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Thursday, February 03, 2005

hunters

from the independent newspaper letter’s page on tuesday feb the 1st

oh no not the hunt again pat. let it rest i can hear say, let it go, move on i hear you cry. i can’t. i know i should but i just can’t.
it’s not because i like foxes, i don’t. i don’t even like bunny rabbits. really i don’t. but i hate wankers who go on about tradition and human rights but are the first people to trample over the rights and traditions of others when it suits them. what is more she is canadian – let her go hunt elks and moose – go riding with the mounties if you like riding horses.
see below for more incisive commentary from me (ok snide jibes…)

hunt ban tramples on a thousand years of english tradition
sir: thank you for publishing the letter from david dear ("hunt celebrates life", 25 january). he is absolutely right.
early in december, i had the opportunity to go out with the fernie of leicestershire. on that day, i rode over some of the most beautiful countryside i have ever seen, the ancestral home of my mother's family. i had hired a wonderful horse, a mare of such quality and excellent training that i felt unworthy of her.
***** one of the main arguments that the hunters always use is that it is social. so why can’t they just go out and have a ride about with their mates. i am sure the horses are not going to be too bothered if they are running around the countryside because the riders just fancy going here or there rather than running after the fox.
if hunting stops right now, this very instant – the beautiful countryside will still be there. wow what an amazing concept the land will still be there, in all it’s natural glory without gloried idiots dressed to the nines prancing around on a horse after a fox.
and i am sorry the moment anyone says she was not worthy of the horse has been reading too many fantasy novels and thinks they have stumbled into middle earth – get a reality check: it’s a horse.

it was so utterly moving to hunt in the country that i consider my second home, i found myself near tears.
i've never seen ordinary people ride with such courage and skill.
**** see above, you almost expecting her to mention how not only did they ride down a fox but they also scouted the local area to make sure no stray (and dangerous) immigrant (or should that be orc?) has strayed into the pristine countryside.

the hunt followers, both on foot and on horseback, were hugely welcoming and friendly. even the threat of an impending ban on an activity so central to their livelihood did not take the smiles from their faces.
**** obviously she has not seen the ruddy faced bile spewing idiots when they come into london to “protest”.

many who are in favour of the uk hunting ban will argue that foxhunting dates back only about 300 years. the truth is that your people have been hunting with hounds across the centuries. your foxhounds are descended from animals brought during the norman conquest. your hunters have been bred from crosses of ancient native british stock with the thoroughbred. the latter is a gorgeous creature, a work of art, created by the english. the hedgerows over which the hunt rides date back to saxon times.
the right to hunt is not a privilege held by the wealthy elite. it's part of who you are as britons; please preserve it. the ban is a smack in the face to the people who built the country, fought and died for it, and for five hundred years made it the richest and most influential nation in the world.
**** i am pretty sure that when my grandfather and uncles went to war the first thing on their minds was “we must preserve the hunt”. in fact i am pretty sure that is the real reason blair went into iraq – not only did saddam have wmds but he was going to ban the hunt!
as i said before the disappearance of the hunt will not mean hedgerows will disappear, they will still be there. the foxhounds well if they need a job i know an animal testing centre or two….

the hunting ban is very obviously motivated by class jealousy and cultural self-hatred disguised as compassion. it's a revenge law written by people who harbour a horror of the man on horseback.
***** as i have said before i could care less about the foxes, and if i was in government this is an issue that would be at the bottom of my list of priorities. but now that it has passed, now that the majority have spoken (this is a democracy after all and banning of hunting with hounds has been a part of the labour policy for a loooong time, i expect those people who care about tradition, who care about rights to uphold and abide by the law. of course they won’t they think that they are above the rest of us and can ride roughshod over democracy when it suits them. these lovers of tradition were nowhere to be seen when mines and factories were being closed, they were nowhere to be seen when the unions were being crushed. so those people lost their lifestyles, their traditions and their communities. well hunters you can suffer it as well.
learn to enjoy a leisurely ride with your friends. learn that you don’t have to be chasing after an animal to kill it in order to have fun. if you are so keen to see blood – join up. substitute your hunters uniform for that of the soldier, learn new traditions.
i do hope that nazi prince harry and his family are caught out on a hunt and they get banged up inside for it.
and there is one noble english tradition i wish the hunters would abide by – that of the stiff upper lip when facing adversity and not this endless whining and whinging.

on 19 february, i will think of the hunt staffs, followers and supporters, and be cheering for them. i urge them to fight honourably and hard in the war against the loss of their freedom. and i fully expect to return to england to hunt foxes again.
meredith stranges peterborough, ontario, canada
***** i can only hope that on the 19th you are crying into your cups as the hunters lose again. but sadly i just know that in terms of class war we will lose this war, but hey winning one round was pretty cool.

i am thinking i should move on from hunters. so with luck this will be my last gripe at them.

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