Do you want fox hunting back?
On the phone in from 9 - do you want fox hunting back?
When Labour came to power in 1997 they promised a "free Commons vote on whether hunting with hounds should be banned by legislation" and eventually it was.
Now, the Conservative party is promising a free vote on the ban in England and Wales if they take power, because they say there's growing public support for it.
So do you want fox hunting back?
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No - foxes, if need be, should be destroyed humanely. If hunters want to chase something why not dress one of them up as a fox and send the dogs after them?
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why not equalise the situation, instead of hunting foxes, what about game, like the big cats that roam the countryside.
That should sort the men from the boys.
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Foxes are VERMIN and THEY kill for pleasure. All the jealous townie do gooders have NO idea about the countryside and should leave well alone. This bill is an insult to our heritage, traditions and country people and will be overturned.
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If there are to many foxes why not have humane hunting sesions maybe a few times a year??
foxes can be pests but surley they have no less right to life than you or i.
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This is the most ridiculous, red herring debate I have ever heard. All the callers are getting into whether they went to public schools, and how rich farmers are. It doesn't seem to be about the fox at all...
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I agree about the tone of the phone in, it's a shouting match between the pros and the antis as any hunting debate always descends to that level. Nicky needs to keep control of the callers.
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In reply to SixDecadesATrotters'Fan:
"You say foxes kill for pleasure..." You are embarrassing yourself... No doubt you are saying this as you have either lost a few chickens or you take children's fiction books as fact. The fox in a hen house story is often used by hunters to justify killing foxes saying "Cruel animals, they kill for fun" and other ridiculous statements. If undisturbed the fox will come back, collect and bury all the chickens it has killed to eat when times are hard later in the year. Pretty sophisticated for so called "Vermin". On another point... the word 'vermin' is often used by hunters, gamekeepers etc.. to justify killing anything they want. Red Kites, Marsh Harriers and many others now protected species were once labelled vermin by these money driven gamekeepers, hunters et al.
In relation to “This bill is an insult to our heritage and traditions” The slave trade was once considered tradition. Would you want that reinstated?!
Regards,
A conservation biologist (not a jealous townie do gooder!)
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Oh Gawd, the 'foxes kill for pleasure' and 'we townies don't understand' gambits from the bloke in the green wellies...
The ONLY species that kills for pleasure is..... US!!!! And just because we don't have mushrooms growing between our toes doesn't mean that we don't understand the countryside... Honestly, do you think we could make a worse job of it than the current incumbents?
How many hundreds of thousands of hedgerows have been ripped up? How many ancient woods have been fired? How many wetlands have been drained and the peat been cut out and flogged off? How many SSSIs have been mysteriously ploughed under during the night? How many ancient orchards have been grubbed up?...
Foxes are an integral part of our countryside - they are top predators, if they feel the need to attack farmed chickens then that is our fault because we have turned vast areas of countryside into monocultured green deserts - and eridacted their natural food sources. That is why they are moving into the cities and a scavenging lifestyle.
I used to know a Gamekeeper, he used to take enormous pride in residing over his diverse-poor moorland. It was nothing short of a killing zone - even before the grouse were shot. Anything that may have been even the vaguest threat to grouse chicks was blasted to kingdom come. Foxes, stoats, weasels, crows, magpies, the odd owl and bird of prey.... all fell victim to his trusty 12 bore and illegal gin traps...
I am against the ritualistic putting to death of any animal - that includes bear baiting, bull baiting, cock fighting.... and fox hunting.
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Foxes would have been hunted by wolves in much the same way as they are by hounds. Foxes occupy a false position at the top of the food chain and therefore they thrive just about everywhere. Fox hunting does not have a significant effect on their numbers.
Hunting is an ancient tradition that is very important to many country dwellers- it is also represents many people's livelihood.
We are becoming soft- we kill millions of animals every year just to put food on the table!
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...and what caused the extinction of wolves in the UK... hunters! Wolves wouldn't dig up fox’s dens and throw them in the middle of a field to be chased by other dogs.
The red fox population in the UK is lower than that of the badger population. They are not a top carnivore... they cannot take deer etc. The lack of top carnivores thanks to farmers/hunters/gamekeepers has caused an massive increase of the deer population in the UK. Perhaps it time to reintroduce Wolves/Lynx... these will keep fox and deer population down... But who are pretty much the only group people against the reintroduction of top carnivores...?! You've got it the Farmer's Union.
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I live in the country and I love to see the redcoats and the hounds in the fields and on the roads, even if they get in the way of the traffic, but I do not like the end result of a fox being ripped to pieces. What is wrong with the current situation? The hunting infrastructure has not collapsed, but seems to be thriving and the foxes "by and large" are not being inhumanely killed.
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foxhunting is supposed to be against the law but many people claim that it never went away. If this is the case why are the police not enforcing the law? The usual reason they give is lack of manpower but this mantra is wering a bit thin.
This excuse is particularly annoying when people in danger phone 999 and are told that the police are too busy. to respond (people have been kicked to death in the street after being told this)
Perhaps if so many policemen were not on "sick leave", they might have enough personel to respond.
