Banning of Fox Hunting

Banning of Fox Hunting

Fox hunting is one form of hunting. It is a pursuit of a wild fox with a pack of hounds, which are specially bred and trained for the sole purpose of fox hunting, and are followed by hunters who usually ride on horses. When the hounds pick up the scent of a fox, they will follow it until the fox evades them, goes to ground, or is overtaken and killed by the hounds. This form of hunting is exercised in several countries around the world, but this essay will concentrate on fox hunting in the United Kingdom. It has been practiced in Britain for around 300 years, with its popularity at its height in the late 19th century. The debate concerning fox hunting has heated up in the past few years. Those who support the hunt are driven by a sense of history and tradition, seeing it as an intrinsic part of living in the countryside. Those against say it serves no purpose in modern times as fox numbers are controlled by other animals, and see it as a cruel, antiquated sport. When the Labour Party won the general election in 1997, it stated in its manifesto: "We will ensure greater protection for wildlife. We have advocated new measures to promote animal welfare, including a free vote in Parliament on whether hunting with hounds should be banned." In the past six years the Hunting Bill (ban on hunting with hounds) has been approved several times by the House of Commons, only for it to be rejected by the House of Lords. However, on November 18th 2004 the House of Commons invoked the rarely used Parliament Act to force the ban into law, despite opposition from the House of Lords. As a result, as long as the British government will not introduce a further legislation to prevent it, the ban of fox hunting in England and Wales (the Scottish Parliament banned fox hunting in 2002) will become a law after three months. This essay will state reasons why fox hunting should be banned. The most common pro-hunting claims will be presented, and explained why anti-hunters do not consider them to be valid.

According to pro-hunters' view foxes are pests and the most effective way to limit their number is fox hunting. Hunt supporters believe that the fox does untold damage to farmers and their livestock, including attacks on lambs, poultry and game birds. For them hunting plays an essential role in managing local fox populations, and is the best and the most humane way of controlling the population, as gun shot wounds may mean a slow painful death for the fox, snaring may endanger other mammals, and poisoning is illegal.

An opposing view is that the fox is not a serious threat to agriculture, and should not be considered as a vermin. According to the League Against Cruel Sports the foxes actually help farmers by eating small animals, such as rabbits, rats and voles, which are considered to be pests on arable land. In addition, foxes are territorial animals,