Opinions on hunting

Persephone

Persephone

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I am extremely interested in this, please bear with me.

If you were a non hunting rider when you joined HHO, have your views and opinions on this subject stayed the same?

Personally I have found that my views have changed as my knowledge on the subject has increased. As you would hope I have read and digested both points of view and made my own decision.

I wonder how many non hunting riders now hunt as a result of having more accurate information than that which is normally provided by the media?

I would be very interested to hear anybody's views!
 
I had been hunting on a trial day (after the hunting ban) on my horse when he was 5/6, that was before I joined HHO.

Since joining I haven't been again :p

Thats just coincidence though, I am just not a hunting person because a) I like being inside on a miserable winters day b) I don't really agree with the whole thing (I know killing vermin is necessary but traditional hunting was always ineffective at best imho) and c) I can control my horse, so don't really fit in :p :D :D
 
I'm a non-hunting rider, mainly because the area of Scotland I come from has no hunt anymore; I'm neutral about hunting in terms of morality.
My views haven't changed at all since I joined HHO. But then I haven't learned anything new - I am one of the sad people who has read all the reports, laws etc (had to for work) anyway.
S :D
 
Oooh I do love a good hunting debate :D
Ok.. I am pro hunting and hunt myself
I think there is a MASSIVE misunderstanding about hunting by SOME people who are against it... what annoys me is when people are anti-hunting but haven't bothered to find out about it.. (e.g. friends at school)
But i think, in general, those on HHO that are anti-hunting actually know what they are talking about and i respect their views on the subject...
But i say KEEP HUNTING!! :D

ETS.. i haven't really learnt anything new about it from HHO
 
I am anti hunting, but having read some well informed reasons on here as to why hunting should be allowed , i have to say i really didn't understand it fully. My initial reaction was one that i suspect many people have: poor foxes, how mean and what a bunch of blood thirsty loonies :D But now although i wouldn't take part ( i am also vegetarian and any killing of any animal is not on for me) I understand more as to why people do it. Still don't feel it is right to chase the poor thing for ages whilst it is petrified etc, but i do know nothing is black and white and I accept that There are many 'country ways' i do not understand and therefore i should learn or research into them before judging or forming an opinion. Thats all i have to say on that.:D
P.s It must be very exhilarating for both rider and horse.
 
non hunting,before joining.
Still hold same view on it.Don't mind fox etc being killed by hounds just don't think it should be a classed as a 'nice day out' for folk.Probably because I have never felt the urge to chase something down with the aim of catching it and killing it and really can't see why someone would enjoy that. Oh I do understand the horse going over country/jumping/galloping thing but the rest nah.
 
I have never hunted but I would be far more likely to now to due to the ban on killing with dogs. No amount of propaganda on either side would make me change my mind on that aspect - hunting with dogs has never sat right with me and I would never have done it myself. However there is no easy solution of how to cull foxes etc, as some factions maintain they must be culled. Hunt supporters hold up figures stating more people are joining them since the ban, which supposedly shows support for hunting, but I think its more likely to be due to the ban rather than people joining and trying to over throw it. HHO hasnt changed my mind as although Ive been hanging about reading ithe forums for a couple of months Ive only just signed up.
 
sarahsum1 said:
I am anti hunting, but having read some well informed reasons on here as to why hunting should be allowed , i have to say i really didn't understand it fully. My initial reaction was one that i suspect many people have: poor foxes, how mean and what a bunch of blood thirsty loonies :D But now although i wouldn't take part ( i am also vegetarian and any killing of any animal is not on for me) I understand more as to why people do it. Still don't feel it is right to chase the poor thing for ages whilst it is petrified etc, but i do know nothing is black and white and I accept that There are many 'country ways' i do not understand and therefore i should learn or research into them before judging or forming an opinion. Thats all i have to say on that.:D
P.s It must be very exhilarating for both rider and horse.
Click to expand...

This is an example of people being anti-hunting BUT being open minded and trying to understand it! I like :D
 
Hunted pre ban (not often as not had a horse I would trust in the field) I would go again if I was sure the mare would behave, but think it would blow her mind. I have no problem with the hunting of foxes and cannot understand how people don't have a problem with the fox being killed, but don't like the idea of people riding to hounds to do it. I do have a bit of a problem with people making snide remarks to supposedly bolster their argument, but I suppose that is always going to happen.
 
I was and still am pro hunting and have followed several hunt packs in my area, I do not ride but follow on foot. I understand why some are against hunting and respect their choice and would never push my opinions on anyone.
 
