I do. Members of my family have been fox hunting for years as well. I agree that it is cruel to the animal. Plus I hate the general toffery of the event

Yes, one of the few government interventions I do support is the ban on fox hunting ban.

I'm not a fan of any hunting. I generally don't like government intervention, but cruelty to animals in the name of sport is never right.

Not entirely:do you think the Spanish would ever ban bullfighting for instance?

I used to go along for the ride ,but when I started feeding foxes in my back fields and called the police on the local hunt for chasing what I thought was one of my foxes across my field Yes although I hate rules and regulations i agree with this one I somehow was not very welcome anymore . I cannot for the life of me understand why

I'm constantly sitting on the fence with this one. Agreeing with bits from both sides of the argument. I did, however find a wonderfully (and politely) written piece from a young man. Have a read and see what you think: G'day Kim... I think #1 pretty much summed up things with regard to the income side of thing, and how many people either directly or indircetly derive a living from hunting, and indeed all fieldsports. It is also worth considering the human side of things. I write as a gamekeeper (ex actually, now live in NZ), who is a little bit on the outside in as much as I worked alongside the hunts and hunters. I hunted both on foot and mounted (as a vary amatetuer horseman) whenever I had the chance, but gamekeeping and shooting was my primary income and life. However, I had plenty of friends in hunt service, and watching their lives being torn apart was a heart breaking thing to witness. Many have been brought up into this way of life, as have generations of their family before. It is their income, their home, the social life and friends, their sport, their everything - some might even say their religion - for I know they set about it with far more devotion than many so called religous types! The Labour government, so keen to take our country to war to protect other people's rights, was at the same time tearing apart centuries of British tradition, families and so much more. This affected me also - and I can tell you it is not a pleasant feeling when your own government dictates how you should live your life. We all rallied so much support during the London marches, the most people on the streets ever, but it made no difference. The people do not have a voice - my local MP at the time, even refused to meet with me to hear my views - he was already a dead-set opponent. Most people, all I know in fact, who work in hunt service are extremely capable people who could do well in any field of work - but the point is, why should they have to? They have their way of life, they work hard, they are knowledgeable about the countryside, the environment and the wildlife. Do people with little real understanding of these things have a right to snatch it all away? Supposing hunting as we know it had actually finished under the ban - the alternatives? I'll be honest with you here, because as a gamekeeper I have had to shoot many a fox in my time. Facts: poison is not an option, thankfully, it is illegal already. Snares have their uses in some places, but they are generally a cruel method that brings a slow death. Shooting by day is time consuming, inefficient and usually done with shotguns which rarely produced a definite clean kill. Shooting at night with a rifle is without question the most efficient - and all the anti's recommend it. How does that help the fox? More efficient means more get killed! Here's the bottom line - shooting at night gets more kills - but it is not more humane. While a well placed shot will always kill a fox cleanly, for each done well, there will always be more that are not. A wounded fox will slink off and die a slow death. For no matter how good the equipment or the shooter - while there is a human involved, there will always be error and misjudgement. There is no such thing as a perfect shot who has never missed - despite me telling pretty girls that in the pub! By the way - with spotlighting at night, it is also worth considering that there is no natural selection, the guys are going to take a shot as whatever safe/standing fox they see. We are in the business of killing foxes, simple as that, for we know there are many more to come. Briefly, for I fear you may have fallen asleep by now..... firstly, the hunt provides perfect natural selection. The weakest and oldest animal will always be the first to get caught. This may in part explain why Britain has the healthiest population (foxes I mean, not polititions) in Europe, rabies and generally mange free. Second, what could be more natural? Hounds doing what they have been bred to do, doing also what the canine species has always done. The fox knows no different - they don't think like us. They don't feel fear, they simply do what comes naturally to them, to flee, to outwit and get away. It is a natural reaction on all sides. I also believe it to be more humane - for a fox caught by hounds simply does not get away wounded, it is killed instantly. Explaining why humans should want to put fancy clothing on and prat around on big horses to watch all this, can be difficult. I promise I will not go on too much, so I may miss lots out! Well, did you know that the guys who wear the bright colours (normally scarlet, but not always), are usually doing one important job or another on the hunt day - hunting the hounds, assisting, opening or closing gates, passing messages etc - and simply, these bright colours help people to see them and work out what in the hell is going on! If you are serious about learning more - the best thing you can do is drop any notion that hunting is a class thing. I, as a common working type, a bit rough around the edges, don't know of any other way of life where I can socialise with people from all levels, all professions. Whether on the hunting field or on the hunt ball dance floor, all are equal (and I am a very bad dancer). When was the last time you went to, say, a Grand Prix or a Film festival and had complete access to all parts of the venue and got to chat with the stars? It doesn't happen, does it? Well, it does in hunting. Go sometime, talk to people, you'll be given a warm welcome. Understand people may be a bit guarded, country folk are often quiet people, and lately, they have had to be careful of who they talk to - anti's have this habit of smashing windows and sending letter bombs. The thing is, the clothing and traditions are the human side of hunting, they govern its rules and keep it together, they have uses and meaning. None of those things make any difference to the fox at all. Are we talking about improving the life of the fox, or banning people wearing silly clothes.... if it is the latter - I'd like to vote for Morris Dancing right away! Still, I haven't answered your questoin, but written a lot of words! Why hunt? Well, why fish? I am sure Mr Fish doesn't particularly enjoy being hauled out of his pond by his mouth, photographed, possibly kissed, then thrown back. But fishing is THE most popular participation sport in the country, more so than football! Imagine that! The thing is, lots of hunting folk will tell you they hunt because the fox is evil, it kills chickens or steals babies or whatever - don't believe it. They hunt, because they enjoy it - it gives them a thrill. I wish more of them would be honest about this. It is about the thrill of the chase (sorry, know it is a cliche, but true nonetheless), about seeing nature in action, about frosty mornings in spectacular countryside, about not knowing how things will end up, about the skills of the people who have dedicated their lives to this sport, the tradition that goes back to the dawn of democracy in this country and its about trying to stay on your bloody horse. I understand why folk think we are a bit weird, to take part in any sport where an animal is killed. Will you believe me if I honestly say that I don't think that is what it is about? Honestly, it is everything above - if a fox gets killed, a useful service has been provided, and it has been done farely and humanely. If it doesn't, most hunters I know would be delighted - for that would have been a good fox, and he will have given hounds and horses a good run. Finally - have you ever watched a wildlife doc. - you know the ones, with slow motion film of a Lion hunting a deer. People in the millions are glued to their TV sets several days a week, watching exactly the same thing. Fascinated, in awe, spellbound by the beauty of this natural, horrific event - how do you feel when you watch that? Do you want the deer to get away, or the Lion to feed it's cubs? It is difficult to take sides eh? Hunting ain't for everyone, sure, but all we ask is to be left alone to make our own decisions in life. People who want to know more are welcome. Hope this goes some way to help! Timo