Original Writing Coursework Fox Hunting,

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Original Writing Coursework

Sam Mort 11mcc

11.2.4 Mr Thorptracey

Fox Hunting,

Sport or Murder?

Introduction

 I am going to do my piece of original writing coursework on something I feel strongly about. It is an issue that many other people also feel strongly and which provokes a lot of feelings and emotions from both sides. The thing I am going to be doing my piece of original writing coursework on is Fox Hunting.

        Fox Hunting is when mounted huntsmen and women chase a fox with dogs or hounds (as they are called by hunters) which are trained to catch the fox and then rip it to pieces. It was not until the decline of falconry (training and using falcons for hunting: the breeding, training, and use of falcons or other hawks to hunt small prey and return from flight at a falconer’s direction), in the 17th century that the first fox hunts, consisting of organized groups of hunters and their servants and hounds, were established in England. Today the officials of the hunt and the members generally wear coats of bright scarlet, called pinks.

        However today many people feel that fox hunting is a cruel and unnecessary practise. The problem is that in the 17th century people who had farms could be wiped out by a pack of foxes got hold of their chickens, but in today’s technological world there are much more humane ways to stop this happening like putting up an electric fence or enclosing the chickens. Also many people believe that even if foxes do need to be killed there are more humane ways for this to happen than for them to be savaged by a group of hounds.

        On the other side there are the people that follow hunting that says it is necessary; they also believe it is a sport, and that it is not cruel. They also say that if the hunts were to be shut down that their livelihoods would be ruined.

        There are two groups of people in the equation. The name given for these groups is the pro-hunting lobby and the anti-hunting lobby. The pro hunting lobby, who are mainly people from rural areas, say that hunting is good and it is not cruel to hunt and kill the foxes; they claim that they are the people of the countryside and are just trying to look after it. On the other hand the anti-hunting lobby say that fox hunting is wrong and that is should be banned under law; they represent the majority of the United Kingdoms population. The most extreme of the anti-hunting lobby in recent years have started disrupting hunts, this group or people have been given the name ‘hunt saboteurs’. Hunt saboteurs tactics have been laying trails so the doss cannot pick up the scent of the foxes and blowing horns in the same way a hunt master would to confuse the dogs.

However the hunters have not just lay over and had their hunts disrupted. As you can see from both photos on left and just below (one with a man wearing a balaclava the photo on the left. The behaviour of these hunters can be described as both criminal and thuggish it is also well documented that hunters have attacked and assaulted and even hospitalised hunt saboteurs.

MY OPINION

I believe that fox hunting is unnecessary and cruel. I do not believe that in today’s world that can do all the things like in hospitals and in electronics that you can justify savaging any animal. I think that it is an outdated and unpopular practice. I also think that fox hunting is an activity for the middle and higher classes; I also think that it is generally a conservative thing.

         I think that an out and out ban is necessary. This is because that anything else would in some way shape or form still be fox hunting and involve cruelty to these animals, which I cannot put my name to. I also believe anything else would allow cruelty to animals so I do not see the point in a ban at all in that case.

        The last time there was a vote in the houses of parliament, the House of Commons voted that fox hunting should be banned but when it went through to the House of Lords they blocked it. This angers me because the Ministers of Parliament or MP’s are voted in by the people, so they are the representatives of the people, but the house of lords is made up of people who are not voted in by the people but were merely born to the right family (although there is only 90 who were voted in by the other Lords). So I feel that the people spoke and some middle/upper class people had the brass faced cheek to turn around and silence them. I personally believe that the House of Lords should not have the right to block a bill from the House of Commons.

Join now!

The Conservatives say that if they are voted into office they will reverse the

Law and legalise fox hunting again. I think that they are out of touch with what the public wants. The conservatives are historically a party for the rich and middle/upper classes and this is just a stupid attempt to do some point scoring. If you consider what Michael Howard would do if the working classes said they were going to blatantly flout the law, he would be up in arms. I don’t want to get too much off track but if you consider Margaret Thatcher ...

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