Fox Hunting

I have had the experience of seeing a fox return five days in succession to carry away each of every five hens he killed.

How many people have cleared the dead hens away proclaiming that the fox just kills for fun?

If you have witnessed the carnage in a henhouse after the Fox has been in then it is obvious why they are classed as vermin. If they had taken the hens for food then fair game but they were left to die a horrible death. Gamekeepers can kill foxes humanely so there is no need for fox hunts.

There would be far fewer pheasants to admire in the countryside if there were no organised shoots. Chicks are protected from predators and their habitat is managed. Some will be shot and yes, it's a sport but it can be an important part of rural economy. The pheasants that are killed are eaten, not left to rot as roadkill.

nonnasusie our cat was killed by a Fox our children were devastated.

That is true GG13! Where I live a most of the economy circulates around farming and country pursuits without which there would certainly be a lot of unemployment! Sometimes I can't help but think that the issue of Fox hunting has more to do with class than animal cruelty!! The idea that only posh people quaffing champagne go hunting is SO ridiculously far from the truth as to be laughable. If you want to meet a cross section of society en masse then our local hunt + followers is the place to find them!

Our friends had all their hens killed by a fox. It wasn't a pretty sight and only one was taken away. They were in a compound with a 6ft. fence! Trouble is people feed them and they become urban foxes and are then released in the countryside. They are multiplying and it's the fault of humans! They are not the cuddly creatures they appear but are killing machines!!

Jabberwok Hunting and shooting provide employment for a lot of people in rural areas.

Gunsmiths, grounds men, feed stores, kennel maids/boys, farriers and saddlery. People complain about falling employment in rural areas at the same time they want to change the country way of life.

I absolutely abhor fox hunting...the desire to chase and then kill an animal is to me, indicative of something seriously wrong in a person.
It's not fun, it's not a sport it's cruel.

EllanVannin

I have been attending “horse events” for the last 20 + years.

My husband and sons shoot (clays)

I assume that you have been to a “shooting” party or a post hunt dinner to witness what you have posted?

In actuality what you describe sounds like a scene from a Z list movie.

I am anti hunting.

You can certainly live without pheasant, but then you can live without Lamb, Pork, (particularly intensively farmed, ??) Beef , Veal (yuck), in fact all animals reared to be slaughtered. At least the pheasants fly freely and are not subjected to the (slaughter) house! Now there's a by word for cruelty!!
As for Fox hunting? I'm totally on the fence about it as there are two or more points of view. One thing is for sure, it is NOT only Hooray Henry's that support Fox hunting! If it were it would not survive owing to lack of numbers!! Many many ordinary folk follow it , many ordinary people ride with it, the numbers prove that!

Of course he would say that - he’s appealing to a certain type of voter in the leadership contest. It wouldn’t get through Parliament though, not in a million years.

I wouldn't go near one merlotgran. Though I did see a bunch of them when I was in Berkshire once.

Have you actually been on a fox hunt, Ellan Vannin?

Well they are so. Why, do you support foxhunting ? You have to be a certain type to kill animals in such a way don't you ? Then they all boast about their success while quaffing their champagne.

EllanVannin

Difference is what makes the human race!!

Prejudiced comments are hurtful.

Sport is a competition between evenly matched opponents.
Fox hunting will never be a sport as far as I'm concerned.

Can't stand the bunch of hooray Henry's who go hunting, they're a horrible lot and typical of those who enjoy blood-sports.

What an ignorant, prejudiced remark.

I don't like pheasant-shooting either. Can't people live without pheasant ??

Fox hunting never stood a chance after Basil Brush got popular.

100% against it.

Can't stand the bunch of hooray Henry's who go hunting, they're a horrible lot and typical of those who enjoy blood-sports.

I can't remember whose quote it is (Oscar Wilde?)
"The unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable".

There was a lot of fuss here about red kites and comments about them taking lambs. Sheer ignorance. One of the people involved in re-introducing the kites told me that they mainly eat carrion and only weigh as much as a bag of sugar. Bit difficult for one of them to fly off with even a new-born lamb!

I'm 100% against fox hunting.

Landowners need to be held more accountable for what they are inflicting on our wildlife.

Golden Eagles as well as other raptors are victims of their ire as well as foxes.

I read an article many years ago about the different ways of 'controlling' foxes. Most were as cruel as hunting, if not more so.
But times have changed. There are plenty of ways for farmers to protect their animals thanks to modern technology. There are also plenty of rabbits that need 'controlling' that the foxes can eat.
Foxhunting is outdated and cruel and should definitely not be reinstated.