Visit to local hunt kennels facing prosecution by primary school - WWYD

[Lakeylady]

Just that really. We had an email from school on Friday saying that the children would be going on a countryside learning day in 10 days to a nearby estate. Just that, no more info. I looked up the organisation running it over the weekend and they are a charity that promotes countryside sports. As part of the day there was a farm tour which sounded ok, then a gamekeeper tour when they learn about animal traps and pest control, which I am not particularly ok about but it is legal. Final bit was a tour of the kennels. The master and whipper in of this particular hunt are being prosecuted at the moment for illegal hunting and there have been news stories about their questionable animal welfare. This I am unhappy about which I let the school know about and I also contacted the countryside sports charity and said I didn’t think primary school children should visit an organisation being investigated when it would be their staff showing them round.
The school have cancelled the visit (I only asked for them not to do the hunt kennels bit but the organisation said my child would have to stand to one side with a member of their staff) but the chair of governors has written me a letter saying I have spoilt a nice day out.
I am so upset, I feel like some of the parents will blame me for standing up for my convictions but I feel this trip would have been wrong on lots of levels let alone breaking the political impartiality code. Meanwhile we have the National Arborteum on our doorstep and we haven’t done a trip there.

[Thursday37]

These trips are educational and appropriate. Our local schools visit the hunt kennels in the same way they visit farms and the cattle market. They learn about the community they live in, and here the hunt is part of that community.
If you were a parent at our village school you’d be ostracised I’m afraid. You could have just kept your child at home if you didn’t want them to attend, which is perfectly within your rights. But interfering with my child is not!

[Lakeylady]

But the hunt staff are undergoing a criminal investigation for breaking the law!

[cushioncovers]

So will the kennels get paid by the school/council for the children to visit? If so I'd object to this. No way would I help pay towards funding this obscene 'sport'

[NrlySp]

What about innocent until proven guilty? I’m not a fan of hunting but that is a usual principal

[Giggorata]

You have spoilt a nice day out.
The children would have enjoyed it, it's not like they are going round a slaughterhouse.
Learning about the countryside community and activities is appropriate for children, whether their parent agree with hunting or not. Hunt kennels, country markets and farms are what actually goes on, not just country parks and quaint crafts.

Countryside sports, like it or not, encourage hedgerows, woodland and conservation. Animal trapping and pest control is necessary to grow crops to feed us. Animal husbandry is all about fattening, then killing, animals for food.

The countryside is a working environment, not an amenity. I think the Countryfile programmes on the Beeb have been so sanitised over the last few years that the general public forget this.

[Lakeylady]

I only asked that they picked the two tours that didn’t involve the hunt, it was the school that cancelled it as they clearly realised it wasn’t appropriate. The poster said pick two out of three but when it came to it the organisation insisted on the kennel but which to me smacks of stealth political PR.
This hunt has had convictions before so it isn’t a one off.
I wouldn’t want a primary school to visit any organisation if two members of staff were being repeatedly prosecuted.

[Lakeylady]

@cushioncovers i don’t know if they get paid - the various hunts have directors on the charities board. Not sure how the funding arrangements work.

[Ihatethenewlook]

I’m anti hunting and support my local hunt sab groups, but I don’t necessarily see the need to spoil a school trip here. There’s a lot of rumours constantly spread about hunt kennels in general (obviously by anti hunters). It doesn’t sound like anything’s been proven or there’s been any convictions. The children were hardly going to be taken on a fox hunt, and it seems like they’re going to miss out on a fun and educational day.

[Lakeylady]

They are about to go to court and there is a lot of evidence that they have been illegally hunting. That doesn’t sit happily with me - or the school clearly. I didn’t ask for the school not to go, I asked to pick the two tours that didn’t involve the kennels.

[Summerholidayorcovidagain]

Surely a great opportunity for dc to learn bad things do happen and they could make a mental note to get involved(against hopefully) when they are old enough -

[SiobhanSharpe]

You had legitimate concerns and acted on them; the school clearly took notice of what the day out would include and concluded some parts of it were inappropriate.
The school cancelled the day, not you, and it seems they were right to do so because the organisation running the trip would not allow the school just to cancel the part of the trip that was causing concern
You're right, that smacks of PR and a bit of indoctrination.
As a country dweller, I'm well aware this issue divides rural communities and it appears the 'harmless traditional country sports' brigade have come out in force.

