hunting is illegal so why do it?

[VicarInaTutuDrankSantasSherry]

i ride. (well, ive just started but....)
i abhor hunting. hate hate hate the cruelty of it. i think that the RSPCA did the right thing here in this prosecution. why do people of a certain class believe they are above the law?

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-camerons-local-hunt-fined-26300-for-illegal-fox-hunting-8422915.html

and we spend money (rightly imo) doing this www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-20739585

mad world. why do people feel the need to kill animals in the most inhunane ways possible?

Why drive over the speed limit? Why burgle a house? I don't think 'class' has anything to do with how willing someone is to break the law. However, due to its remote nature and woolly definitions, I think the fox-hunting ban was always going to be impossible to police and that rural communities, if they'd been consulted, would have other priorities when it comes to fighting crime.

Only people of a certain class break the law?

Hunting is not illegal. Labour messed up the law as they are pretty incompetent at most things. Only certainly aspects of what is done are illegal.

Why did Labour not ban fishing?

Why did Labour not ban fishing?

'Cos it's a working class sport of course.

Exactly. More people fish than watch football in the UK. It is not very pleasant for the fish. I wonder how people who fuss over animals take their decisions - is it just on the grounds of quantity of fur and cuteness.

The local hunt provided a useful sideline in carcass disposal. My DH used to run for our hunt each year and got paid for it. He got to run 18 or so miles over some beautiful private land, hotly pursued by bloodhounds and the riders. He loved it (apart from the goat pee/curry powder combo on his trainers for the scent).

Nowt cute about foxes.

They have soft fur. They look good round your neck.

People tend to be happier about the death of animals which aren't cute which of course has no moral basis at all as a distinction.

Vicar - do you hate hate hate the cruelty of fishing and shooting?

People of a certain class eh? Nice to see the stereotypes alive and kicking. Vicar you have been spending a lot of time in the Tack Room recently, you must have noticed loads of people are talking about hunting atm (not me, I'm not into it), do you think all those mumsnetters are landed gentry? Even with the constant posts about the best way to keep horses on a shoestring while holding down a job and how to get second-hand stuff on ebay?

I hate the cruelty of hunting, fishing, shooting, factory farming, dairy...

I hate the cruelty of hunting, fishing, shooting, factory farming, dairy...

This.

I think the point is more that people have given money to the charity and wouldn't have expected so much money to have been spent on legal fees rather than rescuing and caring for animals.

I hate fox hunting with avengence - can well remember the hounds running through our fields without permission, and have friends who also had them on their land, running through fields full of pregnant Ewes and into their badgers setts.

Had a screaming arguement with the head of hounds who seemed to think they were entitled to go where they liked.. year in, year out.
They would never warn us either, so that we could get our animals in

The sound of it alone, all day long, made me feel sick.. Absolutely repulsive.

Hunting with hounds is illegal. The police and the CPS won't or can't prosecute. The hunts know this and just do what they want. IMO this prosecution by the RSPCA was long overdue, and I only wish the punishment had been more severe. The law is the law, it needs to be applied. I will be making a big donation to the RSPCA so that they can do this again.

And hunting foxes with hounds is such an efficient method of pest control that every other country in Europe is doing it as well. Oh wait, they aren't. I wonder why???

I think that hunting foxes with hounds is illegal, drag hunting with hounds is legal but sometimes they may accidentally catch and kill a fox.

yep
I hate the cruelty of hunting, fishing, shooting, factory farming, dairy...

^this too.
add the fur trade and poaching to that list for me too.

i cant say i have come across any threads in the tack room on hunting but i dont tend to pick fights and i dont tend to look for them - i like riding, i just abhor animal cruelty. i thought the tack room was for people who liked riding and owned horses?

hunting with dogs is illegal. im glad this prosecution was brought. i concede i should have left the word class out of it. it has nothing to do with class. it has everything to do with breaking the law.

and for me, basic human decency in that i dont get pleasure from the terror and pain of animals which are hugely outnumbered.

Are you a member and supporter of the league against cruel sports Vicar?
The emails i get are very informative, and they need as much support as possible..

im not, but im not sure what im allowed to be a member of - is it political? if not i could probably join.

Laws in a liberal democracy have to be supported by those they effect eg most motorists agree with the seat belt law. However, pretty much the only people effected by a hunt ban are hunt followers and landowners; so of course it is a failed law. We hunt followers do not morally agree with the ban and are hardly going to report ourselves! The hunt ban is a vague, muddled mess with lots of loop holes therefore very hard to enforce. It has nothing to do with animal welfare- quite the opposite. The key point under the Hunting Act is it has to be deliberate hunting, which is very hard to prove. I assume the RSPCA's political point making was only successful because civil prosecutions have a lower burden of proof? At £336,000 ish a pop, they won't be doing too many of those I doubt, even with the obscene amount of money this organisation possesses. Hunt followers like myself are passionate about our sport, heritage, countryside and animals and will fight on to keep it going strong, for however long it takes.

Do you eat meat and fish, vicar?

^ moot point.

You can be against hunting and still eat meat.

I'm veggie - but anyone who isn't doesn't automatically have to condone animal cruelty.

I'm vegetarian but would rather someone who knows what they're doing goes out on a shoot and kills the animals they want to eat cleanly and quickly over them shopping for meat in a supermarket.

However, I consider people who hunt with dogs as borderline pyschopaths with a blood lust. How anyone can gain pleasure from knowing an animal is being tortured to death over hours (taking into account the amount of time it is chased to exhaustation, terrified out of its wits, before being torn to shreds) is beyond me.

And anyone who presents the "well foxes kill chickens" argument is just not worth engaging with.

Oh and lets not forget the thousands of hunting hounds that have been destroyed ata young age over the years because once they've outlived their usefulness to the hunt they cannot be rehomed. How on earth can a hunt supporter claim to be passionate about animals?!

it's very difficult to kill a fox quickly and cleanly though, shooting usually = very slow very painful death from wounds

although have never found the vermin control justifications all that convincing, hunting is just fun isn't it and most hunt activities probably fall within the stupid law anyway

£300k is a lot of money, many suffering animals could have been helped with that, shocking waste of money. Withdrew my support from the RSPCA years ago when they stood idly by during the foot and mouth crisis