The Bloody Truth about Fox Hunting
by Robin Roth
British blue bloods are seeing red, and it's not just the blood of the foxes they kill. "Tally-ho!" is no longer the cry of the English countryside. In England, the trumpet is sounding on the fox hunt and its accompanying way of life, as hunters are being hunted by animal rights activists and labor party leaders calling for an end to the centuries-old tradition. "The unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable," was Oscar Wilde's description of fox hunters, a group who, like the royal family and Britain's conservative parliament, are fast falling from public favor. Juxtaposing the cruelties of class with the dictates of custom, fox hunting, like the monarchy, is just another outmoded British tradition.
There are roughly 200 official fox hunts in England, entertaining about 50,000 Britons, and translating to the deaths of an estimated 13,000 foxes and 6,000 fox cubs each year. Belying the barbarities of Britain's oh-so-civilized upper class, fox hunting has come under attack both in England and the United States, where it has increasingly become a favorite pastime of new moneyed interests with old money snob appeal. While British support for the hunt is on the decline, it is an increasingly popular "sport" in the United States., where there are an estimated 171 fox hunting clubs, with 20,000 registered members.
From the commencement of the hunting season in November to its end in April, fox hunters terrorize the fox population, in hunts which typically last from late morning to tea time. Chased by numerous hunters and hounds, and often, radio-equipped trucks for tracking, the fox usually dies an agonizing death after hours of pursuit. As a group called "earthstoppers" usually fill every visible fox hole the night before the hunt, the hunted fox has no means of escape, and is forced to flee until exhaustion. Hunting hounds are bred for endurance, not speed, which means that each fox hunt can last as long as two hours, until the fox is finally seized, and if lucky, shot, before being thrown to the hounds. Sometimes, the fox is literally eaten alive by the dogs, torn to pieces, with the tail, feet and head usually taken as trophy. Some hunts still engage in the practice of "blooding," where the foxes' blood is smeared on the faces of those witnessing their first kill, usually children.
In Britain, the League Against Cruel Sports leads the appeal against fox hunting and other bloodsports, followed by the House of Commons. In July of 1995, the House of Commons unanimously agreed to the Wild Mammals Protection Bill, introduced by John McFall MP, which sought to outlaw certain kinds of cruelty to free-roaming, or wild mammals. Although the bill did not specifically outlaw hunting with hounds, and ran out of time due to wrecking amendments submitted by pro-hunting conservatives, it marks the first time the House of Commons has voted on principal, by a vote of 253-to-0, for the abolition of hunting and snaring. Plus, hunters had to admit their bloodsports could be deemed tortuous in a court of law. Alan Meale MP, a longtime supporter of the League, has resubmitted the bill in its original form. If the bill finally passes, for the first time in English history, all non-domestic animals will be protected from cruelty, making it criminal to "cruelly kick, beat, impale, crush, burn or drown" any free-roaming mammal. Animal rights supporters see it as the beginning of the end of fox hunting and other forms of hunting with hounds in Britain.
Although public opinion in Britain favors an end to fox hunting (a recent Gallup Poll estimated disapproval of the hunt at 80 percent), hunt supporters claim anti-hunt protesters want to abolish fox hunting out of financial jealousy and class envy. Ending the hunt, supporters maintain, would threaten the rural way of life in Britain, resulting in the loss of thousands of hunt-related jobs, and horses and hounds, which no longer needed, would be killed. In addition to controlling the fox population, hunt supporters argue that fox hunting promotes rural economies, conservation and livestock survival. Like wolves, foxes suffer from generations of myths portraying them as cunning, vicious pests who plunder livestock and kill children and pets. The fact that lambs and other small animals are often found at foxes' earths is no evidence that they were killed by a fox, as foxes usually carry away the carcasses of dead animals for later consumption. In reality, studies have shown foxes pose little or no threat to pets, and a child is more likely to die at the hands of his or her parents, than from a fox attack. Similarly, studies have also determined that livestock deaths are usually the result of poor husbandry, not the fault of foxes. Those who profit the most from these myths are the people who kill foxes for sport and financial gain. The League Against Cruel Sports provides information to parliament on the cruelty of fox hunting, countering the hunter's claims with facts backed by scientific evidence gathered over the past 20 years, the result of studies undertaken by the Universities of Oxford, Bristol and Aberdeen, in addition to various ministries and departments of agriculture, fisheries and food. Studies have also exposed the fallacy of the hunter's other favorite excuse: that fox hunting keeps the fox population in check. Hunting is an inefficient form of population control, as foxes naturally balance their numbers based on food supply and territorial availability. Plus, when foxes in a given area are killed, their places are taken by others. Bloody beatings captured on film have proven to be powerful purveyors of truth. The video camera has done more to dispel the myths and realities of bloodsports than anything else, as the brutalities of the hunt are captured for the public eye, bringing the truth onto the tellies of millions of Britons. Filmed evidence of pregnant vixens torn apart by hounds, and live foxes thrown to dogs testify against any humane claims hunters may have.
For fox hunters and others who seek fun and sport in cruelty, time is running out. In England, as many as 150 local authorities and 50 counties have banned fox-hunting on their land. If labor leaders seize control of parliament in the next general election, as predicted, foxes and the entire British countryside will benefit.
Download the Fox Hunt Quicktime Movie.