use uni funds to go sabbing in the vale of Aylesbury because they weren't brave enough to face the local farmers. That's a 500 mile round trip.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fox-hunting-ban-pest-control-hounds-horses-opposition-theresa-may-a7729946.html

Good article here about the lack of evidence to support fox hunting is needed for population control argument. Also talks about the fact that hunts breed and release foxes so there’s more to chase....which completely discredits their argument.