Complaints about foxes? (Foxhunting - is this sport?)

Member Name: oxjdc

Product:	Foxhunting - is this sport?
Date:	13/08/00 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Population control, day out

Disadvantages: Cruel, inefficient, makes us look like barbarians

I have to say, the arguments of the pro-hunting lobby tend not to convince me. The general evidence is that foxes do suffer a great deal of stress during the hunting process - so much so that some run into drainpipes and can't get back out, and if you've ever tried to get a dog or cat into a basket to take it to the vet you'll know how much stress an animal needs to be under to go into a confined space voluntarily.

The argument that this improves the general health of the fox population and keeps numbers down is equally fallacious - an ill or old fox will be quickly caught, and is therefore not likely to provide good sport. It is a healthy fox, possibly with dependent young, that will be chased. The number of foxes killed, however, is not sufficient if it is intended as a population control method. Indeed populations can be artificially encouraged precisely to ensure they remain available for the hunt.

At the same time as we see domestic animals savaged by hunts passing through, we see attempts to blame the fox for all sorts of ills. We have two semi-tame foxes and two cats at home, and they get on perfectly well, and even if they didn't, the cats aren't in any danger - the point is that they can climb trees, and the foxes can't.

If people want to ride, they don't need to hunt a real animal to do so, they can have an artificial scent laid - thus preserving the jobs claimed to be threatened by a hunt ban. Foxhunting just isn't necessary, and it does nothing to enhance our image as a civilised nation, or to give us any kind of authority when we suggest countries like Spain should ban bullfighting etc.

jdcxxx

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