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It's
a subject that divides many, supporters say these activities are a traditional
part of life in the countryside and an important part of the rural economy.
Opponents
say hunting with dogs like this is a cruel and unneccessary way of keeping the
number of foxes down.
Do you welcome the ban on hunting with dogs? Do you
think it's about time or a loss to rural life? Add
your comments here. | Rob,
Eastleigh | | Comment:
Foxes are not cuddly
friendly creatures, they can ruthlessly kill livestock, seemingly for fun, and
do need to be controlled. HOWEVER, so called civilized people indulging in killing
any creature, as a sport, with their fine clothes, drinkies and much laughter
is sick, these people are lowlife. Resolution...Legalize hunting for up to six
farm workers, with up to six hounds on their own land only. After all if my property
were infested with rats, I would call a rat exterminator, but I'd send him away
pronto if he arrived boozing , laughing and blowing his horn. We're not talking
class war, town v country, or even if hunting is neccessary or not. We are talking
common human decency !!! | | |
| kate,
brockenhurst | | Comment:
Why on earth do pro
hunters think that they have the right to kill something just because it has an
instinct to kill itself? It is a wild animal, it is carnivorous by nature, we
are not wild animals, or at least most of us are not. We have the ability to make
a decision between right and wrong, and an ability to manage our livestock, should
we choose to keep them, in a humane and decent manner. Another thing, with regards
to populations getting out of control, before we started messing around with things,
nature had it all rather sorted. Populations would follow a sinusoidal pattern,
with predators populations falling as they prey got harder to find and then growing
again once the prey had recovered. | | |
| andy
t, bicester | | Comment:
Of course fox hunting
is cruel, when I say cruel I mean the kill, but so is flushing a spider down the
bath, or the cat being chased by a dog what about the cat that still hunts garden
birds, even after being fed each day, that can't be denied and no one should attempt
to deny it. But I believe that foxhunting should be allowed to continue it is
a form of pest control maybe not the most efficient but it is at least one of
the best at targeting foxes.. | | |
| tommy,
franklinton NC USA | | Comment:
I would just like
to say that I think it is a shame that the heritage of such a great sport is no
longer with us. | | |
| lisamarie,
southampton | | Comment:
no one ever thinks
of how many millions of animals foxes kill every year and how much desiese they
spread. i think fox hunting should be allowed to continue and strongly disagree
with all the allegations made such as "it is cruel" when really, do we have as
many objections to the death penalty. it is just the same...foxes are murders
and we are trying to save them! | | |
| Su
Barlow, Fareham | | Comment:
There is so much
talk about the cruelty to foxes, has anyone thought about all the chickens foxs
kill, then taking just one away to eat? Leaving the others in the coop to die
a painful, and often long death. How about all the hounds, pack animals, which
can't be used as house pets, they are all going to have to be put to sleep. Hunts
don't always catch a fox, often they don't, and only one hound kills the fox before
the others move in to eat. | | |
| Robert
Breen, Gosport | | Comment:
i think that Fox
hunting is barbaric and should be band the people that do it think that they are
abouve the law and say foxes are a pain in the backside, but living in gosport
there are quite a few homeless people wich i feel are a pain but i dont run after
them on a horse with 50 or so dogs wanting to rip them apart. i think they should
ban it and if anybody breaks the law then they should be sent to prison and given
community service to try and bring them back down to earth. | | |
| Linda,
Waltham Chase | | Comment:
I cannot believe
so many people misunderstand the nature of hunting. FACT The fox population HAS
to be controlled. - They are the top of the food chain with no predator except
man. So how do we control? Hunting weeds out the weak and the least fit and provides
for a stong core population of Fox, (we still need some - they go some way to
controlling the rats and rabbit population). There is at least a closed season
from late spring to summer. - Whelping vixens are left to rear thier young in
peace. The Hunting fraternity live ALONGSIDE their prey. Under this bill there
is NO CLOSED SEASON. | | |
| Tracy,
Milton Keynes | | Comment:
Being ripped apart
by hounds is far worse than being shot. There are lots of reasons not to hunt,
and yes, I think there should be a ban on fishing with hooks. Also I'm a vegetarian.
