Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and often the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.
Fox hunting originated in its current form in the United Kingdom in the 16th century, but is practized all over the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the United States. In Australia, the term also refers to the hunting of foxes with firearms similar to spotlighting or deer hunting.
The sport is controversial, particularly in the UK, where bans were introduced for Scotland in 2002, then for England and Wales in November 2004.
Proponents see it as an important part of rural culture, useful for conservation and pest control, while opponents argue that it is cruel and unnecessary.
Fox hunting originated in its current form in the United Kingdom in the 16th century, but is practized all over the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the United States. In Australia, the term also refers to the hunting of foxes with firearms similar to spotlighting or deer hunting.
The sport is controversial, particularly in the UK, where bans were introduced for Scotland in 2002, then for England and Wales in November 2004.
Proponents see it as an important part of rural culture, useful for conservation and pest control, while opponents argue that it is cruel and unnecessary.
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Hunt staff and officials
As a social ritual, participants in a fox hunt fill specific roles, the most prominent of which is the master, often more than one and then called masters or joint masters. These individuals typically take much of the financial responsibility for the overall management of the sporting activities of the hunt and the care and breeding of the hunt's fox hounds, as well as control and direction of its paid staff.
In addition to members of the hunt staff, a committee may run the Hunt Supporters Club to organise fundraising and social events and in America many hunts are incorporated and have parallel lines of leadership.
Britain, Ireland and America each have a Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) which consists of current and past masters of foxhounds. This is the governing body for all foxhound packs and deals with disputes about boundaries between hunts.
As a social ritual, participants in a fox hunt fill specific roles, the most prominent of which is the master, often more than one and then called masters or joint masters. These individuals typically take much of the financial responsibility for the overall management of the sporting activities of the hunt and the care and breeding of the hunt's fox hounds, as well as control and direction of its paid staff.
- Master of fox hounds (M.F.H.) or Joint Master of Fox Hounds operates the sporting activities of the hunt, maintains the kennels, works with (and sometimes is) the huntsman, and spends the money raised by the hunt club. (Often the master or joint masters are the largest of financial contributors to the hunt.) The master will have the final say over all matters in the field.
- Honorary secretaries are volunteers (usually one in America, two in the UK) who collect the cap (money) from guest riders.
- A kennelman looks after hounds in kennels, assuring that all tasks are completed when pack and staff return from hunting.The huntsman, often the same person as the kennelman, is responsible for directing the hounds in the course of the hunt. The Huntsman usually carries a horn to communicate to the hounds, followers and whippers in.
- Whippers-in (or "Whips") are assistants to the huntsman. Their main job is to keep the pack all together, especially to prevent the hounds from straying or 'riotting', which term refers to the hunting of animals other than the hunted fox. To help them to control the pack, they carry hunting whips (and in America they sometimes also carry .22 revolvers loaded with rat-shot or blanks.) The role of whipper-in in hunts has inspired parliamentary systems (including the Westminster System and the U.S. Congress) to use whip for a member who enforces party discipline and ensure the attendance of other members at important votes.
- Terrier man—Most hunts where the object is to kill the fox will employ a terrier man, whose job it is to control the terriers which may be used underground to corner or flush the fox. Often voluntary terrier men will follow the hunt as well. In the UK, they often ride quadbikes with their terriers in boxes on their bikes.
In addition to members of the hunt staff, a committee may run the Hunt Supporters Club to organise fundraising and social events and in America many hunts are incorporated and have parallel lines of leadership.
Britain, Ireland and America each have a Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) which consists of current and past masters of foxhounds. This is the governing body for all foxhound packs and deals with disputes about boundaries between hunts.
Here's for all those hunters out there who say the fox
dies instantly and suffers no pain...
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David Cameron's illegal fox hunting
David Cameron's local hunt on December 16, 2012 became the first to be convicted of illegally killing foxes. The Heythrop Hunt, which the Prime Minister has ridden with, was fined £4,000 after it admitted four offences under laws introduced in 2005. All previous prosecutions have been against named individuals. On December 16, Heythrop huntsman Julian Barnfield and recently retired master Richard Sumner pleaded guilty to the same four charges.
However, a judge sitting at Oxford Magistrates' Court questioned whether the 'staggering' £330,000 the RSPCA spent on bringing the case was money well spent.
Outside court, Barnfield, 49, said he had been unable to afford to fight the charges and accused the animal charity of 'playing politics' by targeting a hunt in Mr Cameron's Witney constituency.
The Prime Minister, who has promised a free vote on hunting in the Commons, rode with the Heythrop six times before the law changed.
The hunt is popular with his fellow members of the Chipping Norton Set -- an influential group of MPs and media professionals who live close to the Cotswolds market town.
Charlie Brooks, the husband of ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, is a member, and Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has allowed it to ride on his land.
Graphic footage of foxes being attacked, which was taken by anti-hunt group Protect Our Wild Animals, was played to the court during yesterday's hearing.
Describing a hunt in February, prosecutor Jeremy Carter-Manning, QC, said: 'The hounds converge in to semi-circles and the screaming reaches a crescendo. The hounds are making a kill.'
The next clip showed the bloodied carcass of a fox clamped in the jaws of a hound, prompting gasps from a packed public gallery.
