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 and her poll tax and its unpopularity between virtually everyone she did not let people refuse to pay it.
I think that the majority of the British public want a ban on fox hunting. This is because they think that that it is cruel and immoral.
DRAG HUNTING
One proposal but forward by the anti-hunting lobby and the government as an alternative to fox hunting is drag hunting. This is where a pack of hounds follows a line of artificial scent known as a drag line laid out in sections across the countryside by a person known as the Drags man. The drags man is mounted on horseback and drags anything from a rabbit skin to a woollen casing with a string through the middle. The scent is anything from alcohol to paraffin, aniseed and animal faeces. Ironically this is what hunt saboteurs are already doing and getting attacked for.
Hunters do not like this because they say that one of the reasons they go hunting is to keep the fox population down. They say they do not have enough time to waste running around the countryside chasing another hunter.
I believe this is a good alternative to fox hunting if it is the chase that the hunters enjoy. They say that they enjoy the fresh air and the country and that it is a good fun day out; they also say that it excitement of the chase and the actual kill is a bit of an anti climax. But drag hunting gives them all the things they say they enjoy about fox hunting and takes away the part they say that they don’t enjoy, the kill. So I must come to the conclusion that the hunters really enjoy the kill and not all the other things as they say they do.
I will show a piece of writing by Henry S. Salt in which he weighs if drag hunting is as good as fox hunting. I got this from a website on the internet the website is, http://www.radioafrica.co.uk/henrysalt/bs_drag_hunts.htm
DRAG HUNTING VERSES STAG HUNTING
By HENRY S. SALT
THE fact is too often overlooked that a ready substitute for the savage chase of animals may be found in the drag hunt, a form of sport which preserves all that is valuable in the way exercise, while getting rid of one thing only—the cruelty to the tortured stag or fox or hare. As has been pointed out in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, a paper favourable to sport.
"There is little doubt that in time the drag-hunt will become the popular hunting pastime. For years it has been supported by the officers of the Guards, and, besides having the merit of disarming criticism on the part of the Humanitarian League, it can be enjoyed by thousands of sightseers, as it defines the tract of country over which the drag leads the hounds."
The attempts of some sporting writers to belittle the value of the drag have been very infelicitous. If they personally prefer a blood-sport to a bloodless pastime, let them say so—it is a matter on which we will take their word—but when they assert that a drag-hunt is not suitable for pedestrians, or for schoolboys, they only convict themselves of knowing as little about the practical as about the moral side of the controversy. The following statement was made by the late Lady Florence Dixie, who spoke with unquestionable authority:
"Drags can be fast run or slow run, according to the way they are laid. My husband owned a pack of harriers and a pack of beagles, and I was able to get him often to hunt them on drags, and have often ridden with the harriers and run with the beagles. When a very fast, non-hunting run was wanted with the harriers, the drag was laid straight and continuously, and hounds ran fast, and riding was like a steeplechase, without a pause, except when any of us became a cropper! When a hunting run was required, we laid a catchy drag, twisting here and there, lifting the scent, and copying as near as possible the wily ways of Reynard. With the beagles we imitated the hare, who is a ringing, not straight-running animal, lifting the scent, doubling back, and so on, and, in fact, we brought thus two competitors into the sport—i.e., the drag-layer verses the huntsman, and pitted their wiles and their cunning against each other. I may be accepted as an authority, as few have perhaps ridden in harder-fought hunting runs of all kinds than I—fox, stag, harrier, guanaco, ostrich, and suchlike—and I have had considerable experience with the beagles as well, on foot."
In face of the testimony, and of the fact recorded by Brinsley Richards, in his "Seven Years at Eton," that a drag was successfully used at Eton half a century ago, it is absurd to pretend that it could not be used there again; but if further proof be needed, it is, fortunately, available in the following letter from Mr. A. G. Grenfell, Headmaster of Mostyn House School, Parkgate, Cheshire. It will be seen that the idea, very commonly held, that the drag-hunt is suitable only for those following on horseback, and that it would too severely tax the energies of boys running on foot, is absolutely erroneous.
"On the subject of Beagle Drag-Hunting at Schools, I think you will be pleased to know that we have owned and run a pack of beagles at this school for the last ten years on the lines that you suggest, and with the greatest success. The drag affords any amount of healthy and interesting exercise without cruelty. Ours is just an ordinary preparatory school, with ten masters and ninety boys. Our hounds are twenty-three or twenty-four in number. The sport of following them is very popular with all of us, and it would be hard to devise an easier or better form of school variant to the ever-lasting football. Not only does drag-hunting keep boys from tiring of the regulation game, but it is to the wind and endurance these runs give us that we owe the fact that we seldom, if ever, lose a match against the boys of our own size and weight. The beauty of the drag-hunt is that you can pick your course, you can choose your jumps, you can regulate your checks and keep your field all together, and you can insure the maximum of sport and exercise."
After all my looking at drag hunting I have came to one opinion the hunting people go out there for the kill. If they say they don’t like the kill they are lying. All the things I have looked at point to the fact that the hunters love the kill.
Pro Hunt lobby organisations and what they believe in
There are many pro hunt organisations I will outline some of the main ones in
a bullet point format,
All three of these organisations have one thing in common, they all support fox hunting. They all believe that a ban on fox hunting would be detrimental to the countryside if fox hunting is banned, they all also believe that ripping a defenceless animal to pieces is fair play. All three of these organisations are countryside bases.
