FOX HUNTING (and hunting in general)

[Kestrel]

Originally Posted by hellbred

I'm not sure about that, because I don't hunt. I don't have a problem with other people hunting. If killing an innocent animal who can't fend for itself makes you feel tough, by all means.

Well, you do realise that a LOT of people don't get their jollies from hunting. It sure as helldoesn't "make me feel tough" because I'm shooting an animal. I do it because I need to to help protect MY animals and my property. You have no idea how utterly frustrating it is to have to wate thousands of dollars on crops only to have them thrown out because half of them have collapsed due to the rabbit warrens underneath them or have been uprooted and ripped apart by wild pigs.

It's not happy.
Before we started hunting, I could run out literally about 50m into my backyard and have about a hundred rabbits just dissapear from view into the warrens. Imagine that multiplied on the entire 120 acres and then include the pigs and the foxes, and you've got an issue.

So y'know, it's not just something we do for kicks. It really bugs me when people say that.

I do think that hunting foxes is necessary in the UK at least because they have no natural preditors here and there needs to be population control. I don't think that the way to do it is to chase the fox for miles with hundreds of ferocious dogs who wear the fox down before ripping it to shreds. It is much more humane to shoot it and save it the grief of the terrifying chase and the pain of being slaughtered by the dogs.