Hunting is in a spot of bother

[Spotherisk]

The threat of snares is very handy for getting dog walkers to keep their furbaby on the footpath.

That was the issue in Fingle Woods, when Concrete Pete ran the shoot. There was a footpath, and a lot of random snares. We knew someone lose a dog in a snare.

 

[skinnydipper]

That's what foxes do , I came home one day and all my chickens had been killed by a fox in broad daylight , he only took one.
That fox killed for fun.

You are comparing the instinctual behaviour of a fox with that of a person who kills because they enjoy it?

 

[canteron]

You are comparing the instinctual behaviour of a fox with that of a person who kills because they enjoy it?

Agree and well put - we are meant to be cleverer and to be able to intelligently control our instincts!

 

[Clodagh]

Foxes, if left with their kills, will take and store them for lean times. It is soul destroying when they wipe you out of chickens or whatever but they aren’t doing it for pure fun.

 

[Clodagh]

That's despicable.

Better to put it live to the hounds?

 

[Sandstone1]

That's what foxes do , I came home one day and all my chickens had been killed by a fox in broad daylight , he only took one.
That fox killed for fun.

Is killing for fun not what people who fox hunt do?

 

[ycbm]

Better to put it live to the hounds?

Better not to dig foxes out of earths at all, but go out at night with a gun and shoot the ones that are actually hunting lambs.

My recollection from the 31 years we lived in an "unhunted" the countryside was that the majority of foxes which were shot were the ones the RSPCA had released in the previous few days. They made easy targets, being urban foxes they were huge, unwary and didn't have a clue about hunting live prey. Jim got 5 one night on my friend's land on a Friday. Word went round when they were released on Wednesday at peak lambing time!
.

 

[meleeka]

Better not to dig foxes out of earths at all, but go out at night with a gun and shoot the ones that are actually hunting lambs.

My recollection from the 31 years we lived in an "unhunted" the countryside was that the majority of foxes which were shot were the ones the RSPCA had released in the previous few days. They made easy targets, being urban foxes they were huge, unwary and didn't have a clue about hunting live prey. Jim got 5 one night on my friend's land on a Friday. Word went round when they were released on Wednesday at peak lambing time!
.

So they released urban foxes in the country during lambing time?!

 

[ycbm]

So they released urban foxes in the country during lambing time?!

They did.

Both illegal and utterly irresponsible, but the donors won't stand for them being humanely killed and they can't home them all, there are millions of them. It makes me laugh when really ardent supporters of hunting say they are doing fox conservation. I can't name a more successful mammal species at adaptation.
.

 

[meleeka]

They did.

Both illegal and utterly irresponsible, but the donors won't stand for them being humanely killed and they can't home them all, there are millions of them. It makes me laugh when really ardent supporters of hunting say they are doing fox conservation. I can't name a more successful species at adaptation.
.

I bet those foxes couldn’t believe their luck!

 

[ycbm]

I bet those foxes couldn’t believe their luck!

The only one I saw looked very anxious. He trotted up and down past my gate on the road not knowing where to go or what to do. It was obvious he was urban, he was the biggest fox I've ever seen by at least 50%, probably nearly twice the size of anything I've seen that grew up in the countryside having to hunt and kill for its food.
.

 

[Sandstone1]

They did.

Both illegal and utterly irresponsible, but the donors won't stand for them being humanely killed and they can't home them all, there are millions of them. It makes me laugh when really ardent supporters of hunting say they are doing fox conservation. I can't name a more successful mammal species at adaptation.
.

I do not agree with releasing urban foxes to the countryside at all, however pro hunting can not in one breath say they hunt for pest control and in the next say its for conservation...
Fox hunts do it for fun. Plain and simple. If they had stuck to the law to get their fun they would not be in this position now.

 

[equinerebel]

That's what foxes do , I came home one day and all my chickens had been killed by a fox in broad daylight , he only took one.
That fox killed for fun.

It only took one because it was disturbed, by you coming home.

Please do share your thoughts on why it's not okay for a fox to kill half a dozen or so chickens to survive, and the sentence should therefore be death by hounds, but it is acceptable for humans to raise mass poultry for slaughter.

There are plenty of animals who kill seemingly excess prey on feral instinct.

 

[Juniper Jack]

Better to put it live to the hounds?

Of course not. Let him go.

 

[Abacus]

The only one I saw looked very anxious. He trotted up and down past my gate on the road not knowing where to go or what to do. It was obvious he was urban, he was the biggest fox I've ever seen by at least 50%, probably nearly twice the size of anything I've seen that grew up in the countryside having to hunt and kill for its food.
.

We had one hanging around the yard once, the rspca (useless clueless bunch) used to release them on the lane. Poor thing was skinny and clearly didn’t know how to find food that wasn’t leftover takeaways. She stared at the baby bunnies in the ditch like she didn’t have the instruction manual. Cruel.

