Final hunt held as ban looms

[Ray]

Final hunt held as ban looms

London, Feb. 17 (Reuters): Thousands of defiant British fox-hunting enthusiasts rode out today to enjoy their ancient pastime for one last time before becoming outlaws.

From midnight, a ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales comes into force, ending over 300 years of countryside tradition.

It ushers in an uncertain period for both hunters and police. Will the diehards carry on, exploiting loopholes in a complicated law, or will they respect the ban? What priority will police give to prosecuting offenders, and how will they catch them?

“For those unused to hunting, what happens after the ban is introduced will look, feel and smell like it does now,” said a spokesman from the Countryside Alliance, the main pro-hunting lobby group. “We see this as a temporary ban which is unenforceable.”

The alliance estimates some 400,000 people will defy the ban by attending hunts on Saturday, dwarfing the traditional December 26 meets.

After seven years of heated debate, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour government finally forced the ban through parliament last November after the upper chamber, the un-elected House of Lords, repeatedly opposed it.

Under the new Hunting Act, riders will still be able to gather to exercise their hounds, hunt rats and rabbits and even flush out foxes with only two hounds for a hunter to shoot. “There is no ban on hunting — you can still go hunting,” said Delly Everard a member of a hunt in the west of England.

She said huntsmen will gather with their packs of hounds, up to 30-strong, and go drag-hunting, where the dogs follow a scent laid out by dragging a fox’s carcass along the ground. “Accidents happen though,” she said. “The hounds don’t understand that legally they are not allowed to hunt and kill foxes from Saturday.

“They have had hundreds of years of hunting and now they are expected to understand that it’s OK to kill a rabbit but not a hare?”

The League Against Cruel Sports has set up monitoring groups to video hunt meets and hand over evidence to the police of any law-breaking.

Thank Heavens our fox hunts are not banned.

Its great fun and horsemanship has to at its best for these hunts.

[dalem]

The feminization of the West continues.

-dale

[bonehead]

Lets import some wolves to England. They would make the hunt more challenging AND would be legal to hunt.

[Confed999]

A silly attack on lawful citizens.

[Never]

Fox Huntings still legal they just shoot the fox now instead of letting the dogs kill it.

There going to kill Fox's anyway whether it is through poisoning, traps, shooting or other methods and to die in agony in a trap ot through poisoning is probably worse than the hunt.

[Blademaster]

Originally Posted by Confed999

A silly attack on lawful citizens.

Not really because there is another aspect to fox hunting. When they go on fox hunting, they go across on other people's lands and public land. They bring their 4x4 and large group of people with them.

One of the major reasons why the ban is popular is because people who likes to hunt are sick of the fox hunting parties creating havoc and huge inconveniences when they chase the foxes onto their lands.

[Veni Vidi Vici]

Originally Posted by dalem

The feminization of the West continues.

-dale

Yo. Whats this feminization stuff.???

[ChrisF202]

God, watch Parliment ban horseback riding or something like that next.

[barrowaj]

I thought it was banned because the foxes were dying out?

[Ray]

The Britsh countryside support fox hunting as per what I have read.

Therefore, Blade, could you give some links which states that they affect others farms and things like that?

[Blademaster]

Sir,

Sorry I don't have the links. I got it from another poster at Tank-net and a person who have been to Britain.

But if you think about it, it does really make sense, doesn't it?