The Countryside Alliance said the tally of dead animals was 91
Posted on 02/19/2005 4:42:53 PM PST by aculeus
Almost 100 foxes were reported killed by hunts across Britain yesterday during a mass show of defiance by foxhunters against the Government ban on their sport.
Hunts including the Tynedale, the Spooners and West Dartmoor, the Bicester, and the South Shropshire all said that they had killed foxes, although each insisted that they had done so in accordance with the new law permitting foxes to be flushed out by no more than two hounds and shot.
The Countryside Alliance, which said that the tally of dead animals was 91, also claimed that the law had not been broken. Yesterday's tally was roughly the same as on any Saturday before the ban was introduced. The League Against Cruel Sports said that it believed that "extremely suspicious" activities had taken place. The police presence at many of the 184 hunts that took place yesterday was minimal and there was little evidence of officers following huntsmen to check whether or not the law was being broken. Tim Bonner, for the Alliance, said that the day of protest, which was supported by thousands of huntsmen and women, had been a great success and had demonstrated the countryside's opposition to the legislation.
"Around one in every two fox hunts killed a fox today," he said. "This goes to show that despite the new law foxes will still be killed and it is not a law designed to protect foxes. It looks suspicious because that is the whole point - people have been hunting trails and that looks the same as the real thing. This is why the police are in an impossible position trying to enforce the ban."
There was further defiance from Kate Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, who described her party colleagues as "bigoted and prejudiced" when she addressed the Duke of Beaufort's hunt in Gloucestershire to which the Prince of Wales belongs.
"The law is unenforceable. It cannot last long. We will prevail and this law will have to be overturned," she declared to resounding cheers from supporters. I feel a deep sadness that my Government has allowed this ban to go through, but I have confidence in my country and the people of my country that an unjust law cannot last very long. Today is the beginning of the end of a ban on hunting."
Mike Hobday, of the League Against Cruel Sports, which had 100 monitors out at hunts, said that he expected a "small number of prosecutions" to result from yesterday's activities. "Extremely suspicious activities are taking place. We have evidence on film and also from members of the public," he said.
The first arrests under the new law occurred when four men were found by police at 4am between Hullavington and Sherston, Wilts, with four dogs and the carcass of a hare. However, they were suspected of poaching rather than hare coursing and released on bail.
Yesterday's hunts were intent on either drag hunting, exercising the hounds, or deliberately hunting foxes that had already gone to ground.
The South Shropshire, whose joint master is Otis Ferry, son of the singer Bryan Ferry, claimed its first legal kill within an hour near Shrewsbury. The hunt opted to dig out a fox, which was shot dead when it emerged and thrown to the hounds.
One huntsman said: "It's no different to any Saturday when we go hunting."
The mood of supporters across the country was a mix of regret over the compromises forced on them and optimism that their traditions would win through.
At the Duke of Beaufort's in Gloucestershire, the atmosphere was one of noisy exuberance. The hunt master, Capt Ian Farquhar, told a large crowd that he had wept for his hounds at breakfast. He concluded by borrowing words from Winston Churchill: "He said, 'We must keep buggering on.' I intend to keep buggering on."
Also present at the Beaufort was Capt Mark Phillips, who said that he was deeply saddened by the ban and had come out to show support. "I hunted as a child, as did my parents and grandparents before them. It's sad that this ban has come in. I think there is probably a future in hunting but we will just have to wait and see," he said.
Jeremy Irons, the actor, also registered his opposition to the ban by attending the Bicester in Oxfordshire. He said the legislation was "the thin end of the wedge".
"England is made up of minorities, whether Asian or huntsmen. I believe we should be allowed to live in liberty," he said. "The important thing is that we intend to challenge the law. So it's important to keep the infrastructure together."
More than 700 riders and 3,500 pedestrians congregated in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire to protest at the ban.
The supporters blocked roads and held up traffic, and applauded riders with Quorn, Cottesmore and Belvoir hunts as they paraded from the Cattle Market to the Hunting Museum.
The police presence at all the hunts was muted. At the Dulverton Farmers' Hunt on Exmoor, a policeman even joined in the drag hunt. Rod Brammer, a local landowner and hunt follower, said: "One of the old generals here told me that a policeman turned up in a Land Rover and said he had had to put in an appearance. Then he left and 10 minutes later he was back in his gear and he joined in. He is a member of the hunt, after all."
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The Countryside Alliance said the tally of dead animals was 91
In American , "slippery slope."
Hope they continue to defy the ban. The farmers will sure appreciate it.
We could use some organized fox hunts here in Michigan, might help our pheasant population. Unfortunately, with the expansion of sub divisions, I don't think they would approve of folks on horses thundering across their lawns in pursuit of foxes.......LOL!
Who knew he'd bred?
And suburbanites. Our fox problem is nonexistent. Theirs is enormous.
England is so much smaller and its land so intensively used that there is almost no waste land, except for infertile moor and bog land. Every square inch that can be farmed is being farmed. The foxes are a terrible problem in such an intensively used area.
Horseback fox hunts wouldn't be very American. We'd use pickup trucks and SUVs.
Tally Ho...
What the heck do they shoot the foxes with, slingshots?
"England is made up of minorities, whether Asian or huntsmen. I believe we should be allowed to live in liberty,"
Sounds like a patriot amongst the acting set. And a darned good actor he is, too.
It (hunting on horseback) is quite popular here in Virginia. So are pickups for that matter.
The Waterloo Hunt is active in and around the Mi. state preserves in the Waterloo area.
They hold a hunter pace annually, in April, which is open to all riders ( no matter your discipline). It's a great day cross country.
I plan to be there.
They could hunt coyotes. We have plenty. They are a bit faster and smarter than foxes, though. Ought to give a really good hunt.
There are an awful lot of places horses can go that pickups and SUVs can't. Motor vehicles aren't useful because their smell keeps the hounds from finding scent, and they can't go up steep inclines, across streams, and over fences and stone walls like horses, foxes, and hounds do. We foxhunters are modernized to the extent of communicating with walkie-talkies in a big country and calling the ambulance with our cell phones, though!
What you said.
No...You don't understand. Youy think no person in GB has a gun.
Brits are allowed to have guns, but only if they have the money and are well connected.
For example: Afghanistan..
When I lived in Michigan I would have enjoyed a few horse running through my lawn....and crushing a few hundred stupid Canadian geese in the process!!!
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