Fox hunting.?

Question

Is any one else fed up with the fox hunting fraternity claiming they only go fox hunting to protect and preserve the countryside? Why can't they just admit they like killing animals. It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's a perfectly natural human instinct to hunt. OK it's better if the animal hunted is edible, such as deer, but that's no reason to ban it. Just be honest, and I'm sure most people would support you.

Answer 1

Im fed up of people posting thease typ of questions, I hunt foxs but with a high caliber rifle. Your ether born a hunter or your not and like moust of you antis out there your all born and bred in the citys NOT THE COUNTRY, Leave the country to the country folk, You all see the fox as just some lovley little creature, well yes your right they are, you dont see the damage they do though. I could realy go for it hear but im not cos im sick of answering this typ of question. Any1 who wants to have a siverlised discussion with me on the topic then may e mail me.
And by the way im not ashamed of what i do, im alone but not lonly. You anties can slate me all you want, by doing so you demonstrate the predudice we all talk about,,,fight predudice fight the ban.
My comments are not directed at the persone who published the question just thous who persicute us country folk

Answer 2

gezz,

2 nd time this week this has cropped up.

I am a hunter, will always be a hunter. Here is the funny thing about all the anti's in the world. I knew 3 anti's two years ago. City folk raised on the news media and the ideal of animals are cute. I then took these 2 people feral pig hunting. Showed them what pigs could do to the land and how it harms the balance of other animals. Both took a pig...And now are Avid hunting conservationists.

As for the FOX of England. It is a tradition going far back beyond most other traditions. Every country has a tradition. Seriously, instead of complaining about the FOX that needs to be kept in check because of the Human food sources: lambs, chickens, cows, etc etc. would slowly be harmed and killed by the fox.

Let's re-direct all this anger world-wide to the senseless poaching of Elephants, Walrus, rhinos, tigers, lions, and seals.
For either their pelts or for the ivory. And I mean MASS SLAUGHTER of these animals little chance of escaping. Their carcass left for the scavengers.

EDIT: Guy Below i follow thanks. it is really no different than the whole-sale slaughter of Coyotes here in America I do not condone the practises. But it is a necessary evil has the yotes and feral pigs for that matter are becoming ramp-id.

Answer 3

Er, ok. The general mass of people really, really are complete imbeciles. They like to morally round on a minority who kill for "sport" whilst the roads they use every day kill millions more, including people. But, somehow, we've learnt to rationalise that. Why? Because we like our luxuries, because cars have become so integral to our pathetic little lives that we can stomach all the road kill. Address this hypocrisy first, please.

The fact is, the farmer will shoot the foxes with his gun. At least when they're being hunted, they have a chance to escape. They don't escape the bullet.

What is really being banned is the fact that these people choose to hunt. Its the choice that is being banned. No one actually cares about the fox, this is a human issue - it will be killed by the farmer's gun eventually, we all accept. The same with hares. And, I daresay that there's quite a bit of social hatred and contempt for upperclass people and the countryside in general too.

Answer 4

brad,devilduck,ohiobuckn-hey guys,you from n.america. i think its quite different in the uk.I work as an instructor/guide so i see both sides ever day. half of my work is with 10 - 20yr olds from inner cities. generally the younger ones just want to know why people hunt foxes .many have rarely been into the country. so they're quite accepting of the reasons good and bad. ( i have to be impartial )
This is a big sweeping statement , but what a lot of its about ,here, is misdirected moaning . As you say "campaign for whales,tigers etc" its more about social class , not foxes. One side thinks that the rich are riding all over the country killing foxes , the other dont want to be told what to do by liberals from the city. I would really appreciate a reply regarding access that you have to the countryside . We have only recently been given the right to open/ free access to land ( still very very limited ). Prior to this we had really poor access to lowland areas. A few networks of footpaths that legally were to go from a to b. no stopping . This is where the "us and them" mentallity comes from. "Townies" think that landowners/farmers dont want them on their land and farmers think that townies will cause damage. both understandible arguements but not legitimate ones.I'm not so sure the fuss over the hunting ban was anything other than "we will stop you - no you won't ". The fox was an excuse and in my mind for many has become a representation for another issue.
i think its great that you can hunt. i would really enjoy learning how to track/hunt in the wilderness. but for me it would be enough for me to know that i could take the shot. i'd leave the SLAUGHTER of the cute critters to you guys. Only Jokin ! !
(maybe that squirrel - he flashed his nuts at me once ) Good to think of it from a non uk angle. CHEERS. you weren't in southern comfort ..............were you ? ?

Answer 5

The debate is not necessarily about Fox Hunting, it is more to do with private individuals having the right, within Human rights act, for the freedom to do what they enjoy on their own property.
The final act of the hounds tearing the fox apart is not the glory, the social gathering, not only of those on the horses, but of all the bystanders, the thrill of the chase, the horses and ponies getting to run as they were bred to do and the discipline of the tradition, words that have been stripped from this Country to its detrement

DISCIPLINE...... at school, at home, at work socially

TRADITION ...... why destroy what or ancestors fought for when england is built on history and ancestory, why change the backbone of the Country because, usually from foreign shores, others critisice.

I don't fox hunt, but I ride horses, I dont shoot game, I do shoot Clays, I don't smoke but I know people who do... lets go back to live and let live, be BOLD enough to get your own house in order first, but also be BOLD enough to accept not everyone agrees with you, that doesn't make them right, it makes them a human being and therefore with spirit and an opinion.