Foxes don't know the difference between right and wrong, humans do. | | |
| Will
Noble, New Forest | | Comment:
I was born and brought
up in the New Forest in a commoning family (those who have the right of panage
to graze their livestock on the open forest). I have chose not to hunt because
my feelings toward hunting are largely neutral. Centralised government policy
is resulting in the steady erosion of the rural community and economy. Vastly
inflated house prices combined with this ban and the transition of the forest
to a National Park spell the end of the New Forest as we know it not just for
those who call it home, but for the many visitors it attracts each year. | | |
| Neil
Larder, Southampton | | Comment:
how is hunting with
dogs cruel?? Shooting a fox is worse than being killed quickly by the hound. For
starters the fox may be shot in the wrong place and then left to suffer for weeks,
at least the fox is killed in seconds with hounds. The Pro hunters have so many
reasons to keep hunting, such as it keeps the numbers down/ the farmers dont lose
as much money as not so many of there livestock is killed/ shooting a fox can
be worse than killing it with hounds. What reasons do the Anti hunters have, a
pathetic ' its cruel',i bet non of them have even gone to a hunt before so therefore
dont have a clue. SO if hunting with hounds is bad what will be next, a ban on
fishing with hooks?? | | |
| Chris,
waterlooville | | Comment:
Excuses, excuses,
that’s all we hear from the well to do hunting fraternity. Lame reasons as to
why their so called sport should continue. Foxes kill chickens, yes I agree, but
surely this has been greatly reduced by battery farming for more profit (with
not much thought given to the chicken) rather than free range farming. Foxes also
kill pheasant and partridge; these birds are also farmed for profit and especially
sport. It’s no wonder they want to protect this species as they come under the
heading of game bird. Released into the wild, only to be flushed out and then
blown apart by guns, another blood sport enjoyed by the well to do? They say they
are concerned about the amount of jobs that would be lost, did they show any concern
about the thousands of British coal miners that lost their jobs. Let the same
rules apply, re-skill. As far as being able to police this new ban and to bring
to justice those who offend, will prove very difficult. We must bear in mind that
a good percentage of the judiciary service also take part in this barbaric so
called sport. Lets hope that this ban sticks, and those who offend are prosecuted.
It must not become one law for the rich and one law for the poor. | | |
| Freya.
14,, Petersfield | | Comment:
This is to that twelve
year old kid. If you think that hunting is cruel you better get your facts straight!
I HAD 6 chicken and a fox came along ripped them all to shreds and LEFT them.
He didn't even eat them! So you acnnot put your word in and also I doubt you eat
free range meat or anything like that! Think about those poor animals! | | |
| Sophie
, Bishops Waltham | | Comment:
I am pleased that
Fox hunting has finaly been banned. They have been on about it for years but nothing
has been done about it. It is cruel and I can not see how people can enjoy watching
animals being killed. | | |
| carol
king, Carmarthen | | Comment:
It saddens me that
one more freedom hs been banned. To those who say foxes are ripped apart, I say
you have never watched a kill. A lead hound always snaps the neck and the fox
is dead before the other hounds move in. Yes foxes can be shot but you have to
have excellent marksmen to do it. I have had to put more than one fox down that
was dying from gangrene after being shot. What next will be banned? | | |
| Ivan
Collins, Andover | | Comment:
I was brought up
in the country but moved into the town when we could not afford a house in the
village we lived. If it is the chase these poeple like why doesn't the master
cover himself with the smell of the fox, run ahead of them and let them chase
him, they get the thrill of the chase and he gets the thrill of being chased,
they all win | | |
| Brian
Clarke, Bournemouth | | Comment:
The only reason the
fox exists in many areas of the country is because of fox hunting. Once hunting
stops, farmers will shoot the foxes and clear the copses where they live to make
the use of machinery easier. I think that in five years time, the only foxes will
be in the towns. | | |
| tony
shaw, emsworth | | Comment:
do the people i've
seen on the tv realise how stupid and pathetic they look protesting that they
can no longer rip inocent animals to pieces - they can still have their fun and
ride around the country without harming the rapidly disappearing wildlife we have... | | |
| Paul
Rutherford, Alresford | | Comment:
Cliff Brown fro Eastleigh
asks why we do not settle for Drag Hunting? I have ben to a Drag Hunt that was
attacked by members of the League Against Cruel Sports! This is proof - if proof
were needed -that animal welfare is not a consideration for those who oppose hunting,
they oppose the people who hunt, and have no real feeling or knowledge of the
animal hunted. By the way, I do not, myself, hunt. | | |
| Jo,
havant | | Comment:
i have grown up with
horses all my life and been in the countryside and have never wanted to go fox
hunting, i cant belive all the fuss that is being made about this ban. How anyone
can belive that chasing a fox accross fields then watching it being ripped appart
