Hunting without the actual fox

[itsbritneybiatches]

This is just caused a bit of a row in our house.

Family member comes into the room where I am and says how disgustingly it is that the supporters were kicking off and a 15'year old was pushed off a horse.

Now I am very very anti fox hunting and I said I am the last person you want to speak to about this as I do not agree with fox hunting on any level.

They continued about how bad it was that this 15 year old has been pushed from the horse and I responded with a comment along the lines of they shouldn't of Been on the horse to go out and do that kind of thing, no sympathy whatsoever.

Apparently now they don't hunt foxes. Just pre laid trails.

So if a fox is then smelt on the way of the pre laid trails, willl the hounds hunt that or the pre laid trail?

I just can't get my head round a sport that is to chase an animal, to its death. The torment that animal Must go through in the name of sport it just disgusts me. Who could actually enjoy that.

Like I say, I live in the country. I used to live on a cattle and sheep farm. I never ever saw any animals being tortured, never mind on a daily basis.

Some people are full of shit.

And yes I keep chickens so I have seen what happens when a fox has been in a hen house. Actually my neighbours not mine, because as a responsible chicken owner I have a fox proof hen house and lock them up.

Obviously only lock them up at night, I don't torture them by locking them up all day!

Itsbritney

Foxes have to be controlled, they cause huge amounts of damage to game and poultry. This requires shooting, snares, and traps depending on the terrain. Riding with hounds is no more efficient than any of those methods but it is a highly enjoyable activity that brings the rural community together, supports a considerable industry in areas poorly served with work, and redistributes wealth as those of us now living in cities pay not insignificant sums for day caps and hirelings to ride with the hunt.

When you shoot or trap a fox whichever one comes along dies, at least with the hunt the weaker ones (outside England Scotland and Wales) get killed and some degree of husbandary is effected.

There are many other highly enjoyable forms of riding, drag hunts are hugely popular even in parts of the uk where full fat hunting is still legal, hunt chases, cross country, etc. Nothing quite compares however to the noise of the hounds, the unpredictability of the route, the social enjoyment and ultimately the thrill of the kill. Just as game shooting, wildfowling, deer stalking, fishing, and vermin shooting are also highly enjoyed by hundereds of thousands of people in the uk...

The fox has to die, it is far better the whole community enjoy the event and benefit rather than a lone individual with a polystyrene cup, a lamp, and a rifle.

Has anyone actually seen the destruction a fox leaves after visiting a hen house?

Yes I have. And spending an entire afternoon hunting a single or couple of foxes is doing fuck all to stop it happening.
Spending an evening with a gun and shooting as many as you can, hopefully giving a cleaner and uicker death, removes far more foxes with far less resource use.

That's the point. We all know Foxes kill chickens and other livestock.
So better fencing, better pest management and killing the foxes as quickly.nd as cleanly as possible will be far better for farmers stock thqn a bunch of cowards on horses spending ages looking for a handful of foxes to terrorise and revel in the gore of the foxes death.

I agree with a PP's comment about the mentality of someone who enjoys hunting.

There have been so many proven links between; animal cruelty, domestic abuse and neglect. Yet, there seems to be a failure to apply the same links to sport.

I have no problem with the ban and think the law should be obeyed. If it isn’t, it should be enforced.

But I am a bit sceptical about the claims of hunt protesters. If the number of foxes being killed was negligible, the protesters’ whole purpose in life would disappear. It’s in their interests to say that there is still widespread fox hunting.

As a city dweller I’m also unclear about why we don’t have culls. There’s an epidemic of foxes where I am. They do a lot of damage.

Yes, there's loads more foxes in cities than in the country these days. Funnily enough they don't get hunted. If fox hunting was such a necessary service the hunt should be riding down a high street near you surely?

There's something very wrong mentally with people who enjoy such "sport".

@Klutzydraconequus I agree with you hence why I said I don’t support the hunt but never once have the hunt sabs I have met been anything but total idiots who get a kick out of scaring innocent animals and children

MrsJonSnow

Laying a false scent to hunt is called drag hunting (as generally a soaked rag is dragged by a runner). It simulates as closely as possible a proper hunt. People hunt because they enjoy it, just like people shop for things they don’t need, play sports, watch television, or debate things on online forums. People don’t do these things because they have to in order to survive but because they enjoy it, and it is the enjoyment of life which is what gives it value.

And I also disagree it's elderly/sick foxes who get caught. It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if hunts people really believe this why is it ok to block up sets prior to a hunt.....surely only a healthy/fit fox would make it back! And why is it ok to dig out a fox which has made it to ground.

Fox hunters are dicks. And so are people who poison rats, rabbits etc.

Why are so many of you adamant that foxes are killed on a hunt? It's against the law. A crime has been committed. Please report! ... Unless it's the internet talking....

Because we live it the countryside and know people who hunt. They don’t exactly keep quiet about it. As for reporting it, the police don’t give a fuck. They turn a blind eye because of the status of the people involved.