These three organisations go about getting what they want by staging mass protests, an example of this would be in Westminster square during the vote in the house of commons over the bill to ban fox hunting, also things have been known to get violent at these mass protests and protesters rioting with police.
The type of people who are members or follow these organizations would be generally a middle/upper class person living in the countryside. This is because this is the type of person who goes to hunts. I believe that this is justified because although a hunt spokesmen/women might deny this and say we are not posh, if you look at the hunt supporters who raided the houses of apartment before the vote there was a polo playing friend of the royals and most of them were sons of millionaires, from what I could find out about them not one of them was working class. They would also be likely to be conservative voters, I believe this because the conservative party are the only major party who has promised to re legalise fox hunting if they are put into office.
Anti Hunt lobby Organisations and what they believe in
There are many anti hunt organisations I will outline some of the main ones in
a bullet point format,
Both of these organisations believe that the barbaric practice of hunting with dogs should be banned and stopped. They are both committed to stopping cruelty to animals. And feel strongly about this, it s due to the hard work and dedication of these organisations that the government was able to vote to ban fox hunting and are able to at present push the bill threw. It is ridiculous to think that if the general people did not know about this the government would have acted, nor would they if these organisations did not collect all the data and evidence that the government would have been bothered to act.
These types of organisations (excluding RSPCA) go about getting what they want by disrupting hunts and broadcasting pictures and other evidence over the internet, they also try and promote the suffering of the animals in any way possible so that people know what the animals go through while they are being ripped to pieces.
Anti hunt lobbyists are generally of any class and usually support either labour or the liberal democrats, this is because these two parties generally are more in touch with what the people want and especially the liberal democrats generally go for what is right and what they believe in instead of what they think will get them more votes. Also people who are anti hunt lobbyists generally are more liberal about most things like taxes and do not wine as much as there pro hunt lobby counterparts.
Comparing
It is obvious to me that one thing that both the pro-hunting lobby and the anti-hunting lobby is that they want the best for the countryside they just go about getting it in different ways. One side believes that you can safeguard the countryside by destroying foxes in a savage way, and the other side believes that by letting Mother Nature do as she wished that this is the best way to look after the environment. So I have found where they agree and found where they differ.
Impact of Ban
The ban will effect the hunters because it will take away there hobby and for some who have built there careers on fox hunting there livelihoods. I do not think the effects will be that bad for hunters though because for the people who attend hunts for a hobby they will still be able to go to drag hunts, and for the people who have built there careers around hunting they will have two years under the proposed bill to diversify there businesses in that time they can ever start drag hunting and use that in the same way as fox hunting or retrain and start a whole new career. So I do not think it would affect the hunters as much as they would have you believe.
The ban will effect the countryside in a number of ways firstly businesses which rely on fox hunting will have to close or diversify into a new field so some people could theoretically loose their jobs. Also there will be more foxes in the wild so there may be an increase in attacks on farms with chicken and other small prey, this can be remedied by installing fences and using other techniques to keep foxes away. I think the ban on the countryside will not be as bad as hunters would have you believe the only real effect that I can see is a small amount of people being put out of work through hunt related businesses closing, I do think however that it would be more there choosing if any of these people are unable to get a job if the businesses have to close down because, they have two years to retrain, and with the thriving tourism business in the countryside I cannon see any reason that the people mentioned will not be able to find work.
On the whole I feel that the countryside would have to change slightly if fox hunting is banned but this is not necessarily such a bad thing. All through history things have swapped and changed in Great Britain, and we do no t live in such a bad country with an awful history. I think all through history people have apposed change even when trains were introduced farmers did not like them running through there fields because they believed that it would stop there cows milking, but it was only because of those very trains that the industrial revolution was able to take place and because of this instead of Britain being just another small island we are a rich thriving force to be reckoned with. This is just an example of how people do not like change and I could list many more but any sensible person with any knowledge of history or has even read the bible will now that the human race does not like change.
Evaluation
I have thought of a number of ways to evaluate this piece of work and I feel the best is to answer the question that is at the start of the piece of writing.
Fox Hunting, Sport or Murder?
Murder
This is because although the dictionary says that for a murder to have been committed it bust be from one human to another, in every other way shape and form what they do to foxes is murder and to call it any think else would be to say that they do not have the right to life which I cannot agree to. I believe if you go out to hunt something down that has done absolutely nothing to you and then watch and see it get ripped to pieces and not do anything to stop it but enjoy it is sick I cannot get my head around it at all and I feel that anyone who can either justify or take pleasure from a defenceless animal getting savaged and not standing a chance needs help.
It is as wrong as gladiator fighting in the time of the Romans and I am sure that they would have claimed it was only a sport if someone had tied to stop that as well.
Both morally and ethically fox hunting is wrong it is nothing but torture and anybody who tortures something or someone who cannot defend themselves I don’t think is worth the dirt on my shoe. It also seems dumb to me that we invaded a country for torturing and killing people but we were allowing something just as bad to go on in our own country. Just because you do not like something does not give you the right to destroy it in the most horrific foulest way known to man, I think that up to this day it is a sign of this country and the world that we have not learned to live and let live it is not until we can look back in hindsight that we can see out mistakes, but we can look back and in a way the people who hunt foxes are as bad as the Nazis who killed Jews they tortured and degraded them knowing there was nothing they could do about it in the same way they torture foxes. It is not a sport it is sick and pathetic and needs stopping as soon as possible.