It's Over!

[Simo]

Friday 18 February 2005 Cruelty Of Hunting Is Banned
Hunting With Dogs Now Illegal in England and Wales

Hunting with dogs becomes illegal in England and Wales today, marking a watershed in the development of a more civilised society for both people and animals. Anti-hunt campaigners are now urging the hunters to abide by the law and adopt cruelty-free equestrian activities such as drag or trail hunting instead.

"The pro-hunt Countryside Alliance has lost its argument with the public, with Parliament and in the courts. It should now advise its members that they too will lose their argument with the Police (1) and the RSPCA if offences under the Hunting Act are committed from today," said John Rolls, RSPCA Director of Animal Welfare Promotion.

"Pro-hunters must finally accept that this just and valid law reflects the will of the majority, who can no longer tolerate cruelty inflicted upon animals in the name of 'sport' or tradition."

John Cooper, Chairman of the League Against Cruel Sports said: "The hunting ban is a massive leap forwards to the creation of a decent and humane society. Our children and grand children will grow up into a better and kinder world as a result of the hunting ban.

"In turn, their children will view the chase of a wild animal with a pack of dogs as being just as archaic and misplaced as bear baiting which Parliament banned in 1835."

Phyllis Campbell-McRae, Director of IFAW UK said: "The ban on hunting with dogs will radically change the landscape of animal welfare in the UK and worldwide. Britain has banned a traditional practice because of the suffering it causes to animals. This should act as an inspiration and example to other countries where animals suffer for human entertainment."

Cruelty of Hunting Banned

Yes!   8)  

[moot]

muaha

[Raef Wolfe]

w00tw00t

 

[firefox]

YAY!
Now I can go to England!  Wait....why would I do that again?
 

[Roarey Raccoon]

Now I can go to England!  Wait....why would I do that again?

Hahahaha!

Yeah, it's nothing special over here anyway :F.

Fox hunting has not actually ended really over here. The toffs still do it, but they go around a loophole in the law, using eagles to kill the foxes after chasing them with dogs.

They wont stop, and they have the money and the power to carry on doing what they have enjoyed doing for generations. Sure, its about the most cowardly and rediculous sport I've seen besides what they do in Africa. Have you heard? Rich buggers can buy a lion or a rare animal, have it in a large cage and then come over to Africa and put bullets in it!

We humans sure love to kill stuff :F.

[Golden_Scale]

Im provably going to get blasted for this opinion, not having all the facts and all that. I am not a hunt advocate, but i had to see things from both sides of the fence in order to really stop being one. Neither am I particularly anti-hunt, what i did to come up with my contorted veiw is line up the pros and cons, from what information i could find (which isnt a lot, considering the fact that im not exacly the most zealous of people when it comes to working out my opinions). NB, a lot of this is other peoples opinions on which im basing mine

Points for (as seen by other people. own opinions outlined in red)
- It keeps the population of foxes down (not a big pro, but some people beleive that if the population of foxes is controlled, then they will survive better because of the lack of thier natural habitat (not a lot of woodland left in england)

- It provides much needed rural employment (this just seems to be a little bit of crying why wont someone think of the children' and can be mostly ignored. At the most its a thousand people who work the stables and looking after the hounds)

- Its Traditional (yes, i'll agree there,  but its only been traditional for thee centuries at the most, so its not a huge tradition)

- Its better than some of the other methods of killing (this may be true. Foxes are fast, so at range, its difficult to shoot them to kill, and they can take days to die from the wound and its associated conditions, and poision and traps can be just as bad)

- cityfolk dont understand (I can sympathise with the countryfolks that say this. The majority of Hunt protesters might be from the cities, which is where they live, they  don't often have to see the countryside and its problems, espcially with animals, all they see is an animal being ruthlessly hunted. They dont see that the animal could be a potential cause of disease in livestock, which could hurt farmers in the long term. I also belive though that the people who live in the cities arent as unintelligent as all that, and many may know this, so its a two edged sword a little)

Points against hunting

- Its barbaric (yes, i agree, chasing an animal down with a pack of dogs is something from another age, where guns werent availiable as readily, but dogs and horses and people to wear really silly clothes were. Im not sure about the fox being ripped apart by the dogs, as there seems to be some uncertainty about that from what ive heard)

- Its outdated (see above)

- tony blair said he would (Yep, this has to be here. This is according to my dad, but he seems to think that Mr blah would have gotten cosiderably less votes (although maybe not enough to loose him the elections) because of the line he took on hunting. I myself am not sure about this)

- there are other methods (yes, i have mentioned these, but theyre a mixed blessing, as it can take as much time and potential pain for a fox to die as it wouls through hunting)

In closing:
Yeah, i know there are more points for hunting and that looks biased, but looking at it, on the merits of each arguement, Id have to say I dont know... Hunting dosent seem like the best alternative, it is barbaric, but then some of the other methods can be barbaric... So I think ive changed from Im definatly for hunting to im not really sure what to think. This is based only on the facts i have gathered. there provably is a lot more that i havent covered here, and some of which may be erroneous. Please dont slate me for my opinion, as i havent slated yours. I was just looking for a place to sat what i think.

*runs off to hide*

[Mahtowin]

Now if only hunting with dogs was banned in the USA. If nothing else banning them from using them on non-predator (deer hunts as example) hunts.

[Arrowhead]

Yes, I am replying to this very late. shoot me 

okay, I may be ignorant about "hunting dogs", cause I simply never went hunting with a dog before, but I honestly can't see the problem.

Torture? Without the dog if you shoot a fox and it gets away, its wound would get infected thus making it suffer far more and possibly for much longer.

Brutal? Ever seen someone getting a face-full of buckshot? Not exactly pretty.

Inhumane? How? I can't argue for it being humane in the least, but I can't imagine how it would be any more inhumane than a lucky bullet in a flank. On a side-note, yes you can hit an animal in the flank and it would still be a good 70-80% mobile (for a day or two before it dies from an infection, in which these two days it would only know suffering). Found that out after hunting wild dogs to keep them away from the chickens. One dog got shot four times before the fifth bullet got its spine (REALLY lucky shot) and it also took three magnum bullets to the head for it to die. Animals are very hard to kill... except rabbits. You even put a bullet NEAR them they will simply have a heart-attack and go limp. Minus jack-rabbits, seeing as they are as big as dogs and about as tough.

Impractical? Very much so, but so is playing video-games, or buying an SUV, paintballing, or even creating a thread about a snowman-fox-thingy. However, it is damned fun, and so long as it is controlled to prevent killing too many I see no issue.

No I am not for hunting for sport. I think it's rediculous. However I also think it is equally rediculous to tell people which deadly poison they are allowed or not allowed to drink in the privacy of their own home.

Blessed Be,
~Arrowhead~

[Mahtowin]

My beef with it is;
Dogs are often left out (or in the south never picked becouse they were stolen just for one seasons hunt)after the hunt is done. They will then chase anything that will run from them, be it a deer or a sheep even another dog in some cases. Hunters often half starve them to get them "ready" to hunt so they will keep going til they catch something. Such dogs then either hunt all the time, they slowly starve to death or are killed on the road.

There are better ways to hunt deer anyway, more humane ways( high caliber rifle or a bow if the hunter is skilled, I do not favor shotgunning for deer).

As for foxes, most fox hunting is for sport only, the serious fur people unfortunatly use leghold traps. If the fox is lucky the trapper is more humane and uses an instant kill conibear trap.

I can see how the use of dogs may be needed if a person is hunting boar, bear or wild dogs and some cases cougar. Those animals can be dangerous.