Fox hunters making life misery for Irish farmers

by Rua Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:58

There is nothing of value in the ''sport'' of fox hunting....If i came from another planet to tell you there is a group of rich elites that dress up in victorian outfits to prance around on horses to kill and rip apart defenceless foxes limb from limb - you would say these people are sadists...

And thats exactly what they are,its an elitist sport,one of cruel blood lust for a defenceless creature,its not even a sport that has a level playing field the foxes are holed out of their dens by teams of blood hound dogs and beagles,one fox versus a team of hunting dogs specifically trained for this task,the fox doesnt know what has hit him/her,the fox may have young cubs - of course these young cubs perish as a result of losing their mother,or if a male is killed thats it for the breeding season for the females nearby.

This isn't about population control,that is completely bogus..The fox numbers if you read online or on twitter are in decline due to to these cruel hunters,the only population that is untamed and out of control is the human population,before talking about culling animals to control numbers,we should look at ourselves first!

This is disgraceful!

by Billy Sat Jul 11, 2015 06:20

Farmers are worried about the safety of chickens and other defenceless creatures which sly foxes are continually targeting. Motorists driving home in the early hours of the morning are continually being endangered by wild deer darting out on to the roads from adjoining woodland. Something has got to be done. Misplaced sentimentality about wild animals doesn't help.

by Neil Fri Jul 10, 2015 14:24

I so hate the old excuses

1) Population Control. Bit of misnomer really. The natural countryside will take care of it's self. What you really mean is make the countryside fit with human habitation which is entirely different. Any way if there are far better and more cost effective methods to do it than a large group of people on horse back and a large pack of dogs marauding around the countryside after 1 fox.

2) Hunting provides employment, jobs will be lost if it is banned. You can still use the paraphernalia and resources required for a hunt and apply it to drag hunting.

The only reason they hunt is because they get a trill out of it plain and simple. And here is were I and many more have a problem. Taking joy in the torture and ultimate death of another animal, finding fun in seeing a defenseless creature being torn limb from limb is very, very wrong. If you find this is what you need to have fun you really should take a long hard look at yourself.

Many other barbaric traditions have disappeared, it's about time this did too.

by Mike Novack Thu Apr 30, 2015 16:18

Let's pretend for just a moment I conceded your point "Hunting benefits the countryside. Foxes are predators and slyly attack lambs and chickens. They are regarded as a pest by farmers." HOW would you get from that (that the farmer wanted the foxes effectively hunted) to this "Farmers welcome the annual canter of hunts across their lands as they feel that the hounds are keeping down the numbers of foxes."

A large pack of dogs followed by a horde on horseback is NOT a reasonable, effective, efficient way to reduce the fox population. Would clearly cause much more damage toi a farming operation than predation by foxes.

OK, I live here, not in Ireland, but I live in the country, perhaps wilder country than you have in Ireland. One dog, one man, and a shotgun is a reasonable way to go after foxes if what you are trying to do is reduce fox population.

Of course since I live in a less devastated environment, it is rather hard for me to picture a fox (a 10-20# canid) as a very serious predator. Could it be that the reason you do is that long ago you exterminated all predators larger*? Sure a fox might go after a chicken if not enough voles. But around here we have to consider:

fisher
raccoons
bobcat
eastern "coyote" (genetics mostly red wolf)
bear
and while they haven't returned to my area except for stray far wandering adolescent males, grey wolf and cougar.

* The traditional "fox hunting" method clearly developed from earlier wolf hunting where using a large pack of dogs and running them down on horseback not quite as silly.

by Anti Hunt Tue Apr 28, 2015 02:16

Deliberately tormenting an animal and subjecting it to a slow, agonising death benefits nobody....not the animal. Not the countryside...not even the sad people who arrange these deranged festivals of cruelty because it debases them as human beings. Foxhunting is not about "pest control". It's about sadism and people getting pleasure from torturing an animal to death. Likewise hare coursing and carted stag hunting, the latter perversion now thankfully banned In Ireland.

by Greenman Sat Apr 25, 2015 13:14

If farmers and or land owners do not want The Hunt or Hunters to enter their lands all they have to do is declare it to be a Nature Reserve , few notices about the place, notify the master of the local hunt, plus an option is to put a small advert in the local newspaper. Problem solved.

by earthling Fri Apr 24, 2015 15:26

Actually it is simple.

We have the ability to choose whether to unnecessarily harm another living being for fun or not.
We also have the ability to choose to eat things other than meat, since alternative options are available.
Yet we still choose to endorse both factory farming and hunting.
and the former on an industrial scale.

What does that say about us?

We need to evolve!

by Rational Ecologist Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:29

Pursuing and killing an animal to eat it and use it's carcass is natural; however, the chasing of an animal for fun is barbaric and unnecessary. Factory farming is far nastier than hunting.
It's not simple; not black and white.
I HATE foxhunting, and so do a lot of farmers(land industrialists).
There's not much woodland in Ireland-a fair bit of monocrop plantation though.

by earthling Thu Apr 23, 2015 23:23

by your argument, a cull of pet dogs would be "good for the countryside" because
they kill a lot more lambs and chickens per year than foxes.

And since when are lambs and chickens part of the natural countryside.
They are just human food animals grown in captivity.

Humans make up any kind of auld shite to rationalise their enjoyment of
pursuing and killing poor defenceless animals for fun.

Face it you are just another primitive bullying scumbag who enjoys killing for fun.

You need to evolve!

by Billy Thu Apr 23, 2015 20:22

Hunting benefits the countryside. Foxes are predators and slyly attack lambs and chickens. They are regarded as a pest by farmers. Farmers welcome the annual canter of hunts across their lands as they feel that the hounds are keeping down the numbers of foxes. Other predators which attack livestock include wild mink. A certain number of foxes are run down late at night by motor traffic. So also are badgers. In some woodland areas of the country wild deer can be a danger to life when they suddenly dart across roads in the early hours of the morning. People with licensed guns should be allowed to cull wild deer during a closed season each year.

by Need to control hunt pests Wed Apr 22, 2015 20:35

Talk about pest control. Hunters are the biggest pests for farmers. They do more damage than liverfluke and all the other diseases and parasites put together. Even bad weather is nothing beside a fox hunt invaded your farm and destroying your whole livelihood in front of disbelieving eyes. I've seen hunters laughing and sneering from their horses as their hounds ripped cats and small dogs to pieces in farmyards. I'd ban them from all farmland, permanently.

Foxhunting and farming don't mix...