Apologies in advance that this post isn't necessarily in keeping with the usual style of posting that I do, but it's very much in keeping with my own morals and beliefs, and so with that being said, I hope that you don't mind me posting this up.
With what seems like the entire country talking about the imminent, potential lifting of the fox hunting ban, I thought I'd put my 2p in; and also post some links that may be of use to those of you who agree with me and want to try to do something about it.
Personally, I was very happy when fox hunting was originally banned in 2004. The needless (in my opinion) suffering of innocent animals from this blood 'sport' has never sat well with me, as an animal lover (and vegetarian) and so it was nice to see that for once, animal welfare was being put above the desires of humans who participated in, or supported it.
I understand that to some, foxes may be a bit of a nuisance or inconvenience but the fact is humans encroach on their natural habitat by building houses, roads and suchlike... and then complain that these animals are sometimes forced to come into what we deem as 'our territory' possibly hungry, and looking for food (that is possibly also lacking due to the lack of natural prey due to humans) or just passing through it perhaps doing some damage to property/land. I don't think that is a valid reason to end the life of an innocent animal.
I've also heard the argument that young children in city or suburban gardens may be in danger if a hungry fox enters the territory. My counterargument was that if a child was too young, or mentally incapable of dealing with a fox (be that coming inside, or scaring it off), or indeed any other dangers then it should not be left unsupervised in a garden in the first place. And, if my friend's cat, Tig can scare away a fox by just pouncing and running at it (see the video below, and photos all courtesy of my Tom from Noonix and his girlfriend, and Tigs' 'mum' Karenza), that a supervising adult should be able to either scare the fox off, or remove the child from the garden/area in time so that no harm was done.
I'm not entirely sure why some people think that humans have the right to end the life of an animal, purely because it's potentially an inconvenience to them! Do all these people who are pro fox/animal killing for these kinds of reasons want these animals to be fully extinct? Because unless they were extinct, there is always the possibility that one may find its way into your garden/onto your land. Extinction of a species is never an option in my opinion.
IF, and this is a big 'if' fox numbers need controlling, then this should be done in a quick, humane way. I also saw somebody stating 'Fox lovers will still protest irrespective of how control is achieved!' on my own Facebook. That's like saying all meat eaters don't give a shit about how the animals that are bred for their meat are treated and killed, and I'm pretty sure most people who eat meat, would not like to think of animals suffering in the process. If there's a massive problem with foxes in an area, then capture and kill them quickly and humanely; it doesn't need to be a 'fun' sport, as this to me makes it less of a necessary evil being done for the greater good (of humans)... and this is coming from an animal/fox lover.
If you want to try to help maintain the ban, you need to act quickly (as this could be happening this week with the free vote going ahead THIS WEDNESDAY!!) by emailing your MP and asking them to vote against the lifticng of the ban (see how to contact your local MP here) and/or signing the petition that Change.org have set up here.
Also, please share this post to get it seen by as many people as possible.
If you're pro fox hunting, this is not an attack at you; our opinions may differ, but you are fully entitled to have, and hold onto your own. This post isn't about getting you to change your mind; it's just a call to those who may agree with me on the matter, who may want to do something proactive about the potential lift on the current fox hunting ban.