*mumbly* I have a mouth ulcer.
So they’re banning fox hunting. I was rather angry to read that though I had no doubt it was coming. I was angry not because of some some attachment to traditions or some nostalgia for the dwindling conservatism of this bloody island, but because it’s purely political and a decision pushed by naive townies who really haven’t thought this through.
Foxes aren’t protected – you can kill vermin on your own land and foxes are considered vermin. So, all those farmers who were sparing the foxes to give the hunt something to hunt will now be able to shoot or trap them. Whether or not the hunt actually controlled fox numbers is immaterial – there are definately people who believe it does, and will now believe they have to protect their livestock themselves. The hunt wasn’t always successful – people protecting their livelihood will be much more so. The balance between farmers, foxes and the hunt will be upset and I suspect that foxes will be the worst for it. And it’s this lack of thought into the repercussions of upsetting a balanced system that infuriates me. They can’t even tell us conclusively if hunting has an effect on the fox population – how can they claim this is in any sense an informed decision?! It’s farcical and embarrassing.
That and that the bloody liberals who think that being Labour, atheist, vegetarian and anti-hunting is the only sensible way of life and anyone who either thinks differently or wishes to maintain an open mind is misguided in some way. Stop telling me what to think, bloody hippies.
*A group of empids is an embarrassment. Empids are a type of bird. And by pure coinscidence, 21st Sept (date that webpage is about) is my birthday. Small world.