Passing sentence, district judge Tim Pattinson said: 'Hunting of foxes provokes extremely strong feelings on both sides of the argument ... Some people see the hunting of foxes as cruel and immoral, others see it as an essential tradition, part of countryside management, and say criminalising the activity is inappropriate.
'The coalition Government has indicated the possibility of a free vote in Parliament at some point in the future.
'I must put all of these matters to one side. I must sentence fairly and in accordance with the law.'
Referring to the RSPCA costs for mounting the prosecution, he said: 'It is not for me to express an opinion, I merely flag it up, but I do find it to be a quite staggering figure.' He said the costs for all five defendants were only £35,000.
He fined 68-year-old Sumner £1,800 and Barnfield £1,000 for the offences which occurred on November 23 and November 30, 2011, and February 29 and March 7 this year.
The hunt was told to pay £15,000 towards the RSPCA's costs, Sumner £2,500 and Barnfield £2,000.
Outside court, Barnfield said: 'We conceded because the money wasn't there to defend ourselves.
'I would like to stand there and defend it but there was no way it was possible. The fact a charitable body can take on this political thing and spend so much money which other people have given them for another thing, is stunning.
'I just hope their donors question what they are doing with their money. They could have picked on any other hunt but they picked on Heythrop because we are in David Cameron's constituency.
'They are trying to put pressure on him not to give a free vote like he said he would, to embarrass him in some way.'
Text: taken from youtube
A call for action
posted by the Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports
October 2012
Dear Friends,
Ireland’s animal welfare laws are being updated... and we need people from around the world to tell our government to outlaw, as a matter of urgency, a number of extremely cruel practises that make life a living hell on earth for animals in Ireland...
Three of the worst practices are 1) Fox hunting, 2) Hare coursing, and 3) the use of half-starved terriers and cross-bred dogs in “unearthing” foxes that seek refuge underground from pursuing hounds and hunt followers.
Foxhunting itself is bad enough, with the animals being hounded for hours until exhaustion delivers them to the hounds to be killed in a frenzy of biting and savagery, but the practice known as the “dig-out” is the by far the worst part of it.
This involves hunters using terriers and spades to “dig out” foxes that escape underground during a hunt. The spade men dig deep into the earth and drop a terrier down to attack the fox. The fox and dog savage each other, with the fox usually coming off worse, though the terrier also suffers horrific injuries. The terrier is then pulled back up, usually with its teeth sunk into the still live fox.
The fox is then thrown to the pack of hounds. If a hunt cannot retrieve a fox even after sending a terrier down, a pole wrapped with barbed wire is lowered into the hole and used to drag the distressed animal to the surface. This is immensely cruel in itself but the still live fox is then fed to the waiting hounds to be torn to pieces.
The Government Minister who will push through the Animal Welfare Bill has already indicated that although he does not wish to ban foxhunting itself in its entirety, he is repulsed by the “dig-out” practice and MAY ban it.
This is where you come in, and where you can really help to end this horrendous form of animal cruelty. Please relay the message that Ireland’s image as a nation will not in any way benefit from allowing this appalling practice to continue for one more day.
We attach pictures showing the effects of this “sport”. We are sure you will agree that such treatment of an animal, any animal, is abhorrent in the extreme. One picture shows a fox hunter proudly displaying a fox his dog has “unearthed” and the dog that is, sadly, also a victim of this depraved activity. The other picture shows a fox whose jaw has been broken by hunters during a dig-out.
Here is a brief video clip of a dig out:
And here is a series of slides exposing what happens during a dig-out:
Hare coursing can, and should, also be banned under the Animal Welfare Bill, though a powerful lobby is pressing for it to be exempted from prohibition. This practice, as you may already know, involves setting greyhounds after live hares in wired enclosures and results in thousands of these gentle creatures being horribly mauled or battered every year by the dogs for “sport”. And of course many dogs also are injured or die in the process. The attached picture shows two coursing fans with a dying hare during a coursing event.
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So, we are asking you to send a message (however brief) to the Parliamentary Committee deciding on which amendments to include in the Bill. Please ask the Committee simply to ensure that fox hunting, digging out of foxes, and hare coursing are banned once and for all under the new law.
You can send your message to the entire committee by emailing the members as a group. The following is a block email list of the Committee members. Just paste this list into your address column, or BBC (Blind Backup Copy) or CC column and send your message..
To:
tom.barry@oireachtas.ie, pat.deering@oireachtas.ie, andrew.doyle@oireachtas.ie,martin.ferris@oireachtas.ie, martin.haydon@oireachtas.ie, colm.keaveney@oireachtas.ie,michael.mcnamara@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie, thomas.pringle@oireachtas.ie
Below is a sample message/letter
You can simply copy this, if you wish, and email it or compose your own message. Either way, you will be helping to ensure that one, or hopefully, all of these revolting cruelties are outlawed under Ireland’s new Animal Welfare Act.
Dear Committee Members,
I urge you to support amendments to Ireland’s new Animal Welfare Act to outlaw the horrific practices of fox dig-outs, fox hunting, and hare coursing.
We have received information on these and are appalled that such cruelty is still permitted by law in Ireland.
Sincerely
[your name]
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A quick simple email from you can help to end some of the most barbaric animal cruelty practices on this planet!
