Fox Hunting

First topic message reminder :

Do you have a view of fox hunting with dogs?

I will comment later.

Fox-hunting is the greatest sport on God’s green earth
Boxing Day hunts are a highlight of the year for those who love the beauty of our countryside

396


1

0

397

Email

Stuart Radbourne, master of the Avon Vale Hunt, toasts after gathering in the village of Lacock in Wiltshire for the annual Boxing Day hunt. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA
Looking for lobsters on the Essex coast
Chef Francesco Mazzei will do anything to create the perfect dish, including travelling to Colchester for blue lobster
Sponsored by Maserati
By James Delingpole6:43PM GMT 26 Dec 2015Comments885 Comments
I spent Boxing Day out hunting. I came home caked in mud, legs like jelly and half-cut on a mixture of sloe gin, cherry brandy and Whisky Mac. And as usual I offered up two silent prayers of gratitude – the first for my having survived another suicidal day in the saddle; the second for my good grace in having discovered – albeit rather late in life – the greatest sport on God’s green earth.
Everyone who hunts knows this. It’s why, 10 years after it was rendered supposedly illegal, the sport remains at least as popular as it ever was, whatever Tracey Crouch says. According to the latest research, some 80 per cent of hunts have either held on to their supporters or recruited new ones since the Hunting Act came into effect. As one of those new recruits, I can tell you why this is: because once you’ve tried it quite simply nothing else will do.
"Horses are herd animals and like nothing better than to hang out with a crowd of mates – especially if it involves galloping at reckless speeds..."
Hunting is so brilliant because it combines so many of the things that make life worth living: the matchless beauty of our countryside; the camaraderie of shared danger; the glamour of a mobile cocktail party; the spirit of a warehouse rave; the application of hard-won skills; the escapist joy of living purely in the moment; the thrill of the chase; dressing up in fabulous costumes; rampant sex and passionate affairs (well, apparently).
ADVERTISING


Of all these, what I’ve come to enjoy most is the relationship you have with your horse. I don’t come from a riding background; I used to dislike horsey people. Once you’ve been out hunting, though, you get it totally. Your survival – it’s quite a dangerous sport – depends almost entirely on the wildly unpredictable, almost uncontrollably powerful beast between your legs. The bond between you during the four or five hours of a hunt is so intense it’s like becoming one united creature: no longer human and horse; more like a centaur.

And the weird thing is, your horse is even more up for it than you are. Horses are herd animals and like nothing better than to hang out with a crowd of mates – especially if it involves galloping at reckless speeds and flying over hedges. When horses in a field see a hunt go past or even hear a horn or the “music” of the hounds, they go almost insane with excitement.
The people who want to ban hunting – including celebrities such as Ricky Gervais – claim to be animal lovers. But in my experience, the people who love animals best – because they understand them so deeply – are the ones involved in hunting: the kennel man who cares for the pack of 40 hounds (never “dogs”); the huntsman who can think like both fox and hound and can marshal his pack like a battle fleet; the terrier men on their quad bikes; the riders and their cherished mounts.
Children: I haven’t yet mentioned them but I must for they are one of hunting’s greatest joys. Rosy-cheeked pony clubbers in ties and hacking jackets, vying, fence for fence with the adults. There’s no other activity on earth where children and adults can compete and bond on equal terms – same hardships, same risks, same buzz. Truly it’s a pleasure to watch.
"If, on occasion – whoops! – the hounds do chase a fox, things get rather exciting."
Then, of course, there’s the fox. It’s a complete misconception that hunting people hate foxes, let alone that they take pleasure when – only by accident, of course, these days – the fox gets despatched by the hounds.
Charlie (as he’s known) may be a pest and a villain but he’s also the hero. The fox that meets his maker after a 10-mile point (not that this happens these days; we can but dream) will live forever in the hunting hall of fame. (Which is more than can be said for the many thousands of foxes who die each year in the slower, more “natural” way of disease and starvation.)
If, on occasion – whoops! – the hounds do chase a fox, things get rather exciting. When you learn to ride there are all sorts of sensible rules about safety you follow: don’t jump when it’s too muddy or hard; don’t gallop round tight bends. But following fast-moving hounds gives you licence to ignore them all.
Afterwards, it feels a bit like it must do when you’ve survived a battle. Everyone’s amazed to be in one piece; you feel an extraordinary bond with those who have shared the experience. People who were strangers an hour before now feel like your oldest, most intimate friends.

Hunting has a reputation for exclusivity. But it’s really not the case: you can do it too, if you want. Admittedly the horse hire and the kit and the “cap” don’t come cheap but what I mean is it’s not necessary to be the world’s greatest rider (I’m not) or even to be able to jump (there are always gates). The only things you do need are an appetite for speed and a steady nerve (though the booze does help) and a love of life. Perhaps you’ve left it a bit late to be ready for the hunt on New Year’s Day. But Boxing Day 2016 – why not? You’re not getting any younger…
James would love to hear from any hunts or any hunting folk who would like to assist him with his book Mr Delingpole's Sporting Tour (James@jamesdelingpole.com)

Peter Scott was an avid Wildfowler,when he was young he took every chance he got to bunk off School and shoot Geese and Duck. He made a very good friend of a Wildfowler called McKenzie Thorpe. Together they started a Wildfowl Sanctury at a place called Sutton Bridge on the edge of the Wash.It was here that he hung up his gun and never shot again.He concentrated on painting and looking after his geese.

If you can get hold of a book called "Kenzie the Wild goose Man" by Colin Willock. It tells the whole story.

hunting is different here as foxes are feral and therefore hunted openly, fox hunters are environmentalists.
Mind you they shoot them
the odd time, a pig dog might get one but since they average at 50kg/110pound and breed to take down multi-hundred kilo feral pigs it is a bit more instant death.

Feral Cats and rabbits/hare too, they are even worse for the environment.

And the feral pigs, that is the real sport hunting here as they are really dangerous. Called Razorbacks, they have gone feral for multiple generations, the over-sized domestic pig has reverted back to some of it wild boar features including huge horse gutting tusks



Deer can be openly hunted too (same with any feral animal) but they don't do much damage environmentally so people only really take them for food.

man is that some pork chops and sausages.....

.308 minimum calibre I assume...

Not sure on exact caliber but a big one

dogs and long knives are just as common, apparently safer, i haven't hunted one but i have been told the problem is even high caliber rarely instant kills and their skull shape means it often deflect of it and often just leaves an angry wounded multi hundred kilo's of pig charging you, people do die from them sometimes.

with the dogs you basically chase it till it is about to fall over, then a lead dog with Armour will try and take it down (basically a distraction) and the hunter moves in quickly with the knife and slashes the throat.

At that size it is probably no good for eating, they are becoming more carnivorous and a side effect is that often that have parasitic worms in their flesh which makes it taste rancid plus dangerous to humans (and even dogs) if not fully cooked and it still tastes bad if fully cooked.
you can see from the size they have no problem taking a lamb or even mid size mammals and reptiles so they are a big pest both to farmers and the environment.

But people try and get the piglets and smaller ones for eating. there is unofficial hunting seasons which correspond to the time the piglets are weening.