Pausing last year's hunt did not bring fox plague to UK
Posted by MelSkunk (Melissa Drake) on Thu 5 Sep 2002 - 09:40
In spite of the claim by hunt supporters that foxes would overrun the UK if the horse and hound fox hunt was banned, the aborted hunt season last year due to foot and mouth has not led to any rise in fox numbers, researchers say. In fact, if anything, the numbers dropped slightly. The Countryside Alliance disregards the fecal drop count as innacurate, claiming farmers have been telling them that there are more foxes. And the debate goes on...
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MelSkunk (Melissa Drake) — read stories — contact (login required)a student and Skunk from Toronto, ON, interested in writting, art, classic cars and animals
Comments
I would like to note it's amazing how farmers are able to survive here in Canada considering the horrible land pirannahs foxes are. Apparently the primitive process of "securing your coops, carrying a rifle and having dogs" means foxes should be eating my boots RIGHT NOW without the AWESOME POWER of pillocks on horseback hunting one fox for miles with a pack of hounds.
Melissa "MelSkunk" Drake
I actualy have a country heritage in my family. (We still own a fair bit of land too)
And the average country Farmer is at a detriment because of the hunt. There is little impact on the Fox population by the hunt. (Think about it, several hunts a year in an area killing one fox.) And many a Farmer has tales of having to hide any time they had killed a fox to protext live stock, for fear of retaliation by the huntsmen for killing their quarry. And the cost in repairs to fences, walls, hedging and crops caused by the Hunt far out weigh any cost of lost small livestock to foxes.
Incidently, the majority of the mebership of 'The Countryside Allience' are in favour of restrictions on 'The Hunt'. But its being presented as a vocal minorty as the oposite.
The main reason foxes are so common in the UK is because wolves were wiped out as the apex predator. When will sport hunters learn that predators are a good thing? IF you HAVE to hunt something, kill a rabbit or a pheasant and EAT it
Amen! Do let's be PART of the food chain!
Hmmm... "we are not going to be ankle-deep in foxes if we don't go out and kill thousands of them" (paraphrase). Gee, lots of furs would be ecstatic to be ankle-deep in foxes. ^_^
But think about the mess you'd have to clean up, afterwards.
-Feren
"We use them for divine retribution."
Yes but it is still necessary to sometimes kill a Fox as a pest.
Particularly after they acquire a taste for chickens!
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