Clodagh
Well-Known Member
You romantise them. They run their dogs on hares for the gamble. They leave the bodies lying in the fields.
The Unspeakable?
- Thread starter OldFogie
- Start date
You romantise them. They run their dogs on hares for the gamble. They leave the bodies lying in the fields.
OldFogie
Provocateur
What an amazing collection of replies! Now to return to my original thoughts that at least one poster thought homophobic and elitist - it wasn't entirely my idea - yes, I recounted it here but I must credit a certain presenter on L.B.C. radio in the wee small hours for quoting Oscar Wilde's very famous lines as if he'd never heard anything so prosaic in his life. Well, probably so, as I can remember when the erudite columnist Ludovic Kennedy got himself into much tepid water by called all disc jockey ramblings as - "the mindless meanderings of the mid morning morons"! Oh ho ho, imagine writing something like that on here!!!
No, no I'd say to the reply poster - no homophobia intended - only pointing out a rather obvious irony that Mr Wilde was imprisoned for offending the law of his times and a criminal conviction usually precludes ones participation in further polite society, let alone taking side swipes at those engaged in legal practices.
Now, running through a few points - "cubbing" - some folk seem to think that this was aimed at exterminating fox cubs - I rather think this was to teach them to run away (I put it to anyone, that if every earth was eradicated every year, the entire population would be gone in less than a decade) a harsh education perhaps but as I mentioned earlier Hunting was looked at as replacing a cavalry charge and as we now live in gentler times I'll point out that the cavalry did not do a little ballet with sword in front of a camera as they do in films. The cavalry charged against ranks of foot soldiers in the last part of a battle - e.i. when they were running away, they acted like an equine assisted combine harvester, not a pretty sight. Don't forget that all hunts started as Staghounds long before the definition - in the old days if you went on a hunt - you were after a stag or in really ancient times a boar. I have some very old hunting books by one of the Berkeleys dating from the early nineteenth century in which he bemoans the advance of the railways ruining the possiblity of good runs - he once chased a stag from Richmond Park to Lady Hillingdon's living room - that's about fifteen miles. Interestingly he also invented the first box or at least a sealable wagon with which he had men "save" the stag - one that would run like that was too good to waste even if you love venison.
As for the elitism - well some would be look at hunting in that way because of the strong connections to the landed gentry but I can think of at least one gent who has spent more on a set of sails for his racing yacht than many a pack costs in a lifetime and you can pop down to Hamble and jump from boat to boat to cross the water bank to bank and not touch a craft under £100k yet no one has ever protested at their outrageous display of wealth. How about Grand Prix racing? They regularly have 100,000 spectators watching high fuel cars poluting the planet for nothing - again no protests yet the owner of Formula One is one of the world's richest.
Coursing used to be considered a high sport by poor and rich alike - the present greyhound started off as a "gazehound" bred for coursing which in turn led to greyhound racing - now that has been hammered for animal welfare in the past.
Missing my dinner now so I'm off for tonight.
No, no I'd say to the reply poster - no homophobia intended - only pointing out a rather obvious irony that Mr Wilde was imprisoned for offending the law of his times and a criminal conviction usually precludes ones participation in further polite society, let alone taking side swipes at those engaged in legal practices.
Now, running through a few points - "cubbing" - some folk seem to think that this was aimed at exterminating fox cubs - I rather think this was to teach them to run away (I put it to anyone, that if every earth was eradicated every year, the entire population would be gone in less than a decade) a harsh education perhaps but as I mentioned earlier Hunting was looked at as replacing a cavalry charge and as we now live in gentler times I'll point out that the cavalry did not do a little ballet with sword in front of a camera as they do in films. The cavalry charged against ranks of foot soldiers in the last part of a battle - e.i. when they were running away, they acted like an equine assisted combine harvester, not a pretty sight. Don't forget that all hunts started as Staghounds long before the definition - in the old days if you went on a hunt - you were after a stag or in really ancient times a boar. I have some very old hunting books by one of the Berkeleys dating from the early nineteenth century in which he bemoans the advance of the railways ruining the possiblity of good runs - he once chased a stag from Richmond Park to Lady Hillingdon's living room - that's about fifteen miles. Interestingly he also invented the first box or at least a sealable wagon with which he had men "save" the stag - one that would run like that was too good to waste even if you love venison.
As for the elitism - well some would be look at hunting in that way because of the strong connections to the landed gentry but I can think of at least one gent who has spent more on a set of sails for his racing yacht than many a pack costs in a lifetime and you can pop down to Hamble and jump from boat to boat to cross the water bank to bank and not touch a craft under £100k yet no one has ever protested at their outrageous display of wealth. How about Grand Prix racing? They regularly have 100,000 spectators watching high fuel cars poluting the planet for nothing - again no protests yet the owner of Formula One is one of the world's richest.
Coursing used to be considered a high sport by poor and rich alike - the present greyhound started off as a "gazehound" bred for coursing which in turn led to greyhound racing - now that has been hammered for animal welfare in the past.
Missing my dinner now so I'm off for tonight.
AdorableAlice
Well-Known Member
Happy New Year and can I have whatever you are on please. Even with paragraphs I am struggling to make head or toe of your comments.
popsdosh
Well-Known Member
Brown hare endangered species?? They are still borderline pest in this area (think rabbit with 3 times the appetite) At times we are forced to have to shoot them as much as we hate it! It is one of our only ways of stopping the travelling community illegally coursing and the huge amount of damage they do when coursing. There is a huge difference between organised coursing and what is going on illegally as there is no discrimination in what is taken. The worst months for us is april as they bring out young dogs just as the wheat is getting high enough to slow the hares down its just mass murder.
A lot of hares have gone from moorland to a great extent due to the exploding Buzzard population. In recent times they have netted many hares from here to repopulate some areas however ours flourish but they soon wouldnt if their numbers got out of control.
Alec Swan
Well-Known Member
There was a time when they did, just as when men went poaching and it was to feed families and as recently as 40+ years ago, but now despite what we're told, either the will or the need has gone. Now, those who trespass in pursuit of game with dogs, mostly do so for the devilment.
Alec.
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
oh yes I know it is done for gambling now. We find dead hares around sometimes, although not nearly so many live ones around as there used to be.