'Trail hunting, cruelty and countryside debates' - your letters, plus when steam ruled the rails in a 1955 picture throwback
From hunting and speedway to Sir Jack and the weather – readers weigh in.
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Hunting is about vermin control
Mr Norton is quite right when he says “hounds being put down” is not an argument for allowing trail hunting to continue.
I’m not sure I understand that his argument about continuing breeding when the ban is in the offing, is any different from the thousands of random dogs being bred for pets, many of which don’t have a guaranteed home to go to when they’re weaned. Isn’t he against this too?
The arguments for or against the hunting ban should not be about hounds or jobs or traditions, these are relevant and important, but historically, hunting was about managing vermin - in this case foxes. If I’d seen a fox in my field, I’d have thought ‘lovely’, unless my ewes were lambing, then I’d be anxious. I once had to intervene when I saw a fox circling a ewe trying to protect her new lambs from him whilst also producing her third! He would definitely have taken one if I hadn’t gone out, and would probably have come back for another later.
But, are the ‘antis’ against the killing or the enjoyment? Both, really, because if they can’t win on the cruelty tack, they’ll go for the ‘dreadful rich people who love the killing’. Wrong on all counts. It’s ridiculous, but what do I know, I’d be accused of being a cruel, rich farmer. Wrong all counts.
