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Original poster

She used to fox hunt?!

274 replies

Boxingdayhunts · 26/12/2023 22:29

name change urgh

long story short - over Xmas got talking about newspiece about Boxing Day ‘trail hunts’. Got shock of my life when family member (married in not blood) revealed she had on occasion when younger joined hunts. actual fox hunts.

this is something I feel strongly about. I would never have thought this about her.

aibu to feel shocked, disappointed, and look a little differently at her now?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Haydenn · 26/12/2023 22:47

Fox hunting has been banned for near on twenty years. If you want to judge her for this then crack on…but I think it says more about you rather than her

StarDolphins · 26/12/2023 22:49

Depends how she feels about it now but yanbu, I would feel differently about her too. I hate fox hunting.

I had a friend (not close, a school mum that I met for coffee/tea out with the kids) & she told me she had to ‘get rid’ of her dog (9 years she’d had him) when she had her baby as she wouldn’t have had time. I never met up with her again.

it depends on what you feel strongly about but animal welfare is up near the top for me & can massively change how I feel about people.

ClareBlue · 26/12/2023 22:49

Same here. I hunted as a child but we never actually caught anything and it was a drag hunt the last three years. I wouldn't do it or support it now but that was 40 years ago.

Divebar2021 · 26/12/2023 22:50

I hunted as a kid although only on Boxing Day. I didn’t actually come from a horsey family but I had my own pony from 13 and it was a significant part of the riding culture in our part of the world. I can understand why people don’t like it and I’m happy to debate the issues around it but Im not interested in judgements about something I did 40 years ago.

Grimchmas · 26/12/2023 22:50

I'm guessing she grew up rurally and you grew up in more urban surroundings.

For those of us who grew up in the countryside, and around horses, we were always taught that it was a kinder quicker death to the fox than shooting/trapping/poisoning. We were taught that foxes needed to be culled because they wreak devastation on farm animals (and that much is true). We all knew somebody whose hens had been attacked by foxes, and its not just as simple as fence them out as they can break into all sorts.

I wasn't ever 100% pro or against as a child or teenager, as i could see both sides. If I'd have been brave enough I would have ridden out with the hunt, because riding with the hunt isn't the same as e.g. going hunting with a gun on your arm. It wasn't until I was mid to late 20s that something somebody said to me made it click that fox hunting really wasn't okay with me, and that all the lines we were told about it being the kindest way didn't actually stack up.

SkaneTos · 26/12/2023 22:51

OP, are you vegan?

Caerulea · 26/12/2023 22:52

Yeah I'd judge the Fuck out of her, but I do love how many have turned up to defend fox hunting like it's some normal & loved thing in the countryside - it isn't. I'm rural af & most everyone here hates it as do the farmers cos it destroys fencing, walls & kills sheep from the shock.

Grimchmas · 26/12/2023 22:52

Haydenn · 26/12/2023 22:47

Fox hunting has been banned for near on twenty years. If you want to judge her for this then crack on…but I think it says more about you rather than her

Has it really been that long?! I feel very old now 😅

BeaRF75 · 26/12/2023 22:53

"Person and their relative have different interests" shocker! I have never hunted, as I grew up in a town, but for anyone with a rural background it's completely normal. Not sure why it's such a big deal - people being different from us is what makes life interesting.

CurlewKate · 26/12/2023 22:53

How old is she? I hunted 40 years ago. Wouldn't dream of it now, but it was pretty routine in the horsy set in those days.

OwlWeiwei · 26/12/2023 22:53

new0936 · 26/12/2023 22:39

I think you're overreacting a little.

As pp pointed out she may have gone when you get and changed perspective.

An alternative view (from experience knowing people who hunt) is they are not there for "the hunt" they're there for the riding, galloping and jumping you don't get on a normal hack or cross country ride,
the social life, the balls, drinks, meets etc.

Friends of mine who I don't judge btw will speak of their days out focussing on the riding, the friends they meet there, none of my friends who have partaken were even remotely interested in if they caught a fox.

