From: "Andrew Chastney", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
That's what I think, anyway. I could be wrong (it does
happen occasionally), but I have to do what I think is right,
even if everyone else seems to disagree(including people who
I respect). If anyone would like to post any counter-arguments
I'll read them, though I can't guarantee a reply, for the
reasons already stated - though I can guarantee to consider
any sensible argument. But unless you can persuade me I'm
wrong, the position at the moment is that I'll be spending
18th March in Manchester, same as usual.
Stuart Heal
Quiet loner with an arsenal of weapons.
http://olympia.fortunecity.com/naseem/170/
--
You state that "the chase itself has to be extremely
stressful".
You also say that you've never ridden to hounds and don't think
you'd learn anything by doing so.
If you've never experienced it for yourself, on what basis are
you drawing your conclusion that the chase has to be stressful? I
can only assume that in your opinion you _think_ it must be
stressful.
If you had been hunting you would have seen for yourself that
both foxes and hares will act completely nonchalantly even when
the hounds are as close as a minute behind. Among other things
they will stop to groom themselves, they will stop to drink,
hares are frequently seen to stop and begin feeding, and have even
been seen mating while hounds are hunting their line.
None of these things suggest an animal under extreme duress.
Let's not forget that for a wild animal to run away from danger
is the most natural thing in the world. It seems extremely
unlikely that a hare or a fox makes much distinction between different types
of danger.
Consider two fox control scenarios -
a) A group of farmers beating with dogs to flush foxes from
cover to waiting guns
b) A huntsman using foxhounds to flush foxes from cover to be
hunted
Does the fox in a) feel any less stress than the one in b) at
the moment at which it decides to make a run for it? I doubt it
very much.
Or what about the fox that you meet wandering along a hedgerow
when you're out for a walk with your dog? I maintain that in
each of those situations the fox just thinks 'Hell, time to get out of
here'. As soon as it has got what it perceives to be a safe distance from
its persuer it will stop running.
That is precisely what happens during the course of a hunt. The
hunted hare or fox runs till it thinks it's safe, then pulls up
and just gets on with its normal business.The hounds have either lost it or
they're still on its line. If the latter, as soon as they get too close
for comfort off goes the quarry again till once more it feels safe and
pulls up. (I say this with certainty as I have been hunting many times and seen
it with my own eyes.)
This stop/start affair keeps up for most of the hunt. I would
argue that at no point during this process is the quarry under any stress
at all. It is simply doing what every single wild bird or animal does
every day in order to survive - running from danger.
It is only in the very last stages of a hunt when the hounds
close in that there is any possibility of stress. But I would argue that
even at that point it is still completely natural. Watch just about any
natural history programme and you will see countless examples of
insects, birds or animals chasing and killing other insects, birds, or
animals.
You might find it disagreeable but the unescapeable reality is
that nature is indeed 'red in tooth and claw'.
The _real_ reason that hunting is under threat has nothing to
do with animal welfare. (The Govt's own enquiry, the Burns Report,
has found nothing to suggest that hunting is any more cruel than
any of the other legal methods of control.) It's because some people
are revolted by the fact that other people go hunting for
enjoyment, and also because it's still perceived to be the sole preserve of
the idle rich and it's a good way of indulging in a bit of toff bashing.
Andrew Chastney
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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