Fox hunting is a sport that the British brought to the world. It is a royal sport that is very traditional in nature, and those are the key elements that people like about it. Foxhounds, a type of hunting dog, are used to sniff out, chase, and kill foxes. The hounds, meanwhile, are followed by huntsmen, who ride horses. Fox hunting is also quite controversial, however, which is something James DeVellis MD has taken a personal interest in.
James DeVellis on the Fox Hunting Controversy
The greatest issue people have with fox hunting, is the fact that it is a blood sport in which people take pleasure in the suffering of a fox. Allegations that the sport is barbaric and ethically wrong, and that huntsmen engage in regular misconduct are made and this has had an impact. For instance, in some countries, hunts have voluntarily agreed to only hunt “slips”, which are fox scents rather than actual foxes. In other countries, they agree to only chase the foxes, rather than actually kill them.
In the past, the fox was hunted so significantly that its population dropped significantly. Ethical reasons aside, this could have a significant impact on the overall ecology. As a result, it is now no longer allowed for hunts to block off fox dens to exhaust the fox. Indeed, there have been numerous news reports of hunts doing this in the past, causing the fox to run until it could run no more, after which it would simply be killed or thrown to the dogs.
There are other significant issues with fox hunting as well. The foxhounds are trained to chase and kills foxes, but they can easily mistake cats for a fox. Meanwhile, they have also been found to attack smaller pet dogs who don’t conform to their particular pack mentality. After all, hunting hounds have not been trained to be homely pets. Some people have even alleged that fox hunts have caused significant damage to the local area, trampling over the grassy fields and even damaging property.
Naturally, whenever there is an argument to be made for banning something, there is also an argument to be made for the exact opposite. Since fox hunting has been banned in most local areas, the fox is once again a common animal. It steals chickens from smaller gardens, burrows holes in sheep pastures, and causes a lot of damage. Indeed, as the huntsmen had predicted, the foxes are wiping out entire populations of lambs and hens, which must be combatted as well. Hunting, according to supporters, is a humane way of controlling different animal populations and, in so doing, preventing rural communities from going under.
The controversy is likely set to continue for a very long time. Like it or not, people enjoy to hunt and that always means that some animals will have to die. In this country, hunting is quite a common sport and while people aim to always make a clean kill, things sometimes simply go wrong.