by dogs can be called a sport or be called fun. Fox's can be controled by being
shot by gamekeepers. There will be no need for job cuts because they can go drag
hunting, this means they always know they will have a good ride, they can plan
the route and stay away from any danger areas. Just because it has been done for
a long time doesnt mean it should carry on, they dont still hang people do they? | | |
| JOHN
DEWDNEY, Poole | | Comment:
I think that the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has been pro hunting bias in its News presentations. In the South News this
morning long coverage was given to the hunt and its supporters without giving
any anti hunting views, and in the main news tonight one anti hunting representative
was only allowed to say about three sentences compared with the long exposure
given to the hunters. I think from the very start the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has not given a balanced
report on hunting. It has given far too much time to this subject. If as much
time was given to reporting the plight of old age pensioners and their protests
as given to the poor plight of the tearful hunting fraternity, perhaps pensioners
would get a fair deal at last. | | |
| Gwen
Richardson, Broadstone | | Comment:
I am against the
ban. What about the lambs who are torn to pieces? I have foxes coming to my back
door. I am scared to leave the back door open for fear that they will soon be
in my kitchen. Foxes are not always beautiful animals. They carry mange and fleas
etc. and are killers. They must be kept under control and what better way than
to leave this to country folk who know what they are doing. | | |
| Rachael
M, Sheffield | | Comment:
Also... I AM A COUNTRY
FOLK. THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRYSIDE WANT TO SEE THIS BARBARIC PASTIME BANNED
FOR GOOD. | | |
| Rachael
McDougall, Sheffield | | Comment:
Canabalsim carried
on for generations on the island of Fiji - does THAT make it right? No... it does
NOT mattery how many times a fox is caught. They are still caught, caused to suffer
and be killed of disembowellment. 20,000 foxes die each year because of these
brutes. BAN HUNTING - FOR IT IS CRUEL. | | |
| A.M.P,
New Forest | | Comment:
I come from the Rural
New Forest & while I have never wished to partake in Fox hunting I have become
a supporter & am totally against this ban because I believe in Democracy & a minimal
amount of state intervention in the lives of it's citizens rather than the now
popular Nanny state. The emotive & simplistic cliche, that those who hunt are
barbaric is constantly thrown in by the anti's, but only shows how little understanding
& depth their is to there arguement. True Democracy is not just about what the
majority wants & should always respect & tolerate the views of others. The hunting
ban seems to have been brought upon us by the I don't like brigade & a goverment
which thinks it knows what is best for it's citizens & as so bans, bans, bans.
Their is no valid reason for only banning fox hunting. The eating & wearing of
meat leather & fur all involve the killing of animals for human pleasure, as does
pest control & as so surely should have been included in this ban. | | |
| amy,
larne | | Comment:
it should NOT be
banned cause it has being happening for generations after generations. only one
out of 10 foxes are killed when they are hunted. | | |
| Lucy
Joyce age 12, carmarthen | | Comment:
OW MY GOD I cant
belive what this world is coming to. I cant belive some people have FUN ripping
up a poor defeceless animal not just foxes, stags and hares. The people who go
hunting give us this story : But they kill all our chickens and how are we ment
to keep them under control. Do u no wat i say I say well thats all bull ok we
kill cows,pigs,chickens and turkey and loads loads more. We dont do it for fun
outher people kill foxes for fun thats wron. | | |
| Rachael
McDougall, Sheffeild | | Comment:
The problem is, Mark,
that we are living with Animal Cruelty as an accepted sport! What do you mean
for nature to toy around with?! Nature is not a Toff that rides on Horses with
30 Hounds going around comitting Animal Cruelty. If we were at war, we would not
eat our most loved ones. We have about 5 billion years left on Earth before the
sun explodes. It is not a case of "We have to abuse as much of every thing while
we have the time on Earth!", it is to try to make the most of the time we have
left, to make sure everyone has a good life, not destroy everything natural. | | |
Does
it really matter?
What are all the green groups going to do when an asteroid
threatens this planet, worry about foxes. We are all genetic fodder for nature
to toy with so what's the problem?
If we were at war now you would eat
anything that moved and like it, even your pets. Enjoy fox hunting, use the trees,
forward the technology, colonise planets, use the resource, nature does. We will
eventually use technology to put it all back. | | Mark,
Ringwood |
I
do not think Fox Hunting should be banned because it has been a tradition in the
forest and we do not know the changes to the forest that banning fox hunting would
cause. When the Buck Hounds were forced to stop hunting, do you know that a whole
herd of deer has to be rounded up and shot. I did not witness this, but what is
crueller, shooting a whole herd of deer, or hunt them, where only the old and
week would be killed? The deer have to be culled!
