Fox Hunting - A correct to tackle a vermin problem? (Foxhunting - is this sport?)

Member Name: jpegington

Product:	Foxhunting - is this sport?
Date:	06/04/06 (243 review reads)
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Now this is indeed a very toucht subject and I would say that most people probably have an opinion on this subject.

There are two camps when looking at Fox hunting, I would class these as a Town view and a Countryside view (and I know that it cannot be classed quite that simply, but its my review and for this case it will do).

Now the Town view goes that Fox Hunting is bad, how can you go hunting and chase that poor fox and see it torn apart by hounds, how terrible.

The countryside view is that Foxes are vermin and should be exterminated because they are vermin. Fox Hunting is a good method of killing said fox and should be allowed.

Now I must admit that my view is much more on the countryside viewpoint and I will try to explain my thoughts.

My first point is that foxes really are vermin. They are mindless killers who kill for the sake of killing. Anyone who has seen a chicken hut after a fox has got in will be able to testify to that. A fox will kill a complete chicken pen and probably only eat a small amount of one chicken. It is a mindless killer and for the sake of chicken farms and for farmers they should be killed. I have seen this with my own eyes and the sight is horrible with chickens everywhere having been hunted and slaughtered by the fox.

My second point is that Fox numbers have got to be kept down. If left to their own devices fox numbers will increase and become an even larger problem, annual culling has to happen, you just have to find a method that is correct to do so.

So, assuming you understand and agree with my second point above, you have to look at how to cull the foxes. My view is that Fox Hunting is a sensible method and I would like to dispel some rumours here. Firstly, in most cases of fox hunts, the fox is shot while up a tree that the hounds have driven him to. Most of the scenes where the fox is being torn apart by the hounds is of a dead fox, that has already been humanely shot and killed instantly. Trust when I say that if you have seen a fox backed up into a corner, then you would not have hounds getting so close to it, because they are vicous animals.

Secondly is the issue of how do you kill the foxes if you do not use hunting. Maybe poisening them would be an answer? But I can ensure you that this would probably cause more problems with birds dying from eating the foxes carcus and other such problems. But maybe fox traps are more your thing? Well picture the fox caught in a trap by its foot, lying there in agony for days at end when it cannot escape, suddenly hunting where it is shot does not seem so bad.

Now I understand that anti fox hunters use the nice picture of the cute little fox and pretend that it could not hurt a fly, well all I can say is rubbish. They are killers and need to be kept in check.

I know that I have portrayed a very one sided affair within this review, but just cannot bring myself to consider the anti hunting side. My family are farmers by nature and I have spent enough time on farms to see what foxes do and cannot agree enough with fox hunting.

Please do leave me your comments in regards to this review and I will happily read your reviews on this subject should you wish to portray a counter argument.

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