But why can't they have the social life and the galloping from a steeplechase or just go out for a big pack ride together? How is it possible to overlook the part of the event in which your dogs hunt an animal and rip it to shreds?

Alcyoneus · 26/12/2023 22:54

You’re being over dramatic. If you’re shocked by someone who used to fox hunt, you haven’t met a diverse enough range of people.

Haydenn · 26/12/2023 22:54

Grimchmas · 26/12/2023 22:52

Has it really been that long?! I feel very old now 😅

Show quote history

2002 Scotland and 2004 in England and Wales.

myhusbandwantsadog · 26/12/2023 22:55

It's illegal now, but most horsey people I know still go drag hunting or blood hounding. I would go if I had a horse. It's a lovely day out.

Keepingthingsinteresting · 26/12/2023 22:55

new0936 · 26/12/2023 22:39

I think you're overreacting a little.

As pp pointed out she may have gone when you get and changed perspective.

An alternative view (from experience knowing people who hunt) is they are not there for "the hunt" they're there for the riding, galloping and jumping you don't get on a normal hack or cross country ride,
the social life, the balls, drinks, meets etc.

Friends of mine who I don't judge btw will speak of their days out focussing on the riding, the friends they meet there, none of my friends who have partaken were even remotely interested in if they caught a fox.

To me this actually makes it worse. Not even thinking about the cruel deat but just a jolly day out.

before anyone says I don’t understand I grew up in the countryside and rode.

no @Boxingdayhunts , you aren’t being unreasonable. Unless she had a credible change of view story I would think a lot less of her and have as little as possible to do with her as I could in the future.

Bluelightbaby · 26/12/2023 22:55

I hunted when younger and shot. It was part of country life. Now as an adult I wouldn’t do it. People and thoughts change, I certainly wouldn’t think any less of her

Maddy70 · 26/12/2023 22:55

You're being daft. I did things in my younger days that I find abhorrent now. You develop and grow into your adult self and and develop your own new thoughts and opinions

MintJulia · 26/12/2023 22:58

It's completely normal in farming communities that keep chickens or raise pheasants, and need to protect their stock. Still not regarded as unusual around here after nearly 20 years ban.

We still have drag hunts.

CurlewKate · 26/12/2023 22:58

I don't defend fox hunting. I think it's cruel and barbaric. But when I was very young it was part of the world I lived in and I did it.

Grimchmas · 26/12/2023 23:05

But why can't they have the social life and the galloping from a steeplechase or just go out for a big pack ride together?

You are pretty much describing drag hunting, which existed but wasn't as widespread until after the ban. Fun rides and cross country competitions existed but again to a lesser extent, and were different. I'm not saying this in defense of it, but the culture was such that people generally didn't see much moral issue with it.

It was easy to ignore the violent part because a) it generally happened way off in front of most of the horses and riders, who almost never saw any of it, and b) it was going to happen regardless of if followers attended or not.

The hunts had access to land that wasn't usually open to riders, which was also part of the appeal.

Cyclebabble · 26/12/2023 23:09

Views in the countryside differ on the merits of hunting. I am not a big fan, but respect those who take a different view.

Poppinjay · 26/12/2023 23:11

It's a normal part of country living, as is going out at night to shoot rabbits and game shooting parties.

Most children brought up with it see death amongst more pets, wildlife and farm animals and are more in touch with where their food comes from than most.

Hunts don't generally go after foxes since it's been illegal and, even when they did, most children got nowhere near a kill and will have been told it's the kindest way to deal with the predators that attack the livestock their family and friends depend on for their livelihood.

If you're going to judge her, will you also check out the history of all your friends, family and colleagues to ensure they haven't any animal welfare skeletons in the cupboard? Once you start looking, you will realise that nobody is entirely innocent if you dig deep enough.

CurlewKate · 27/12/2023 09:02

"Views in the countryside differ on the merits of hunting. I am not a big fan, but respect those who take a different view."

I'm a countrywoman and I don't have any sympathy or respect for the pro hunting lobby.

ohdamnitjanet · 27/12/2023 09:07

Yes you are, it’s none of your business. Ridiculous.