“For or anti, you can't help but notice that the promise of a free vote vanished once they got into power. The original hunting bill took so much parliamentary time that they won't risk a repeat. Laws are mainly drafted and voted on by people who, if they have a few chickens in the garden, will take them to the vet if they look of colour.”

“I seem to be struggling to put my point across here! I live in rural North devon! I am a country girl, I have animals, I get dirty and covered in animal muck at least twice a day. I know how my food is produced and where it comes from. I went to pony club, worked in two pt-to-pt yards and eventually ended up in a hunt kennels. I am now ANTI.
Just as I don't tar all those who hunt as blood thirsty (I can see WHY they would enjoy the ride but that is not a good enough reason to condone the rest of what goes on), I wish that the pros would stop branding us antis as a bunch of ignorant townie hippies.
Plenty of people who are born, bred and live in the rural communities abhor hunting. On the flip side, you get your city boys (and girls) coming down here talking the talk and paying to shoot/hunt our wildlife.”

“I don't think the majority of people abhor foxhunting or think it a medieval practice at all - granted I think a lot, probably a majority of people are quite squeamish about it and a million and one other things come to that. For example, I've seen kids squeal with horror at the thought that the milk in their cartons comes from one of those dirty big cows! That's your 21st Century!

And sadly for the hunting the community, there's the rub. Lots of softies with no idea of what hunting (or probably any other field sports) involve, drawing daft parallels with cock fighting and badger baiting, and working themselves up over a well trained pack of hounds flushing a notoriously crafty, vermin quarry, and just sometimes overtaking it and dispatching it pretty much instantaenously.

If I followed the logic of a lot of anti-hunt campaigners I should probably muzzle my cat who's doing his usual excellent job of keeping the mice down. Or maybe we should go the whole hog and ban cats too.”

“@peatbogs
The Countryside Alliance has taken the case to the European Court of Human Rights and also the High Court in this country - the case was thrown out in both courts. Cock fighting, badger baiting and dog fighting used to be legal once until it was recognised to be cruel and became unlawful - so it is with hunting with dogs. Nobody has the right to be cruel to animals. If you believe the Act is unworkable, I suggest you check out the Home Office figures - there have been more prosecutions under the Hunting Act than any other wild life legislation.
Come into the 21st Century peatbogs - hunting is a cruel medieval practice abhorred by the majority in this country.”

“The Hunt ban is a ridiculously illiberal and unworkable piece of legislation based on no science at all, which criminalizes the previously lawful activity of a whole section of the rural community who have spent years supportung charities, upholding communities and doing more for their neighbour than all of the so called Hunt Monitors put together.”

“You're right Michael, nothing on earth would persuede me that animal cruelty, animal exploitation, and criminality is ok. As far as a pro-hunting vet is concerned, no doubt he's also a hunting enthusiast - it's amazing what blood-lust can do to a hunter's mind - there's none so blind or deaf. I'm afraid I prefer to believe the post mortems done on hunted foxes, the majority of vets who are anti-hunting, the highly qualified professors' reports and the many people that have done dedicated studies of certain species.”

“@michael7dx

Pardon me for sounding facetious but have you tried drag hunting?”

“Au contraire!

We're obvioulsy not going to persuade one another and I'm certainly not going to get into name calling and trading insults.

But you might want to follow the link to the recent report by the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management that debunks so many of the anti-field sports misconceptions:

http://tinyurl.com/6e92963”

“Not very bright are you Michael? Hunting with dogs is illegal because it is cruelty to an animal. You've proved what you are - callous and not very nice, plus it sounds as though you'll be hunting illegally too. Cub hunting (that is youngsters not even 9 months old and why have the hunters renamed it autumn hunting?) with dogs is illegal too because it is cruel. Hunters are certainly NOT ordinary people - the majority of people would find it quite repugnant to take pleasure from cubs or any wild animal, being persecuted and then ripped apart by a pack of dogs. There is something seriously wrong with a hunter's psyche when they display perverse pleasure in hunting with hounds. As for your statement that every serious commentators and researchers have declared the Act as a nonsense IS a nonsense - I suggest you speak to the people who are truly knowledgeable about the life and habits of the fox through dedicated study of them, and the pathologists that have examined dead hunted foxes. Why don't these people take up drag hunting Michael? There's only one answer to that - because they enjoy their blood lust being satisfied.”

“No, frankly I don't get it - roll on autumn hunting!”