 

[suestowford]

Yes, we had one living in an open shed for a short while. Very confused fox, unable to find enough food. I found it dead under our water tank one day, poor thing.

 

[Jemima50]

It only took one because it was disturbed, by you coming home.

Please do share your thoughts on why it's not okay for a fox to kill half a dozen or so chickens to survive, and the sentence should therefore be death by hounds, but it is acceptable for humans to raise mass poultry for slaughter.

There are plenty of animals who kill seemingly excess prey on feral instinct.

Nope !
The fox was long gone

 

[Dave's Mam]

The only one I saw looked very anxious. He trotted up and down past my gate on the road not knowing where to go or what to do. It was obvious he was urban, he was the biggest fox I've ever seen by at least 50%, probably nearly twice the size of anything I've seen that grew up in the countryside having to hunt and kill for its food.
.

I had one come in my garden last year. He was huge. I live in suburbs. I'll try & find pic.

Edit - Pic is too fuzzy.

 

[skinnydipper]

Nope !
The fox was long gone

Maybe he was chased off by your JRT, the one who attacks the postman

 

[CrunchieBoi]

Nope !
The fox was long gone

Killing and storing surplus prey when it becomes available is a survival strategy that's used by plenty of different predators, not just ones that have access to unsecured chicken coops.

 

[Goldie's mum]

That's what foxes do , I came home one day and all my chickens had been killed by a fox in broad daylight , he only took one.
That fox killed for fun.

Sorry you lost your chickens, happened to me too, I know how upsetting it is. Foxes kill everything at once out of instinct because their ancestors lived in cold climates where food was hard to come by but easy to store (frozen) once you found it. Mink, wolverines etc still do the same in their natural habitat - kill everything then keep going back to eat it frozen is how they survive the winter.
" They did it first" is at best a very childish excuse for wrongdoing but especially so when talking about animal cruelty.

 

[Juniper Jack]

Looking at some of the videos online it's like Cavaliers and Roundheads all over again.

 

[equinerebel]

Nope !
The fox was long gone

So how do you know it was a fox? I had chickens killed by a badger. Domestic dogs also kill chickens.

 

[rabatsa]

When word gets round here about released urban foxes the local shoot take metal plates and some tins of dog food. They make a big show of putting out the food and then sit in their cars and wait. They have been known to kill double figures of foxes some nights. No local fox would be caught that way.

 

[Caol Ila]

When word gets round here about released urban foxes the local shoot take metal plates and some tins of dog food. They make a big show of putting out the food and then sit in their cars and wait. They have been known to kill double figures of foxes some nights. No local fox would be caught that way.

That's sad.

I love seeing our urban foxes. There are many. Our wee suburb of Glasgow near the canal is fox heaven. I enjoy seeing their little furry faces when I drive home at night.

 

[Tiddlypom]

According to the antis there is another report on hunting to be aired on the 7pm Channel 4 news tonight.

More to come on the Warwickshire Hunt/Warwickshire Police cosy arrangement secret protocol.

 

[Millionwords]

Seems like the secret protocol has vanished, and Warwickshire Police don't bother investigating police reports of crimes if they're made by people who don't live in Warwickshire... Unless of course they mean they don't bother looking into only reports about hunting... If made by non locals ... Clearly how reports of crimes should be dealt with.

 

[Sandstone1]

Warwickshire Hunt will appear in court over alleged killing of fox in the county

Both Benjamin Halsall from Shipston-on-Stour and Warwickshire Hunt Limited have been charged

www.banburyguardian.co.uk

 

[Millionwords]

Warwickshire Hunt will appear in court over alleged killing of fox in the county

Both Benjamin Halsall from Shipston-on-Stour and Warwickshire Hunt Limited have been charged

www.banburyguardian.co.uk

Interesting that they've charged the hunt as a corporate body as well as an individual.

Interesting it's the same hunt with a "temporary" agreement with the police...

 

[Millionwords]

Greg Baker, huntsman of the Carmarthenshire-based Llandeilo Farmers Hunt, was today sentenced to 20 weeks prison, suspended for 2 years, 150 hours of unpaid work plus a £150 surcharge after being found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a number of animals. He did not receive a disqualification.

When the RSPCA raided Baker’s squalid property, they found five horses suffering from extreme neglect. All were severely underweight and suffering from lice infestations and rain scald - a painful condition caused by prolonged exposure to the elements. One of the horses - a Shetland pony - weighed just 60 kg when rescued. She put on 20 kg when provided with basic care and nutrition by the RSPCA.

Additionally, a foxhound was found to have a prolapsed penis and had to be treated with methadone - the highest level of pain relief licensed for dogs - despite Baker’s protestation that no such anaesthetic was needed. In September 2023, the HSA broke the news that the Llandeilo Farmers Hunt had folded. Since then, there have been persistent rumours that the hunt would reform if Baker was acquitted. Fortunately, his barrister, fellow hunter and long-serving master of the Emlyn Beagles Matthew Paul, failed in this endeavour.