Answer 6

Here we go again! Hey guys did anybody notice that the answer picked from last weeks questions was an anti hunter also!! So much for listening to good advice. As they say, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

To answer this question... No one has said that is the only reason to go fox hunting, "protect and preserve the countryside." It is the anti-hunter, and the prejudiced, who trivialize and simplify the answer. It is a multi faceted reason all of which you can LEARN about through research. Try looking to the answers on this site, but also go and talk to the hunters about why they hunt and do a simple google search. Talking to your antihunting cronies provides you only with the same rhetoric you have already been exposed to.

Killing animals is not the only reason, it's not the best or worst reason, it's part of the act and it is the completion of the act. It has a solid foundation in the natural order. Fighting for life and death in the natural world happens every day. The fox kills and is killed. Hunters enjoy being part of the natural world. We enjoy watching and partaking in the drama of life. We enjoy the connection with nature, and we do not shun it's harsh realities as do many people in the world. Fox hunting helps promote the health of the species by natural selection. Those fast enough, and smart enough survive to pass on their genetic make up to the rest of the world. Do you think every hunt ends in sucess? If so you give your species to much credit! Plus, from hunters, you will learn much about "fair game" (not a sporting term by the way) and "sporting chance" all of the rules that many hunters impose on themselves as they know that the species can not be hunted out of existance else what would they hunt. So they look for ways to increase the health and quality of the population so they can continue their sport as well as increase it's challenge!People complain there are too many stupid people in the world... Humans have no natural predator and we constantly strive to make life safer and safer everyday! We lower the standards of humanity and help the weak to survive. But, I digress.

Here is a bit of truth for you. Ask a hunter how he felt the first time he killed a small animal. I felt very sad. I immediately felt a deep respect for the animal. Not the kind of cuddly wuddily on TV feeling, but a deep sense of awe, to understand what it means to be alive, to give everything you have for survival. It taught me how animals will give themselves to the safety of their group. My first experince was a squirrel, and I learned that one of the squirrels will call out and lead a predator away from the group, giving himself altruistically to his society. I learned the type of foods he eats and how he survives the winter. I love the little guys, they are so tough and strong, so animated and full of life. But I am a predator, and nature pits me against him. Just as the red-tailed hawks, wildcats, FOXES, owls, raccoons, and opossums are also his predators.

Answer 7

Fox Hunting is the traditional sport of the countryside. It is understood by country people, it is a way of life and has been for hundreds of years.It is done by country people in their countryside. They do not Gallup into the nearest town and tell the townsfolk what they can and cannot do; in return they do not expect the towns people to dictate to them what they can and can not do.The town people just do not understand country folk and vice-versa. I live in the country and I am opposed to hunting, but I just stay as far away from hunts as possible, and I refused the local hunt permission to ride over my land. What they do is their business, but only those who understand them have a right to criticise. Country people wouldn`t dream of telling Londoners that they can`t hold the Notting Hill Carnival or similar, because it is none of their business.

Answer 8

I too am fed up with it! I wouldn't say that I enjoy killing foxes just for the sake of killing, but I do enjoy hunting them. I don't hunt them the English way though. I use calls and call them in during the day.

Foxes raid nests, killing lots of small game including pheasants which are rare around here anymore. I try to eliminate as many predators as I can to give the struggling flocks a better chance to make it.


I would like to know what all the fuss is about. If they aren't killed by hunters they WILL be killed by coyotes who see fox as competition. They kill them in the same manner as hounds but don't give up after a fox runs into a den but will dig them out simply for the sake of killing them.

It's a dog eat dog world......literally.

Answer 9

I assume this is the English version of fox hunting not the American version. In the American version, you sit in a clearing that is lit up with spotlights from (usually) your vehicle at night. You then play a recording of a wounded rabbit from the vehicle (used to be an ecternal speaker but you can get a handheld device now instead of using the vehicle systems). You then wait in the glow of the light and when a fox charges you in the dark you have to shoot quickly at the eyes that are charging you with a 22 rifle. You usually only get one shot and they are gone if you miss it. I've never heard of dogs and horses for fox hunting except in books and the news from Britian. Furs aren't worth much anymore in America. Hunting is pretty big over here, regardless of what the antihunters tell you. I love to hunt. I hunt deer, turkey, raccoon, rabbit, pheasant, grouse, and squirrel. Does the common man not hunt in Europe? I can't imagine not being able to get out into the great outdoors. I would go crazy!

Answer 10

I have represented our town shooting 22 rifles before now - so I am a shooter but I would not dream of indulging in such barbaric practises a killing defenceless animals for my "pleasure". Hitting a tiny target the size of a shrew requires skill and concentration but blasting away at huge mammals like foxes or deer requires extraordinarily bad luck to miss the target. I was brought up in a hunting shooting household so don't go saying "Townie mentality". My father used to go out with our gun dog shooting with double barrelled shotguns but I refused to eat any of his kills.
To hunt with pack dogs is even worse as the prey is terrified for hours before being ripped apart whilst still alive. Don't give me all that guff about hunt leaders respecting the countryside... they charge across private property and their dogs dismember the householders pets on their way through. Have you tried to keep these hunters off your property? Its impossible as they are a law unto themselves and treat the locals with contempt. Yet legally they are trespassing but the killing is done before you can stop them. Hunting is just plain WRONG.

Answer 11

The way we like to fox hunt in the south is turn a pack of walker hounds out and let them jump a fox and then run it all night ,catch the dogs after daylight and then chase the same fox the next night .We don't kill them but I do not condemm people that do ,people kill rats by the thousands and do not eat them whats the difference?