[StarDolphins]

I would not be happy with this at all. There are other ‘nice days out’ that I feel more appropriate than taking kids to anywhere that is anything to do with hunting. I would take my child out of School rather than let her see hint kennels. You & the School have done the right thing imo

[Lakeylady]

@Summerholidayorcovidagain wrll that might be the case if they told them how they actually hunt. But presumably what they do is a ‘hug a hound’ session and then tell them that they teach them to hunt scents which they lay. But they don’t lay trails, they hunt foxes, and there is so much video footage of this and whatever your moral stand is about animals, this is illegal. So they will be lying to young children when they tell them they hunt scents. That makes me incredibly uncomfortable.

[ohidoliketobe]

I wouldn't support a trip that involved a tour around hunt kennels regardless of a criminal investigation.
Not something I want my kids around, and the people running the tour are hardly going to give an unbiased account of what they do.

[Phineyj]

You have stood up for your principles and now you need to own it.

It is not OK for a chair of govs to try to guilt a parent in this way.

There are so many other trip possibilities that someone is trying to make a political point here and it's not you!

[PigeonRetreat]

No this isn't OK. Please write your objections ASAP to the Governors and HT and take your child to the Arboretum that day instead xx

[Bramshott]

WWYD? Write back to the chair of govs to say you're sorry they feel that way, but there were reasons why you made the request you did, and that the decision to cancel the trip was completely down to the school. Then move on and don't worry about other parents blaming you - maybe some will, but others probably won't, and the decision to cancel was totally on the school.

[PutinIsAWarCriminal]

As a country dweller, I'm well aware this issue divides rural communities and it appears the 'harmless traditional country sports' brigade have come out in force. are you a country dweller or country worker @SiobhanSharpe, the difference is important.
I actually do agree with you in principle @Lakeylady, however this is the bit that took it too far I also contacted the countryside sports charity and said I didn’t think primary school children should visit an organisation being investigated when it would be their staff showing them round. if you had already contacted the school then this was unnecessary.
Children are so far removed from the countryside now and where there food comes from, and its a shame. I am a farmer's wife, and believe no one should be eating meat without knowing what goes on to produce it. I don't mean taking kids around a slaughter house, but seeing how the countryside works as a complex industrial food producing machine is so important. I have to regularly justify our work and lifestyle and how we raise our children to those who quite happily tuck into a KFC.

[NamechangeFML]

I would email "are you fucking joking ,here?"
Lol rural life?
hunting down small pets and animals is NOT "rural life"
it's diabolical and id take it to the papers.
do not normalise this disgusting practice and lend creadance to it.

you should stand and waive a banner
"
RIP little Mini, and countless other wildlife and pets

psychopaths...hug a hound? I wouldnt let a child within 100feet

[OrlandointheWilderness]

Ohhh I really shouldn't engage with these threads but here I am.

For clarity, I spent years working within the hunting community, I made my career looking after hunt horses. I gave up horses 3 years ago as it was negatively affecting my life, and I have not had anything to do with the hunting community since. I do think there has been a change in recent decades that I am not entirely happy with, but I certainly wouldn't say I am anti hunting. I have a working dog and I'm just happy shooting and doing that now - it's cheaper!!

BUT I think the hunt has formed a far bigger basis for the rural community than people realise. Our countryside, the way it looks and operates has been built around hunting and shooting land management and I think it is no bad thing for children to explore that. People are losing touch with the rural way of life and in so losing respect for it, including where our food comes from, and I think this is a real loss.
I respect anyone's views on hunting - perhaps if you are anti it could be framed as part of a wider discussion around your personal beliefs. But I do think it is a good educational opportunity.

[Lakeylady]

@OrlandointheWilderness that was a very balanced post thank you

[NarcissasMumintheDoghouse]

Good for you LadyLake! It is totally inappropriate to take children to visit an organisation that has criminal convictions, and another one pending. As others have said, this smacks of political/PR/grooming (pardon the pun) shenanigans.

[OrlandointheWilderness]

You are welcome @Lakeylady!

[childofthecorn]

Well done you. The hunt can literally say to the court, 'but how bad can we be? We have visits from local primary schools!' in their defence. The school should have known better than visiting an actively investigated organisation. Shocking

[Innocenta]

@Lakeylady I think you did absolutely the right thing. Hunting needs to end, especially as it is so often used as a cover for continued cruel 'sports'.