I have always been pro hunting, from.. erm...a very, very young age, having my first day out aged 4...
I can see why some people don't agree with it, but knew most of these arguments pre-joining this forum.
I haven't really learnt anything new re. why people agree/disagree, and it will never change my mind on it.
What really annoys me is people at school, having never hunted and often don't ride, who really don't have a clue attempting to argue against me but they come up with the most extraordinary ****, that really annoys me.
Fair play to those who have tried it or understand it well and still don't agree... but making an opinion with lack of knowledge really pisses me off...
 
I have changed my mind about hunting over the years but not due to HHO.
I used to be anti but changed my mind when I was on a yard with lots of people who hunted and I found our more about it from them. I came to the conclusion that foxes needed to be killed and that while there was no nice way of doing it, hunting was as good as any. At the time my horse was a bit woosy cross country and a couple of people suggested that a bit of hunting would sort him out. I did a season with the local hunt just before the ban and it made a huge difference to him - couldn't get any sense out of him on the flat at all though!
I haven't hunted since the ban partly due to cost, but mainly due to the fact that once my horse had been a few times he turned into an uncontrolable nutcase!
 
Hullabaloo said:
I have changed my mind about hunting over the years but not due to HHO.
I used to be anti but changed my mind when I was on a yard with lots of people who hunted and I found our more about it from them. I came to the conclusion that foxes needed to be killed and that while there was no nice way of doing it, hunting was as good as any. At the time my horse was a bit woosy cross country and a couple of people suggested that a bit of hunting would sort him out. I did a season with the local hunt just before the ban and it made a huge difference to him - couldn't get any sense out of him on the flat at all though!
I haven't hunted since the ban partly due to cost, but mainly due to the fact that once my horse had been a few times he turned into an uncontrolable nutcase!
Click to expand...

It's true hunting is so good if they're nervous xc... made the world of difference to my old pony...
I also find it trashes their flatwork!! Starting schooling my pony again after the hunting season and she has (and I have!) forgotten everything :D :D
And agree with the uncontrollable nutcase bit!! Both current and last pony turned into one out hunting :D :D
 
i'm pro hunting. i don't really care about the morality. it's been going on for years and there are worse things happening in the world.
i've always read Horse and Hound magazine and since owning my first proper horse (lol) i've been on the forums and yes i think this has encouraged me more. i will go next season.
i think it could be really beneficial for horse and rider whatever discipline they wish to do.
 
I became pro hunting years ago, after having the massive misfortune to run into a whole bunch of extremely unpleasant sabs when I was out hacking ( and taking a friends 12 year old daughter out with me). Truly one of the most scary experiences ever and as a result, I came off the fence, did my own research and become massively pro. Funny thing is one of my closest friends is very anti yet strongly supports capital punishment whereas as I support hunting and am very anti capital punishment! Plus which, with farmers in the family and losing your chickens regularly to foxes, means you have a slightly different view. I do however, absolutely respect the opinion of those who do not support it and will always listen to a well reasoned argument.
 
I don't care much for hunting in the participation sense, I like watching the hounds when they pass, but find following on a horse unpleasant - I don't like crowds and am not much for galloping across country. However, I am very pro-hunting:) in the sense that I wholeheartedly support the right to do it. As to the poor fox - they have to be culled and if it seems cruel that dogs rip them apart, unfortunately nature is very cruel indeed... Ever watched your cat killing a rat?
I haven't learnt anything new from HHO though...
 
I have never really had a problem with the ethos of hunting, I don't like the idea of chasing a fox with a pack of hounds but | can just about take on board some of the arguments for it but what I cannot bear is the absolute irritation and upheaval that occurs when the hunt is around. I have lived in 3 different counties and the hunt is always the same. The people that follow seem to have no regard for your livestock, they trespass over your land, they make a mess of all the local bridleways and they are so arrogant about it. If you dare to challenge them you are written off as an anti and the verbal abuse if horrific. I am all for live and let live but I am sorry, 35-50 people on horseback, blowing a horn, hounds baying does not make life easy for local horse owning people. I cannot use the woods around me since the hunt started in November, they have completely trashed all the bridleways because there is honestly nowhere for them to go apart from a very small area of land. I can appreciate that in the Shires and open country it is part of the local community but up here in Sussex/Surrey it is a joke. They canter down the roads, back and forth and I cannot see any pleasure in it, apart from the danger to horses and hounds with traffic. I do feel that if hunting is to continue it has to be in areas where there is enough room not to antagonise and irritate the local population and the areas closer to London have really got to realise that they can;t carry on as they used to.
 
