“Oh please, have any of you who have commented on here actually seen a Fox Hunt? Blood lust, vile people in Red coats, arrogant rich toffs...same old cliches.And its not Red coats it's Hunting Pink and they aren't dogs they are Hounds. Get your terminology right!”

“Just what is the matter with the pro hunting group?. Dont they realise that the Hunting Bill was passed in the UK Parliament in 2004 after many years of wrangling. This Bill was passed by a massive majority after the normal democratic process and is here to stay.
I fully agree with the chief of the RSPCA who said of the Bill at that time " a watershed for a more civilised society".”

“I Think Kevin Hill and his monitors should take up monitoring paedophiles ,muggers and people mugging old ladies,maybe they could monitor our coastline,and monitor drug gangs coming into the country,could someone describe to me what a monitor is.Is it the same as a train spotter,or a bird watcher.Or is it someone who is funded by other people to sit on his backside!”

“a view mirrored by Richard Standing, the master of the Mendip Farmers' Hunt.
He said: "I think the public are tired of this. IFAW want to bring back a debate on an Act which has failed in getting rid of us.......
I'd say the public are rather tired of this sort of arrogant statement and people like Standing. It comes back to the fact hat around 80% of the public when asked wanted an end to this vile so called sport, which was why it was legislated against. Badly and weakly yes and since these smug people consider themselves above the law then yes it is a very good idea for people to watch out for and report any 'suspicions' to the police. Whethter it would be acted upon is quite another matter.”

“The simple fact is that without the support of hard-working farmers, hunting could not exist as hunts need fallen stock to feed hounds, and hunts need permission and cooperation from farmers to hunt on their land. If we have a problem with foxes taking free-range birds or lambs then we just give them a call and they sort the problem out, legally.

If there was no support or need for hunting then it wouldn't exist as the farmers would just say "get off my land". Hunting across our farm can cause us problems with horses poaching up the grass a bit, and us having to make sure our livestock are where they cannot be spooked by horses, we even had a gate broken once but it was promptly replaced with a lovely new one! For us the Pros of allowing the hunt on our farm far outweigh the Cons.

If you dont like hunting then your should give up eating meat, because 95% of the meat you buy comes from farmers who support hunting, and hunting is just another part of the management process that has produced that beef, lamb, chicken, pork, etc. Even more so if you like free-range or organics produce, as it is more often produced by "sporting" estates / farmers.”

“oops - please read

'lamping than hunting' below”

“Another very important point about hunting is that it is seasonal and foxes are allowed to breed in the spring and summer.

The means that LACS and the government favour which is lamping is carried out right through the summer months.

Far more foxes are killed by lamping than shooting and the cubs that belong to a lamped vixen die a long, slow and very painful death.

Why do the antis prefer this means which kills more and causes more suffering? They say it is 'more efficient'.

The truth is the law is not motivated by concern for animal welfare it is motivated by ignorant spiteful prejudice on the part of the incompetent MPs who passed it.”

“Kevin Hill states "Dogs would not naturally hunt foxes". I'm not sure that is true. Whenever my dogs come across a fox they chase it and I've never trained them too. It's the same with rabbits, hares, rats and deer.”

“For many years IFAW and other anti-hunting organisations have been trying to upset the general public at this time of year with emotive talk about killing young foxes. The general public now accepts that fox management will continue whether or not the Hunting Act is repealed. The Government's independent report on hunting (Burns Report 2000) stated the following about managing foxes in Autumn: "Lamping (with a rifle) is most effective in autumn when fox densities are high, cover is reduced and the inexperience of young foxes makes them a relatively easy target."

Properly conducted hunting with hounds selected and killed the weakest specimens in autumn and helped in a small way (relative to the total cull) to disperse and monitor the population when it was at its highest density. Hunts also left foxes alone during the breeding season. Autumn hunting with dogs was the most humane and natural management tool available.

It is likely that more cubs have been orphaned in their early months and have starved to death underground, because it is no longer legal to use a terrier to locate them, dig down and humanely put them down. The only exemption under the Hunting Act for using a dog to locate a fox underground is to protect game birds.

The Hunting Act is bad for animal welfare for these and so many other reasons. Luckily, politicians and the public are beginning to understand all this and this bad law will eventually be repealed.

Going out with friends and hounds in autumn is an enjoyable activity participated in, on the most part, by normal, civilised, and decent people. Banging on about the activity being a "blood sport" as opponents have done for years is about as meaningful as calling meat a "blood food."

It remains perfectly legal, of course, for Hunts to hunt within other exemptions under the Act at this time of year and the public will no doubt be wary about the dangers of wasting police time by making unnecessary phone calls.”

“"But I suspect that most ordinary members of the public would struggle to tell the difference between one that was breaking the law and one that was not."

What a strange statement......is she speaking in the future tense, suggesting illegal hunting STILL occurs?”