Massacre (From The Argus)
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Massacre
3:06pm Monday 28th December 2009 in
So Stephen Lockwood of Chichester wants a return to fox hunting because his eight laying hens were “massacred” (Letters, December 23).
It’s always sad to see any animal ill-treated and an untimely death is even sadder. But reintroducing the barbaric pursuit of hunting is only replacing one form of massacre with another and without any justification.
Mr Lockwood says his hens were “torn to pieces” by foxes for sheer pleasure. This is not likely. It is not within the nature of the species to kill for fun. They do so for food.
If he is so sure that foxes were responsible, they would be hungry in a cold mid-December and this would be their reason for killing. Maybe they were disturbed before they could devour all their prey.
When the fox hunting fraternity were trying to justify their activities before the ban, one of their feeble arguments was they didn’t actually catch that many foxes.
In other words, they are the ones who kill just for fun, not the foxes, and their activities do not in any great measure control what Mr Lockwood misguidedly refers to as “these brutal pests”.
Perhaps Mr Lockwood might consider ensuring any hens he keeps in the future are given adequate security and protection to prevent a re-occurrence by predators – animal or human.
David Gibbons, Phyllis Avenue, Peacehaven
Comments(6)
cheezburger
says...
11:41am Tue 29 Dec 09
Fight Back wrote:What an idiot. Do you think only people living in the country have a valid opinion? If that is the case then you shouldnt be on this site in the fiurst place.
Poppycock - Foxes do kill for fun - I would suggest you ask any farmer with any young livestock - many a time they kill lambs but only take one leaving the others behind. Other creatures kill for fun as well - domestic cats for one. Take your towny rose tinted specs off !!!!
Rather than suggest the writer takes his rose coloured specs off i suggest you remove the chip on your shoulder and get off your knees.
voiceofthescoombe
says...
11:46am Tue 29 Dec 09
fox hunting pro or nay is the x factor for activists. Not going to save a single fox as you can shoot poison or snare them.
dogsdinner
says...
12:13pm Tue 29 Dec 09
cheezburger wrote:Seems to me FightBack was stating firstly a fact; foxes, cats etc do not just kill for food, and secondly, expressing an opinion - you however Cheezburger, seem to be the one wishing to be the arbiter of what may or may not constitute a valid opinion.
Fight Back wrote: Poppycock - Foxes do kill for fun - I would suggest you ask any farmer with any young livestock - many a time they kill lambs but only take one leaving the others behind. Other creatures kill for fun as well - domestic cats for one. Take your towny rose tinted specs off !!!!What an idiot. Do you think only people living in the country have a valid opinion? If that is the case then you shouldnt be on this site in the fiurst place. Rather than suggest the writer takes his rose coloured specs off i suggest you remove the chip on your shoulder and get off your knees.
Fight Back
says...
1:29pm Tue 29 Dec 09
dogsdinner wrote:Thank you - I was indeed pointing out that the letter writer was factually wrong. I've left my pro or anti hunting opinion out of my reply as it was more importnat that the facts were right than if hunting is a good or bad pusuit. Cheezburger - I live in Hove so I think I'm probably entitled to an opinion on this site !!!
cheezburger wrote:Seems to me FightBack was stating firstly a fact; foxes, cats etc do not just kill for food, and secondly, expressing an opinion - you however Cheezburger, seem to be the one wishing to be the arbiter of what may or may not constitute a valid opinion.
Fight Back wrote: Poppycock - Foxes do kill for fun - I would suggest you ask any farmer with any young livestock - many a time they kill lambs but only take one leaving the others behind. Other creatures kill for fun as well - domestic cats for one. Take your towny rose tinted specs off !!!!What an idiot. Do you think only people living in the country have a valid opinion? If that is the case then you shouldnt be on this site in the fiurst place. Rather than suggest the writer takes his rose coloured specs off i suggest you remove the chip on your shoulder and get off your knees.
fascinator
says...
2:48pm Tue 29 Dec 09
Why do foxes kill for pleasure?
They don't. However, when the opportunity arises, foxes kill surplus prey even if they are not hungry and cache (bury) it for later use. This is a very sensible strategy in the wild, since there are likely to be some days when hunting is a lot less successful, and so the fox can eat the prey killed earlier. However, in an unnatural situation such as in a hen house, where the prey cannot escape, this behaviour, called "surplus killing", leads to the fox killing far more prey than it could ever consume.
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Fight Back says...
9:36am Tue 29 Dec 09