From: "Alex Hamilton", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Steve,
In response to email written by Richard Loweth about justification of
foxhunting, you wrote:-
--
My response to all arguments against hunting no matter how reasoned
is that most people don't reason, in fact most people don't care,
except the hunters. So if the hunting of that species is forbidden
the species that is hunted is infinitely worse off, because it will
be neglected and at the mercy of someone building a shopping centre
in the middle of its habitat, or a farmer deciding to use that land
for something else.
Hunters will conserve the species they hunt, whereas it will be in
the hands of an underfunded government agency staffed by civil
servants who largely don't care otherwise.
Whether or not the hunt is "cruel" is purely academic. Compared
to what will happen to that species otherwise it is small potatoes.
____________________________
You have a point, but only to a degree because there are many examples
of species that were hunted to extinction, or very near extinction
without any evidence that the hunters understood or cared for any level
of "stock management" - buffalo, whales, dodo to name just a few.
I really cannot imagine many farmers nowadays refusing a capital sum
from a property developer that would enable them to retire and live in
comparative luxury to save the habitat of foxes or any other animal,
wild or domestic. Farming is a major destroyer of countryside and
wildlife.
Alex
--
But those are more examples from the 19th century - I think it
is naive to say hunters (at least in this country) have not learned
from that, plus the countryside in this country is not exactly
"wild" anyway.
I have yet to hear LACS use the argument that fox hunting may
endanger the species - but I'm pretty certain of my point that
a ban on it is more likely to threaten it.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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