letter from Mike Spry (From Swindon Advertiser)

letter from Mike Spry

2:03pm Friday 16th January 2009 in Search

I LARGELY agree with the letter from Andrew Day SA Jan 6. I too found the headline on Liz Brackenbury’s article Dec 31 ‘Hunt down the real truth about issues’ a real eye catcher, until I read the article.

As a boy in Northumberland during the 1950s I was taken to many a hunt and I recall the fantastic spectacle of horses and dogs flashing across the countryside. The whole pageant of the hunt acted out against fields and woods, magic, to a boy on foot the fox was a mere speck, that is, if it was seen.

At my last hunt we had managed to predict where the fox could be caught and we were there just after the kill. To me the pack appeared to be fighting amongst themselves, then one of the huntsmen, who was cursing while raking through the squabbling dogs, pulled out the fox’s tail. At that time I realised the dogs were fighting for a bit of the fox. The fox, which a few minutes earlier was racing across the fields in fear of its life, had lost. With a cheer from the hunt, the huntsman daubed the faces of the new hunters with the blood of the fox, girls and boys, most macabre. I could accept this from an African hunting tribe, but this was 20th century England, these people were supposed to be the leaders of our land.

I would ask Liz the following questions. Why is only the tail of the fox left? Why are the faces of new hunters daubed with the blood of the fox? When all of the costs are taken into account what is the cost per fox kill? And, wouldn’t she be scared if she was chased across open countryside by 40 plus humans on horseback baying for her blood?

No Liz, hunting with dogs is not efficient, not humane and nothing like setting a mousetrap. I shall keep my opinions to myself as to why people participate in this macabre ritual, but humane it is not. And the practice of ‘blooding’ young children just left me speechless. I never attended another hunt.

MIKE SPRY Mayfield Nythe Swindon