Also the same happens
to colts. The forest has to be managed and colts grow into stallions and we cannot
have too many on the forest, so the colts are rounded up and if they are not brought,
they have to be slaughtered. People are too quick to want to ban things in this
country and not think of the outcome. The forest cannot sustain a vast amount
of animals and that is why we have the forest because of all the people that have
hunted and worked on it for years and years and we should appreciate the hard
work and efforts they have achieved for us to have a forest at all. | | Debbie
Allan, New Milton |
| WHY
DO BOTH SIDES KEEP BRUSHING THE ANSWER UNDER THE CARPET? Drag hunting would please
both sides. No job losses. No slaughter through cruelty. End of argument! Are
both sides so eager to perpetuate the debate? To what ends? | | Cliff
Brown, Eastleigh |
| A
question for Sheila Reed....I am perplexed. If foxes are so dangerous why do they
use dogs to hunt them down? ...........Just curious.... | | Gail
Gibbons, Waterlooville |
Killing
for fun ....How sad is that. I was bitten once by a small dog - it was like having
your hand crushed in a vice.
Huntsmen should be hunted by their own dogs
- maybe they would not be so keen to inflict such suffering in future. Alternatively
they could just get a life! | | Paul
Judd, Croydon |
Animals
are hunted and killed by man throughout the entire world - from France to USA,
Australia to Japan - the UK is the only country where some (not all) people feel
they have the right to stop other peoples livelihoods and leisure time activities
just because they personally don't like whats going on. It will not stop at hunting
- shooting and fishing will soon follow. Fishing especially is one of the most
popular leisure activities in this country, enjoyed by all strata of society (so
is hunting).
If only all the venom and resources directed against people
on horses chasing foxes could be directed against child cruelty, pornography,
drug related crime and the real cruelty inflicted on so called 'pets' in homes
up and down the country. The ordinary European and American cannot believe such
time and money is wasted here on trying to save one small animal who would probably
have been exterminated long ago like the wolf and buffalo if not for "hunting". | | Felicity
Young, Lymington |
Everyone
in the "sport" is fully aware that Drag Hunting could take the place of fox hunting
without change or job losses. Further to this hounds could be led away from hazards
like Railways, main roads and domestic stock/pets. Safer for all concerned.The
only difference would be the lack of a kill (but the hunt will say this isn't
why they do it)oh ..and the exclusivity.
The New Forest drag hunt has
started very well. Remember- no job losses, no "OUT" season, no protesters, so
why not? If the hunt whish to organise shooting parties to "Control" foxes, I'm
sure they wouldn't be short of volunteers, it would show that they DID realise
that times change and they could too..and survive. | | Cliff
Brown, Eastleigh |
| Could
the commentator from Kansas note that there is mounted hunting in the States.
And the woman from Southampton is wrong in thinking this is a 'rich' man's sport.
I have a horse which i work full time to be able to afford with no new cars or
nice holidays. And I do hunt occasionally, there's no way you could call me rich!
Also hunting has a 'season' that is outside of the breeding season. Because foxes
are controlled through natural selection, the old or sick are the ones most likely
to be caught, and the ones that are fit and strong are dispersed away from the
area that they have been causing trouble. In this way the species is preserved.
No hunter wants to erridicate all foxes, just control the numbers. I hope to see
all you pro-hunting lot at the Countryside March in September. | | Sacha
Shaw, Ferndown |
| If
this were a poor man's sport, it would have been banned years ago. It's barbaric
and should be stopped! | | John
Lloyd, Southampton |
The
hunting fraternity will proclaim that they do not do it for pleasure but to reduce
"vermin". So, why then is there a "season"? Surely reduction of vermin would be
a continuous task? Having been to many hunts (as a former member of the HSA -
I'm too old to run fast enough now!)
I can assure anyone that the ONLY
reason is for pleasure and the pleasure of killing at that, one can see it on
their faces at the kill, and it is not a pretty sight! | | Patrick
O'Neill, Eastleigh |
| Don't
ban fox hunting. People that say to ban it have twisted minds and only select
out the cruel parts. Read the other stuff! Don't ban it! | | Milipede,
Southampton |
| The
bill for the banning of hunting with hounds contains legal specifics which would
place law abiding, tax paying citizens who own dogs at risk from prosecution.
Obviously Jo Public is unaware that foxes spread Toxacariasis, (which can blind)
through their feaces and unlike domestic dogs are not wormed and run freely all
over suburbia. So while the responsible dog owner is abused and restricted from
open spaces, the fox runs free, vermin. | | Sheila
Reed, Winchester |
Fox
Hunting most definitely should be banned. Hunting with a pack of dogs is sick.