If fox hunting was such a necessary service the hunt should be riding down a high street near you surely?

That’s one of the objections to hunting: it’s not even effective as pest control. But I wish the local authorities would treat foxes more like other animals and cut their numbers when they get out of hand.

People hunt because they enjoy it
They enjoy causing a defenceless.creature an enormous amount of emotional distress and they enjoy killing said creature. How.many of your examples.is the same? Let's see...

just like people shop for things they don’t need
Sure the credit card gets a beating, but no small Nina's terrified or maimed.

play sports
Maybe risk injury or hurting someone else by accident but smaller creatures don't tend to get in the way in a football match.

watch television
Nope, small furry creatures are safe here too.

debate things on online forums.
Hurt feelings and salty.tears.arent quite terrified foxes and entrails.

So I don't really see the comparison?

I suggest the followers it is 75% the thrill of the chase/kill and 25% pest control. It certainly comes across more of a tradition/social thing than actual pest control.

I’m most shocked by the high-handed and boorish behaviour of the huntsman on those videos. Accusing a sab of being a paedophild and pervert because the huntsman’s daughter was upset, although her own father’s behaviour gave her far greater cause for distress. It seems that the huntsman he works for the company which manage my investments. Well, I’ll be moving those.

I hunt with a bloodhound pack. We don't hunt foxes, or the scent of fox. Our pack have never hunted fox, and were formed for that purpose, we hunt "the clean boot" which is the natural scent of a human runner.

Bloodhounds don't have a strong prey drive and aren't interested in foxes or other wildlife when they are working.

They are well loved and cared for until the end even if they are no longer able to hunt. They are shown and paraded as well as hunting. They are incredibly well trained and always under close control.

Why do we do it? Because it is an amazing day out, because we enjoy well trained hounds and horses doing what they are good at, because it enables us to cross beautiful countryside with the landowner's permission where we would not normally be able to ride.

I have seen wildlife cross the trail our hounds are following. The hounds ignore animals as they are focussed on the scent of the runner. They are no more risk to wildlife than search and rescue dogs, police dogs or sheep dogs doing their job.

Sadly we were called fucking scum and cunts last time I was out.

I do recognise the difference between bloodhounds and foxhounds.....I'm sorry you've had grief.

A couple of weeks ago my mum was on a train in Wales (Ffestiniog Railway I think, so not high speed at all) and the train hit a hunting dog that was wandering around on the track. The hunt was trespassing and then they claimed they hadn't laid the trail on the railway's land, so they clearly had either lost control of their dogs, or the dogs were following a live scent and not a "trail hunt" as claimed. So they've broken at least one law somewhere as far as I can tell. No respect for other people's property, trying to weasel out of paying for the damages too.

NicoAndTheNiners: Like I say, I live in the country. I used to live on a cattle and sheep farm. I never ever saw any animals being tortured, never mind on a daily basis. Some people are full of shit.

It's not that farmed animals are deliberately being tortured (although I could also post plenty of videos showing instances where workers have been filmed treating them cruelly), it's more the fact that they are selectively bred to produce lots of milk/meat - and the physical characteristics that make them profitable also makes them uncomfortable (e.g. quick growth making chickens' legs break).

Plus the conditions they are sometimes kept in (e.g.the vast majority of free range hens won't go outside ever, because they are scared to cross other hens' territory).

There are farms where they minimise the suffering by giving the animals more space, letting them engage in natural behaviours and have abbatoirs onsite so they don't have to travel (e.g. Daylesford), but you pay a premium for it and it's not the norm, even in the UK where welfare standards are pretty good.

@snowjive2. Hope you tell the company why you're moving your investments. That huntsman is a nasty bully.

Klutzy, the response you quote was in response to someone who asked about 'hunts who don't hunt' . I used to hunt with a blood hound pack in my younger days. This involves bloodhounds chasing a group of human runners who would cover around 12 miles in 3 or 4 'lines', covering private farmland which is not usually accessible, jumping big hedges and with a large group of other riders. It's fast paced and extremely exhilarating and not something that can be recreated by going for a hack around the roads with a group of friends. The hounds have never been trained to go after a Fox and no animals were ever hurt. Occasional the hounds would go after a random walker who may have unknowingly crossed the 'line' made by the quarry (human runners) but they would just jump up for their treats.
I have never hunted foxes. It used to annoy me when Sabs would try and cause trouble. It just shows their ignorance.

I wonder they don't take on the American method of foxhunting. The fox is only chased, it isn't killed. When the fox goes into a hole the huntsman blows "Gone to Ground" and calls off the hounds. If they do manage to catch a fox they don't let the hounds at it; they just vaccinate it for rabies and let it go.

Pushing someone off a horse is NEVER acceptable. Not only is there the risk of injury from the fall itself, there is also the risk that the horse could be startled and could injure itself or the rider.

Oh and that Neill Millard has been convicted of illegal hunting, he's joint master as well.

www.huntingact.org/news/three-members-of-the-crawley-and-horsham-hunt-convicted/