Fox hunting 'still rife' two decades after it was banned

Oh for a swarm of drones to keep an eye on these "sports".

Remove the dogs. No "accidental" ripping to bits of pets and foxes.

The current Hunting Act is weak, ineffective and full of loopholes. It needs strengthening. Fox hunting for recreation is cruel and archaic and needs to be properly banned.

Going from dogs to humans... Why don't the cops develop a knife blade grabbing electro-magnet to go with their tasers instead of the present summary executions...

As expected Jack, as long as it's not you getting your limbs ripped off in a tortuous death it's an acceptable form of entertainment for a bunch of toffs.

It's not a matter of one sides argument against another, it's about allowing evidence gathering to expose the truth. Simple answer it to allow drone monitoring of trail hunting, but obviously the ones with something sinister to hide will be against this.

It's Boxing Day Jack, how many animals, winged or otherwise were slaughtered to feed the 70 million yesterday, the millions of life-long caged creatures ready for the annual cull...

Anyone who gets pleasure out if Fox hunting in my eyes are below contempt. There are much humane ways of controlling the population than using hounds. And why there are loopholes cynically left in legislation that allow hunts circumnavigate the law to still kill foxes beggars belief? Close those loopholes. Shame on you Labour! A method of stopping the fox population is making sure make & female foxes are sterile. And yes, shooting the fox can be a method used, not to kill it, but done as an aid to sedate and sterilise it. Also making sure any livestock are properly secured and contained will stop any loss to farmers. Sadly some livestock will be killed because foxes need to feed themselves and their young. After all they have as much right to the countryside as we do. More so in fact. And less we forget. Not all poultry are killed by foxes. Domesticated dogs & cats kill chickens & hens too. Are they to be hunted by those dressed in their finery using the excuse of country tradition or culture? Also, I find the idea that children present during the hunt are blooded using a tail cut off a killed fox revolting. If this is part of civilised society is one that's regressed. We continually hear how those hunt supporters are animal lovers . But what about those hounds when they serve their purpose who are shot in the head and dumped like litter in bins. This has happened and documented by the League Against Cruel Sports highlighted in this article and other organisations. The excuses made by those pro-fox hunting for its continuation is ludicrous. I can recall there were no foxes on the Isle of White until introduced so the landed gentry could hunt. And there are instances where artificial sets have been created by hunt supporters to breed foxes which goes against those who say hunting is a form of pest control. Another myth is that the weak & infirm foxes are targeted by the hunt. If so, why then are they killing the weak and leaving the strong virile fox to breed producing more cubs therefore increasing the population which again goes against the idea that they are controlling numbers when in fact they are responsible for its increase. Who are they fooling? Not me! What about those who say when they hunt 9 times out of 10 a fox isn't caught and they just enjoy the ride and camaraderie. This goes against argument how using hounds is the most efficient way of controlling the population. How is it when they usually can't find a fox to hunt? Another reason for its continuation is that any ban would destroy countryside tradition. No it wouldn't! If that's the case, why are hunt supporters hostile towards drag hunting? Hunting with hounds is still be permitted , although with limitations, but huntsmen & women can continue to dress up and enjoy the countryside, meaning thousands of horses & hounds not being put down, and he only this ending would be the kill not the thrill. So if indeed those supporters of bloodsports are custodians of the countryside and agree that badger baiting and cock fighting is deemed abhorrent, so is fox hunting too. The idea that dozens of hounds ripping apart a live animal and that it dies immediately a proven lie. There is great suffering involved from its pursuit to its killing. Time fox hunting was finally consigned to dustbin of history.

What annoys me about the hunt is not so much the foxes and occasional household pets that get killed in a most unpleasant manner, (bad though that is), but the way they express the rural class structure. “Hunt havoc" indeed and not all of it is accidental by any means. Just as, back in the Middle Ages, the mounted aristocracy rode over the farmers’ land and were followed by a thuggish trail of men-at-arms who dealt summarily with anyone who objected, so today the riders are followed by a nasty coterie of “hunt followers”, very ready to offer violence to anyone who objects.  If you live in the country and speak out against the hunt, you may find your tyres get slashed. Or worse. I knew a case of a farmer who banned the hunt from his land. One dark night he was rolling home with a skinfull after a particularly good day at the sales and was set upon and badly beaten. The culprits were never found. This sort of intimidation is constant. It enables the hunts to claim that since few people in the country speak out against them, they represent “real” rural opinion. In my experience many country people (not all of them urban incomers by any means) cordially hate the hunts, but have too much regard for their own comfort and even safety to say so openly.

Am wondering how such a new law will be worded and enforced. Perhaps an offence of riding a horse with a loud coat or perhaps blowing a horn in the countryside in a provocative manner. The reason why the existing hunting legislation specifies setting or allowing a dog on a fox is a crime because that is a defined act. There are some hunts such as the Banwen which chases human runners. Perhaps the crime of impersonating a fox. It was only a statement in the Labour Party manifesto to farm a few votes from some patrons of trendy coffee shops in Shoreditch, not real government.