A fox on the run is not so sweet

By Julian Ware-Lane

There are some subjects than transcend the political divide, or at least they should do. One such is animal cruelty.

Now, let me state that I am no vegetarian, anti-vivisectionist, or other such animal rights activist and I see nothing wrong in experimenting on animals if it ultimately leads to lives being saved.

However, I do believe that we humans should treat animals with as much dignity and respect as we can. Using animals as objects for sporting cruelty ought to be buried in our medieval past. Bear baiting, cock fighting, etc, do not belong in a modern society. We rightly condemn the Spanish for their bull fighting.

The British consider themselves a nation of animal lovers.

So, quite why David Cameron can consider repealing the law banning hunting with dogs is beyond me. OK, so he has only promised a free vote in the House of Commons, but why even consider this retrograde step?

I like horse riding. I can imagine that dressing up with friends and going galloping across fields with a pack of hounds would be fun. But why, oh why, does it have to culminate with the ripping to shreds of a fox? Making sport out of an animal’s suffering is simply wrong.

I was tempted to head this article with that well-known Oscar Wilde quote, but mixing humour with the horrific did not seem appropriate.

I know some see this as part of a class war. I do not. If foxes are a nuisance (and they have a role in limiting wild rabbit population) then let’s use clinical and humane methods of controlling them. This may involve hounds. The method of despatch is not what is relevant; it is that a sport can be made of it.

Being a townie I regularly see foxes. I feed those that visit my garden. Some are quite scrawny; some are beautiful. They are at or near the top of the food chain in these isles. Wolves, bears, boars were chased out centuries ago. Our wildlife is under stress as it is, trying, vainly, to compete with the demands of humanity. To heap further indignity upon them goes counter to the environmental and conservation thrust of so many arguments today.

Don’t just hug hoodies Mr Cameron, cut foxy some slack too.