I disagreed with hunting before joining and still do, but I feel I have gained a greater understanding of the pro hunting point of view since joining HHO. I am another who had read anything and everything on the argument surrounding the ban and whilst my conclusions and my opinions on the facts as I see them have not really changed, I have found the debates on the forum to generally be high quality with some interesting arguments. I have also learned more about the behaviour of some of the hunt sabs and have been disgusted.

I would go out with drag hounds or blood hounds, but not ever with fox or staghounds, even with the law as it currently stands. The attraction for me would be the riding and the social side.
 
Gosh this is opening a can of worms innit!!! Brill, go for it. I live in the country and always have done. Historically my family, certainly on my mothers side, are from farming stock, so I guess I've grown up with hunting really; I never had a problem with it and always saw the need for it.

Country life is not all about sweetness and light; its hard, Bl@@dy hard, and sometimes tough decisions have to be faced. When you are a farmer trying to raise good healthy lambs and you have to stand over the flock with a shotgun all night so the fox doesn't come in and kill (please note not eat) your newborn lambs and leaves them all mutilated the next morning, you will have a different take on hunting. People that are anti-hunting don't see (dont want to see??) the unpalatable part of living in the country. Nature is horrible very often, and extremely cruel too.

I remember when I was little, I had some Muscovey ducks, and had started to view them as pets; then the fox came in - and mutilated them and left their carcases, it was horrible.

The other issue is welfare; a few years ago the foxes here all had fox-mange (contagious to dogs too - lots of dogs got it) - and this was basically because there were too many of them and they'd got disease-ridden. Hunting is a good way of ensuring the fittest of the species survives and there is simply no other way to ensure the survival of the fittest. If you shoot the foxes, you can't guarantee that you haven't shot the fittest one around can you.

Another issue: everyone is so darn well concerned about dog poo!! - and the resultant fears about hygiene and disease, BUT there are many foxes now living in the towns - so what are you town-dwellers going to do when you are overrun with foxes and are fed up with horrible stinky poo everywhere???!!! Just a thought.

Unfortunately in recent years hunting has got to be a political issue which has been used as a football, which is a shame coz the real issues never ever get talked about.
 
I am anti hunting and unfortunately have not learned anything on here to change my mind, infact probably pushing me even more so!

Though I will say one thing, whilst I am very against hunting and all that, I would love to go in a horsey sense (i.e galloping across country and jumping whatever is in the way, as opossed to a pre set path) I wouldn't go but can definitely see the thrill of it from a riders point of view.

x
 
I have mixed views on this. I would never hunt foxes myself as I just don't approve of killing animals (I am also a vegetarian and have quite strong views on this). However i do go drag hunting and have been out with foxhound packs though this is since the ban so only following trails. I have thoroughly enjoyed these days out, as do my horses so will definately go again.

I know a lot of people who are pro-hunting and have no problem with this, they have their oppinions and I am not going to force my own onto them, everyone is different and this is a good thing. I can understand their reasons for hunting and wanting to reduce fox numbers, make hunting to kill legal again etc. In a similar way, the man who owns my yard likes to go pigeon shooting at weekends, I would never dream of doing this as it is just not me at all! But if it makes him happy I am not going to stop him. Recently I found a dying rabbit (with myxomatosis) hiding in the hay barn, I knew there was nothing that could be done for it and it needed to be put down but I couldn't do it, the act of killing is beyond me! So I went and found the yard owner and he broke it's neck, so it died instantly, it wasn't nice to see but needed to be done. So we need these tough country sorts!
 
Pre ban I didnt ride and was anti hunting mainly because of my parents opinions-who might i add have never hunted or ridden or researched it. Then when I got abit older and started to ride at my local riding school once a weekI did abit of research and was fascinated. Sadly after three lessons mum cut them short.

Cut a long story short I took a job as a trainee groom for a year and last week having been riding for 7 months went out to the cotsworlds last meet They were extremely friendly and accomdating and most welcoming. Having never done anything like that it was experience however I am and always will be now pro hunting and will continue to support the efforts to FIGHT THE BAN and are planning to be out as many time as possible next season.

Sorry for the long winded essay!
 
I've never liked the idea of hunting, the thought of chasing something - anything - with a pack of dogs chills me to the bone. None of the farmers I know, or am related to, agree with hunting and have their lands preserved against hunts.

I've heard/read the arguments about how foxes will kill and mutilate ducks, chickens, sheep, calves. But so do stray dogs, and dogs that are let out unsupervised and I don't see anyone chasing those dogs down for the benefit of the chickens, ducks, sheep and calves. A farmer I know who has free range chickens told me they were more at risk from dogs than foxes and he'd had to chase strays away many a night, he also said it was very easy to fox proof a chicken house, the fox will give up and go away as it has a natural fear of being caught, whereas a dog doesn't have that fear and will persist in it's efforts.

