Fox Hunting Still Going On, Despite A Law Against It

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30940176

Can I start this debate off by quoting Oscar Wilde :::

“The English country gentleman galloping after a fox – the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable”

( always thought that should have been the inedible but who I am to argue with Oscar ! )

[aelmpvw]

inedible wouldn't rhyme would it :-)

[mikey4444]

Very true aelmpvw ! Still annoys me though !

[Retrochic]

Hi Mikey, A few weeks ago I had a stand up argument with the 'Hunt' as they galloped next to fields where our horses were and the neighbors pregnant ewes.. Looking at my lifestyle (country house,land, horses) I should be a hunting shooting fishing gal -well I shoot clays but I find hunting with dogs abhorrent and the hunt is banned from our land. They pretend they are following a trail when it is very clear they are not -this particular day the Hunt had a cavalcade of 4X4's following, parking up on the roadside -why? if the hunt were just out for a jolly why would people follow them in cars? I was proactive in getting Hunting with dogs banned (even got arrested once) and its just flaunted now. Anyone ear wigging in a local village pub the night of a hunt will here what goes on its openly bragged about the 'accidents' they have. I fear for my cats and hens every time they come around, thankfully only a couple of times in the season.

[dave50]

The hunting ban was introduced by the last Labour government purely to appease those on the left of the party, as it was seen by them as a chance to "bash the toffs". It was purely a class hatred thing, nothing to do with protecting Mr Fox.

[Retrochic]

It never was about protecting 'Mr. Fox' its not illegal to kill a fox, just illegal to kill it with dogs. You are still by Law allowed to flush out a fox with dogs then dispatch it with a shotgun or rifle.

[Old_Geezer]

Some like to claim that but it doesn't sound very convincing.

[Old_Geezer]

If this PC didn't introduce so many typos to correct every time my last post would have followed the one it should have.

[wired]

Just another law created without increased law enforcers

[chaptazbru2]

It never ceases to amaze me that the fox is still hunted despite a ban and the police do nothing! In my younger days I was a hunt saboteur and you should have seen the police out in force to protect the hunt from us !! Where are they now ??

[mikey4444]

Retrochic...you get a well deserved BA !

What I have never understood about fox hunting is the inherent untruthfulness of it all. I am not a "treehugger" or a vegetarian...far from it. If foxes are causing an unnecessary problem to livestock, then they quite clearly need to be controlled, as any other pest needs to be. If I have an infestation of rats in my garage, I call the local council and get it dealt with, pronto. But to have 100's of horsey types ( apologies Retrochic ! ) milling around, together with lots of Range Rovers cluttering up the lanes wouldn't be the answer.

If people want to get up in fancy clothes, bray like donkeys and gallop about the countryside on horses...let them for all I care, but why pretend its to cull too many foxes ?

Fox hunting is quite clearly still going on, despite the Countryside Alliance pledging that it would the end of civilisation as we know when the Act was passed. Its up to the Police to stop and investigate this activity.

But perhaps they are too busy sending Police Officers around to Newsagents to find out if anyone is reading Charlie Hebdo ?

A note to Dave50....yes, you are correct...it was the Labour Government of the time that introduced the Hunting Act 2004. But as they had won their second Election in 2001, with another whacking great majority over the Tories, they were in their right to bring forth the necessary legislation. That is what democracy is supposed to be all about.

By the way, Hare Coursing was made illegal by the same act......so what's not to like ?

[Retrochic]

Thankyou mikey!. The countryside alliance spout forth utter rubbish about how the Hunt is a 'way of life' in the country -truth is its not. The day this particular Hunt were here I went to the local feed merchant and there was hell on. The farmers complaining, people in the village having to try and keep their cats and dogs out of the garden, all these people 'normal' not tree huggers or Townies. There is no place in the 21st century for hunting with dogs, neither morally or practically.

[Retrochic]

chaptazbru2 - The sabs are still around, taking photos and videos,some working undercover (not all horse riders are pro-hunt and can get a 'by day' ride if the Hunt is in the area). Its a bit more underground now because before the ban it was the Sabs that were breaking the Law of trespass, now its the Hunts breaking the Law but if they get a whiff of sabs being out and about they behave themselves. The problem is not getting evidence, its getting a prosecution, especially if the local magistrate hunts!

[chaptazbru2]

Retro, I'm glad to hear the sabs are still around, more power to them. In my day we were very much in the open and it was very difficult because the police actually followed us around. I said to a policeman once 'how can you condone this' after a poor fox had been caught and he said he didn't and didn't want to be there, and then he asked me for a date !