Tuesday, January 20, 2015
The Return of British Fox Hunting
Fox hunting has been a staple of British culture for centuries. The hunt has been a pass-time of the quintessential british aristocrat and noble. Even for those who did not take part in the actual hunt going to the hunt has been a part of country life for hundreds of years. In 2004 the hunting act was passed which outlawed most of the traditional fox hunting in England and Wales. Supporters of the bill believed fox hunting was cruel toward the foxes. People who where against the bill believed that fox hunting was a important part of rural culture and important in terms of pest control. Now with new parliamentary elections coming in may of 2015 the tories want to repeal the bill. This is a very controversial stance because lots of english do not see why the fox hunt should take place. I personally believe that the fox hunt needs to come back and is important to english culture. From a practical point of view some forms of fox hunting are used to keep down the population of foxes. Just like bears in some states in the USA when the populations get to big it is important to reduce them. From a cultural perspective the fox hunt especially on boxing day has been a english tradition for hundreds of years. I feel like to many european countries are destroying there own cultures in the name of political correctness and world acceptance. It is true many people who have never done it or witnessed it might see the hunt as barbaric but it is not for them to judge. It is for people of England to make the decision to take part or not to, but not to chose for others.
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I agree with you that if it has been a part of the country's history it should make a return with boundaries. Like in the United States if hunting laws are created to limit the hunting it could be beneficial as a well as keep a long standing tradition alive. I feel like the American culture would take a significant blow if hunting of any time of animal was stopped unless the animal was endangered or in danger of becoming endangered. I don't support killing for the sake of killing but am a believer that keeping traditions alive is important to all countries.
ReplyDeleteI see your point. On the other hand, of course, traditions are not static--they grow and change and alter with the times. It seems that on some level, England did not so much abandon or eliminate this tradition as outgrow it. At the same time, if the tradition is dying anyway, why make a law?
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is not a fox hunt, but it's a favorite scene of mine from the movie version of one of my favorite 18th century novels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBMdCHF1sg
I always wonder how accurate the refined image of the English hunt is.
A rather interesting topic to blog about. There are some times when change must occur for society to take a step in the right direction. This is absolutely not one of them and is actually detrimental to the very animals of interest that the no-hunting policy claims to protect. An overpopulation of foxes is bad for the species entirely, and as they continue to breed, food sources will become scarce and the natural ecosystem will be disrupted as they over-consume their animals of prey without being kept in check as they have been for hundreds of years. Some traditions need to be changed, but this is not the case.
ReplyDeleteSolid thoughts Stumpf. I had no idea this was an English tradition until reading your post. It makes me cringe thinking of foxes being shot, but I completely understand your point. I imagine foxes are towards the top of the food chain in those parts, and an overpopulation could certainly devastate their ecosystem. At the same time, we Americans sure know the consequences of overhunting. In my opinion, I agree that fox hunting shouldn't be completely outlawed, especially since most parliament members passing this bill probably didn't live with that experience; Nonetheless, I think they should figure out the best fox population for the ecosystem and limit fox hunting to that figure. Whether this be limiting the fox hunts to certain months or requiring hunting licenses, I'm not sure. I'm sure PEDA has a different view than us on this though...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure this'll be one of the forefront issues in the general election come May, but I wouldn't be surprised if it again finds its way back into some discussions. It's probably worth examining whether or not the current fox population is sustainable. From what I recall reading on the subject, the number of foxes has actually fallen noticeably from what it was a couple decades ago, even if things have generally stabilized since the Hunting Act. I could be wrong on this, though--it's been a while.
ReplyDeleteI never knew about this topic and it's very interesting. I think you're correct that politics are ruining a countries culture. Its important to keep in mind tradition even though it goes against public opinion.
ReplyDelete