On the 15th of June 2015, MPs are due to vote on the Conservative Governments proposals to make changes to The Hunting Act which came into place only 10 years ago. Their main argument for the amendment is to bring pest control laws in England and Wales in line with that of Scotland, what they are failing to mention however is the increase that this will have on illegal fox hunting being justified and going unpunished. In the past the Prime Minister, David Cameron has made no question of a doubt that he is a supporter of the 'sport' who strongly believes in the freedom to hunt. To many others though, it is still seen as a barbaric and sadistic pastime where a terrified and defenceless animal is chased outnumbered, worn down to the point of exhaustion and then ripped apart by a pack of dogs simply for entertainment.
The current ban in place for hunting in England and Wales allows for no more than two dogs to flush out a fox and to be shot humanly for pest control purposes, the proposed changes would allow for an unlimited number of dogs to join. This would make it impossible to distinguish a legal hunt from an illegal one and also give a simple excuse for their activities. The Tory Government are trying to sneak through the back door by amending The Hunting Act to the point where they are more or less legalising it.
Foxes are often referred to by hunt supporters as a menace to rural society that needs controlling but this isn't a completely accurate argument. Almost every problem that they claim to cause can be solved with reasonable security. Hunts also only tend to kill a small percentage of the local fox population a year which makes it a completely ineffective form of pest control even if it was necessary.
How fox hunting could even be considered a 'sport' is questionable, surly for that to be the case, the teams would have to compete at an equal advantage to make it fair for both sides. With fox hunting however, the hunters have a guaranteed advantage as the foxes are outnumbered, exhausted and out-gunned. It has more in common with bullying than sportsmanship, simply to satisfy a blood lust for ridiculously dressed cowards by causing the unnecessary suffering of animals. It's not only the foxes that are subjected to harm, the dogs that are breed to hunt them often live short and unpleasant lives. Many of them suffer from fatal injuries after being pushed to the limits or being punished for under-performing, to the hunters they are simply seen as a disposable 'accessory' of their own enjoyment.
How anyone can get any form of pleasure from this vicious practice is something that many of us with the basic human emotion of empathy will never understand, it truly has no place in modern civilised society. Saving the Hunting Act has nothing to do with class or what political party you side with, it's about protecting these animals and ending the cruelty that they are subdued to. Nobody has the right to mistreat or abuse animals, no matter how wealthy or powerful they and their friends are.