Hunts frequently say they don't catch many foxes - doesn't that make it thoroughly ineffective? Or that they only catch old, sick and lame foxes - thereby leaving young fit, healthy, foxes to pass on their DNA. And let's not forget the urban foxes that are now living in towns, don't see too many hunts pursuing them.

There's also the damage done by hunts, fences getting broken, ground being messed up, livestock being disturbed and animals other than foxes being caught and killed - these being the reasons cited by farmers for preserving their lands.

I've never come across a pro argument that has made me change my views, and I doubt I ever will, I'm not even keen on the idea of galloping across country with no idea where you're going! if I'm going to do cross country, I'll stick to a competition
 
I knew all the arguments for and against hunting when I joined so I have not changed my view- I do think that the pro hunting people could really make a better argument for themselves though by being a little more scientific. Eg, they don't kill many (why do you think it is effective then?). We only kill the weak ones (surely you are then going to create a "superfox"). Why not stick to the facts such as- the hounds mainly follow a scent, they don't "chase" the fox for 90 minutes at a time, the foxes do die reasonably quickly (although I wouldn't say humanely) when caught. I also agree with what someone else here said- if you question anything the hunt do, such as cantering along the road next to a field of horses etc.. they yell and swear at you! I have seen little old ladies in cardigans and glasses watching the hunt (obviously they are not pro, they are bunny hugger types but not causing anyone any problems) and they were verbally abused, called the "c" word and their cars were blocked in!! Seriously, pro hunt groups are not doing themselves any favours... Oh and another thing- the ban? My bottom.... I know one hunt who has taken no notice at all of it, I'm quite sure there are more.
 
Never been on a hunt. No plans to do so. Subscribe to H+H, but hunting pages never read.

Along with a number of other local horse owners, I'm less than impressed with the local hunt's communication skills. I'm suppose to be on the notification list, but found out the hunt was local when they trotted past my horses's field. Yes, my horses were out, and yes my horses totally trashed their field. Fortunately, the ex county level whp has spavins so couldn't jump out to follow, and the bred to jump (Farn, Furioso, Luckyboy lines) warmblood has never hunted. Not great hunting PR.
 
I'm Pro hunting, and have been since my first day out when I was 4, I've hunted nearly religiously every week since last year, when I realised that the more I took Ballet, the more she turned into a Loony, now we try to keep it to once a month or less....
 
Anti hunting and views have not changed, but subject is so charged I rarely discuss it because many people get really upset and I have a lot of friends who hunt. I don't go into HF because I know this is a pro hunting magazine so I think it's unfair to go into HF and give people a hard time.

If anyone is interested the reason I am anti is the enjoyment of the hunt. I can accept that some animals are pests and should be killed, and I can accept that hunting may be the best way, but I think it should be done reluctantly and not as a 'nice day out'.
 
I have always, from a child, been completely anti-hunting but over the last few years have changed my feelings. Not because of the forum but, I think probably, because I have grown up a bit! I hate the thought of the chase from the fox point of view, the kill doesnt bother me because I am pretty sure it will be very quick (obviously that doesn't happen these days anyway!) but I can't imagine the terror the fox must feel as it is running away. Having said that, I was told whilst following our local hunt on foot about the fox running into cover and another smaller fox running out to continue the chase - we just missed it - I was gutted. I do firmly believe that only sick, weak or young ones will ever be caught and that is why we have healthy foxes in this country. I also believe the hunt is a tradition that should be left alone, I have never been and don't want to but for those so inclined it must be a fantastic way to spend a day at one with your horse. I remember going to a watch a boxing day meet and being blown away by the atmosphere there. So, whilst I don't like the thought of it I am no longer an anti and would vote to support it.
 
Love it, love it ,love it :)

Meet great people and nothing beats that adrenaline rush going flat out out hunting.
 
I was anti before and i am still anti now. HHO has not provided any more valid arguments for hunting IMO and the arguments on hunting forum (which i rarely visit because of such) are petty mud slinging matches.

Fox hunts do not kill enough foxes to make much of a dent in the population. Humane ( and i mean humane) traps which are checked very frequently would be a much more productive way of killing foxes. It's hardly productive to go several hours once a week and only kill one piddly fox is it?

That's my view and i'm sorry but i have not seen anything which has convinced me to change it. Hunting is for the barbaric pleasure and that's the only use it has.

I would however love to go on a drag hunt, i think it would possibly be one of the most fun experiences you could have on horseback. To be fair, these are the only types of hunt which should be happening since it is ILLEGAL, i think too many people forget that.
 
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