- Matthew Axon
- Penzance
- United Kingdom
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Is fox hunting ethically correct?
Before I begin I would like to tell you my point of view on this issue so that you will notice the bias when it appears: I am against it.
Here in the United Kingdom fox hunting continues to happen. Packs of dogs leading people riding horses continue to relentlessly hunt foxes. This, many hunters claim, is done for the "removal of a pest". Yet many people I know personally enjoy every moment of it! They say "if you're going to work why not make it fun" or something else along those lines. Some have even gotten upset with how I disagree with what I see as a violent murder instead of their view as an enjoyable sport.
In fox hunting a man will often go around the area before the beginning of the hunt and block up the foxes dens. Once the hunt starts the foxes will attempt to flee from the dogs by entering the nearest den they know of. These dens are, of course, closed. This forces the fox to continue fleeing from the pack of dogs at its heels. Should the fox find a burrow or den and manage to enter it then someone called a "terrier man" will attempt to flush out or dig out the fox.
Why do I find that cruel? One reason is because foxes are built for speed, not endurance. They will outrun the dogs for quite sometime before losing their energy and being descended upon by the pack. Another is because we are killing and animal that we consider a "pest" and yet is a natural part of the ecosystem here. Wolves were a "pest" in the United States and look at what happened to them, hunted to near extinction! Is it right to kill a fox because it's hungry and we're building on top of its den and putting farms around its home? Is it right to kill anything on such grounds?
What do you all think about this issue? You have heard my overly biased view and it is up for discussion.
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Christophe Cop 500+
As for animals & suffering: better not to fox hunt in such a case. But what about fishing? and eating meat... or hunting in general... be consequential when you judge others
I don't really mind some kind of folklore that still has some cruel elements...
Maybe man hunting (for sports, not with killing) who are dressed up as fox might be more fun...
Juliette Zahn 50+
Matthew Axon
Christophe Cop 500+
Foxes can be a nuisance for some people, and areas where they are protected sometimes cause a population growth that the locals tend to dislike... (Especially those with chickens or small stock animals).
Hunting can sometimes keep a population in balance, so there might be some valid reasons to eliminate a few. The way of doing this... might give objections. I guess the traditional (cruel) way is probably more fun than shooting them with tranquilizing darts and killing them softly...
I do however feel like playing the devil's advocate here... On one hand, I'm not interesting in participating in such a practice, on the other hand, I don't consider it the worst mischief of the world... goose-riding (ripping of the head of life gees, now done with dead gees) is a local tradition where I live, and the Toreador in Spain also kill the bull in a rather cruel way, and dog and rooster fights still exist too.
We don't have gladiator games anymore, but sports have replaced that.
We humans have a cruel side, and we need some way to live it out... (though a placebo is often the better way to deal with it)
Dog races have a fake rabbit or hare now too...
Sport fishers indeed throw back the fish (though some fish get harmed or die in the process... and I imagine a pierced lip instead of a snack is an unpleasant surprise)
I think the fox hunting tradition is a dying one anyway... not supporting it will probably help in it's demise (as well as protesting, though banning it would be a bit radical)
Matthew Axon
Christophe Cop 500+
I do kill mosquitoes for disliking their existence... though their consciousness is obviously more limited than vertebrates.
As for killing: I would recommend everybody who eats meat, to at least kill one of those beasts yourself (preferably after raising them first)... you'll learn a lot!
As for taking over: we are part of nature and no species cares for the habitat of others... as a matter of fact, humans are the only ones who do. Look at the fox population in England: after a big decline up into the 80ies, it started to grow again due to environmental issues.
to conclude: in an ideal society; we would be less cruel. We wouldn't be human (as we know it) anymore though. If you really want to go for the eradication of fox hunting: go for it! protest, organize petitions, reason people out of it, talk to the hunters, vote for the person who is willing to push it on the political agenda,...
Matthew Axon
I too kill mosquitoes! More, however, on the base that they can kill me with diseases they carry over the simplicity that they are a pest.
Yes, every species does want control. But think about this: We're the only species killing every other species at once. Through pollution we are literally killing our own world. You even go on to claim that if we didn't kill things we'd lose our humanity. Why, then, can we not kill each other? Were I to kill an animal against the law I may get a sentence from a month to a few years. Whereas if I killed a human I'd be jailed for years. If you support cruelty and killing instinct in humans you must also denounce the current crime system we have.
Christophe Cop 500+
I'm not implying to revert to barbary... Nor do I support cruelty, but I can somewhat understand that some people do need to vent it in order to prevent worse from happening.
Anyway. I'm not going to defend those hunters, they should defend themselves. I tried to give some arguments that might make you think with some more nuances.
I do value the life of a person more than the life of an animal (well, I can think of exceptions)
Matthew Axon