Fox hunting has been around for less than two hundred and fifty years as a form of pleasurable entertainment for the higher classes, foxes used to be considered as worthless animals that weren't worthy for the chase, they were thought as vermin in fact but after all the other animals like the deer, boar, hare and wolf were all killed mostly by the hunt, they had to find a replacement.The foxes were fast and could go for long distances so were good for the chase but they went down their holes so hounds or terriers were introduced to get them out of their holes and so they were considered as a new challenge.
Nowadays this hunt or chase has been developed into a sport and is supported by the Countryside Alliance. The fox has a well known reputation of being a cunning thief and scoundrel but most of these derive from fairytales and fables or from the people who support the sport but most of these are misconceptions.There is a passion for hunting deeply implanted in the human breast" this is the opinion of Charles Dickens praising hunting saying that is what man is meant to do, that man has a place for hunting in his heart but obviously views have changed a great deal. Back then it was considered a noble thing to go on the hunt and was thought of as the civilised thing to do.
Nowadays some people still have the old way of thinking, that it is a noble sport and think of it as traditional but a lot of people have changed their views as they see it as cruelty to animals and think of it as a barbaric and archaic way of life. Should Fox hunting be made illegal? Many people have a strong opinion about this topic one way or another. My opinion is yes I think fox hunting should be made illegal because it is a very blood-thirsty and inhumane of people who think of themselves as gentlemen to do such a barbaric thing and have the mordacity to call it a sport.Their used to be many foxes in the countryside but now there is hardly any of the creatures left. Yes the fox hunts for food but only to survive, some people use that as an excuse to hunt the poor little animals but many animals kill other animals for food and they are not hunted and killed in such a brutal fashion and it used to be that foxes would attack fowl but nowadays there are ways to prevent this for example large fences to keep them out.
This so called sport should be made illegal as it is the most disgraceful thing I've ever heard of, it is very cruel as the poor animals can't win as there is no escape, people are sent out the night before the hunt to block up any holes or dens and if they manage to escape down an unblocked hole the hounds or terriers will be made to attack it constantly and kill it or force it to come out to be chased more.So you tell me what is so noble about this? Noble means that someone is free from meanness but anyone who does this is far from being kind and gentle. Even if the fox does get away there is no escape from the nose of the hounds they have been trained from a young age to follow the scent of foxes and when they find them they have been turned into brutal killers that hunt in a pack like wolves.Hunt enthusiasts have said that the fox is killed quickly by the first dog that catches up to it by the neck pinch which is when the dog bites the back of the neck of the fox and this kills the fox instantly by breaking its neck and only when it is provoked by the fox but there is no proof of this and seeing as it would help their case of letting the sport to continue as if they can prove that the fox does not feel any pain it works in their favour but they have not proved this as if you saw what happened to the fox when the whole pack caught up with the poor thing you would want it to be quick for the fox.
If you think about it though it isn't particularly quick for the fox as it is only caught by the hounds when it can run no more and is exhausted so really when you think of it, it isn't very quick at all and I can't state enough how unfair it is as there is no way that the fox could escape from the stamina and persistence of the hounds.When eventually they do catch up with it they will maul it to death, sometimes the hunters as they call themselves want to keep the head and tail of the fox so cut them off and then eventually when they had done that they simply throw the rest to the dogs and the dogs eat the rest of the fox between the pack. Hunt enthusiasts say that when the fox is killed by the first hound it shows mercy to the fox because of the prolonged chase but it isn't really their place to say whether it is merciful as the chase itself is cruel and killing the animal is just appalling and where is it the hunters place to say whether it is right or wrong.Bagging foxes is also a reason for it to be made illegal, as this is a cruel practice as the foxes are captured and are sometimes used to give the hounds the scent of a fox before the chase and sometimes when a important person from the aristocracy comes and they want the hunt to go off without a glitch they used a bagged fox. I don't know how people can do this and think that it is ok to do it, it is a savage and shameful practice that is called a sport but anyone who gets amusement out of the torture and death of a defenceless animal is sick.
At the start of fox hunting season the vixens are usually pregnant so at the start of hunting season many of the foxes killed are pregnant vixens and there have been cases of when the fox has been killed and the cubs have been torn out of the vixen and fed to the hounds. Hunt enthusiasts believe that fox hunting is a part of their way of life and a part of their heritage and because of this it shouldn't be banned. Farmers and people who enjoy and support the hunt suggest that they are helping the countryside by killing foxes, which they believe are vermin, because they kill fowl.In Scotland there is still strong support for fox hunting and those who protest to ensure its survival argue that their sport is an important part of country life and banning it would mean that many people would lose their jobs.
Despite these arguments I can still not see how people who are thought highly of and think of themselves as noble gentlemen can do such a thing to a defenceless animal. Many things have changed especially over the last century, in the way we think about animals and what we regard as sport. Bear baiting is no longer allowed in this country so why should fox hunting?It is just about as cruel if not more so. Everyone has a different opinion about this subject but it seems as though the majority of the population is turning against hunting. This may be because it is seen as something only for the upper classes and not the ordinary person. Media campaigns by different groups showing us pictures of the poor foxes be ripped limb from limb, while we are doing everyday things have brought fox hunting into the light of day for a many number of normal people who would have been in the dark about these issues previously and now everybody has an opinion on this contentious issue.