Why can't they come out of the middle ages when it was the practice of the sick
so called upper classes to chase defenceless predators with a pack of hounds.
When caught would be torn to shreds.
If they want to protect their chickens
why not fence them in. The only vermin that should be destroyed by hunting are
the hunters themselves. What a sad sick country we live in. | | D
Morgan, Salisbury |
Its
part of our heritage? our culture? Really... Have we not advanced and improved
ourselves - look around you are we still living in the middle ages? NO!
This is a blatant excuse for pyschopaths with a desire to kill and plunder in
one of the cruelest and most offensive of manners. If you want to release stress
and tension there are far better ways of doing it. Furthermore hunting is the
skill and silent tracking plus quick and painless death of an animal not the reckless
chasing and hysteria that is created as is common with fox hunting...This sick
perverse idea of a so called sport MUST BE BANNED - It's not a sport - find something
more productive to do with your time! | | Gail
Gibbons, Waterlooville |
Thank
god, foxhunting isn't done or even thought of in our country. But in the English
countryside, people who foxhunt are lacking common sense. Every English country
resident thinks they're monsters. They are NOT! They are wild animals that are
trying to thrive on their own. Simply clashing the fox's territory with human
society to kill it won't solve the problem. Many English farmers are ignorant
to know this fact, but many biologists have studied wolves, foxes, and coyotes
and it is a stated fact that wild canids have an in-built method of population
control that we as humans merely get.
In
my opinion...FOXHUNTING SHOULD BE BANNED IN THE UK! It is a rather odd and out
dated tradition that has no room in the 21st century.
| | Matt
, Kansas City |
<<Join
the debate
| Harriet,
| | Comment:
In response to Matt
from Kansas - I live in the US, although I am from Hampshire, and I fox hunt twice
a week in the US - so before you express your opinion on our country, perhaps
you should learn a little about your own. The
americans who are members of the hunt where I live are outraged and amazed that
Enland is trying to ban fox-hunting - and so am I. In
addition to fox hunting, almost every wild animal that lives in the US is hunted.
I
do not know many people who do not possess a gun, and who spend their weekends
shooting deer, doves & coyotes. And from a country where you still have the death
penalty, I would say fox hunting is really quite tame in comparison. | | |
Although
I live in an urban area I am an Equine student. When I began to study horses and
the rural industry I was against Fox Hunting. This is because I had only seen
the 'towny' view of things. In cities foxes do not hunt lambs and chickens but
feed from dustbins. They can cause harm to domestic pets and if hunting were to
be banned, the number of foxes would increase and overtake the land.
Now I understand about the importance of hunting for the country and also the
equine industry, I would not allow it to be banned. It will be interesting to
see what happens in Scotland and the fate all of Britain may be driven to. A last
thought is that the welfare of the fox will suffer if hunting is banned. Whereas
now if there are many fox attacks more hunting takes place, if it was banned each
farmer woud shoot a fox even if it was the same fox which attacked two farms.
If I were a fox I would rather die quickly than be shot, become gangrenous, and
starve because I couldn't hunt. | | Alexa
Mason, Portsmouth |
| As
you say, the New Forest has been a hunting ground for 900 years. I would have
it as a guess that the hunting & hunting fraturnity have ensured that a viable
& renewable balance of nature have seen to this long co-exsistance. It is impossible
for a diverse expance of wildlife to exist if the main preditors are not controlled.
As much as I respect all animals; to lose sight of this would undermine another
lesser down the pecking order. | | Kate
Nicholson, Ambleside |
| Although
I do not hunt I feel that so much life and vitality of the Forest depends indirectly
on Hunting that it should continue. To ban it would ultimately change radically
the nature of the New Forest, which was established and owes it very existence
to the hunting of wild animals. | | Peter
Murphy, Lyndhurst |
Foxhunting
should NEVER be banned. It provides jobs for rural communities as well as an effective
method of pest control. Foxes are a danger to livestock - they carry disease,
are indiscriminate killers and kill far much more than they actually need.
If the fox wasn't furry and red and "cute" no-one would bother about killing
it! Or if it killed your pets! Most animal rights protesters have never even seen
the countryside! They just see some awful pictures and believe everything they
are told about the cruelty etc. I'll bet that they are never shown pictures of
the damage a fox does to lambs and fowl. The government should concentrate on
people who hurt animals for fun, not necessity. Concentrate on banning the transport
of live horses. | | Jane
German, Preston |
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