Many people are getting fed up with their feeble efforts to protect the public. Police Officer strength is supposd to be at record levels; yet they can only solve a very small percentige of crime, (less than %15 per cent, I think).
If the police service was a business, it would have gone into liquidation long ago.
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Fantastic response by Alfred.. I do have fugi growing in between my toes and it's good news the ban was introduced.. not only for the fox but to us locals who used to have to run the gauntlet of the 4x4 brigade posse and associated entourage.
When I was younger we used to have fields, now all we seem to have is a vast open over cultivated land, and seas of polythene with an ever increasing migrant workforce.
If all these "do gooders" want a return to our traditional ways, then lets give our land back to the seasons, and give ALL our wildlife a chance.
And now Tesco seemed to worried that NZ sheep are getting stressed by the good old sheep dogs, and suggest using flags instead.. what a bloody nonsense.. (just another excuse to put prices up.. and sell stress free lamb)
Come on and stand by OUR farmers, Fields for yeild, not for games.
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Congratulations Campbell &co on doing the Labuh government's bidding.
In the middle of the greatest economic and social catastrophe that this country has experienced in peace-time, you've managed to whip up a bit of anti-Tory sentiment.
No doubt your masters will be impressed and you will be suitably rewarded.
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The New Labour government were reluctant to implement this ban anyway vacillation and delaying for five years after their election in 1997 before it finally reached the statute books. This has allowed the Hurrah Henry (iettas) brigade to exploit the legislation's loopholes ever since and appear is if they've been the persecuted victims of class hatred!
That's the problem with this ban because it was arguably the only piece of ' liberally leftish' legislation implemented by this alleged Labour government. If it had been accompanied by 'leftish' economic policies that distributed wealth more evenly the ban may have been perceived by many as being less influenced by class hatred and more to do with being consistent with a left wing programme.
Why is the ban left wing? One only has to observe the type of people and their backgrounds who indulge in the 'sport' to realise its a very right wing activity!
Hence the real reason why the ban should remain in place and its not just because of the medieval and cruel nature of hunting foxes with dogs. If these priviledged types feel so persecuted over this secondary issue then what the hell will they be like if they were confronted with economic policies that really challenged their wealthy lifestyles. The retention of the ban should therefore be seen as a test case for this purpose.
However the fact that with all the economic problems we face that this issue is even on the agenda just goes to prove how little has changed politically under New Labour since 1997
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you can bet the police will be out in force to catch all these criminals who indulge in fox hunting while letting the vandals. drunks etc run a mock through most town centres every weekend
easy target
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Simple answer: NO
~Dennis Junior~
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Fox hunting is not in today's society. It is an insult to the name of a "sport", as it is clearly NO. Sport in general participants of the same size, stature and his abilities. In contrast, fox chasing a pack dogs thirst for blood, the human-horse déchaîné in the country in search of a little fox. Where is the sport? It is ridiculous and absurd. More specifically, fox hunting causes extreme violation of the majority of the population, very risky, in today's PC society.
Acai Berry
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
i think if the Conservatives get back in, they'll bring hunting back, with the long-term unemployed, instead of the fox!
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Cheap:
You should be more concerned with Orange coats than red coats if the Conservatives get back in ;-)
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'You should be more concerned with Orange coats than red coats if the Conservatives get back in ;-)'
There's not much difference, really, is there? They would still be a scapegoat. It doesn't bother me, I'm doing something. You're the one who sits around all day trolling.
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You're the one who sits around all day trolling.
====================================================
Er a couple of posts does not constitute trolling. However, sat in the Library all day at my expense... well ;-)
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What kind of person takes pleasure in the death of another weaker defenceless creature ? Oddly enough the people who do enjoy this ridiculous passtime (I have found when I have unintentionally stumbled into their company) also love to portray themselves as fine upstanding Ladies & Gentlemen.
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Purvee Pattni:
No, I don't want fox hunting back....
=Dennis Junior=
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Foxes are at the top of their food chain. Their population has never been controlled by natural predators. Man and his dogs are the only predators which have ever chased foxes over long distances.
Ovidiu, CEO Pariuri Sportive
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<RICHPOST> I agree with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next <a href="[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]a> updates. Saying thanks will not just be sufficient, for the wonderful clarity in your writing. </RICHPOST>
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fox hunting and the people in favour of it, calling for uplifting of tne ban reminds me of prehistoric mindset and lack of realization that each specie not just homo-sapiens have a right to co-exist in a symbiotic relationship to survive indivdually too.specially with global warming as big or hundred times much bigger threat to survival of human & other species.no foxes,no tigers more of herbivors less greenery more co2,though more of animals reared up for nutrition addmore methane, 20 times more potent for rising temperatures.going green means sayig no or at least curtailing nonvegetarian diet is the need of the hour for the future of next generations not in distant future but within your own lifespan.well so much for fox hunting,you like to shoot,shoot with your camera.
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Funnily enough, proponents of the foxing ban remind me of the Scottish MPs voting on English issues that don't effect their lives.
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