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WELCOME TO FOXMAN ON FOX-HUNTING IN THE UK

Fox-hunting is not banned in Northern Ireland. Thus the Ban covers the whole of Great Britain (GB England, Scotland & Wales) but not the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The UK).

The Republic of Ireland is a wholly independent state and has not banned Hunting with Dogs. Although attempts are being made and Southern Irish Hunts need the support of all those in Great Britain who stand up for Rural Culture. Foxhunting in Ireland is very strongly associated with the Way of Life of Rural People.

This is a personal view and may not coincide with the views of organisations which support fox-hunting. Click on the links to see more detail. It was started in 1995 and put on hold in December 2004 after the passing of "The Ban" in England and Wales. It was restarted in November 2007 because there is now a realistic possibility of getting This Ban and that in Scotland repealed. Foxman hopes that this site will help in The Repeal and in resisting the current pressures to Ban Hunting in Northern and Southern Ireland.

THIS SITE IS CONCERNED SOLELY WITH FOX-HUNTING AND THE "RURAL CULTURE" THAT BENEFITS FROM IT AND SUPPORTS IT. THE BAN SEVERELY DAMAGED OTHER TYPES OF HUNTING (E.G. MINK) BUT FOXMAN HAS NO DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF THESE.

There is hope that a Conservative Government would repeal The Ban. "The House of Lords" has shown itself to be open minded and to protect the interests of individuals and minorities. David Cameron (The leader of The Conservative Party) has the same interests at heart. He has stated that when returned to Government his Party will introduce a Bill to "Repeal the Hunting Act" and that "The House of Commons" will be allowed a free vote on the issue. Nevertheless, on the 26th of June 2008, the leaders of the hunting world, including professional hunt staff, supportive politicians and Alliance staff gathered in London for the inaugural meeting of the 'Repeal Committee', which will guide the campaign for the repeal of the Hunting Act in the run up to the next election.

The committee is chaired by Edward Garnier QC MP supported by Lord Astor as vice-Chairman and, unlike both the Alliance itself and the associations that run hunting, it has only one purpose: to see the Hunting Act removed from the Statute Book.

The new committee will oversee the work of lobbying MPs, peers and candidates; of briefing and engaging the media; and of ensuring confidence in post ban hunting. The members are well placed to guide, advise and engage all parts of the hunting community in the efforts that must be made to ensure the abolition of the Act.

On 6 May 2010 the General Election produced no overall majority.  The Conservatives acquired most seats and most votes. However the final compromise government is made up, it is unlikely that the Conservatives will be able to convince any collaborators of the need for early or any action to repeal the Ban. In view of the parlous state of the UK after 13 unlucky years of Socialist Centralised Authoritarian misrule, there are so many Socialist inspired "evils" to sort out and a Financial Crisis to surmount that it would be foolish for The Compromise Government to give Repeal any great priority.

The good news is that the seats that were targeted by animal rights activists and anti-hunting campaigners were successful, whilst a series of high profile anti-hunting MPs lost their seats. The ridiculous claim that supporting the countryside and hunting have a negative impact on voters has been buried forever. 

Lib Dem Lembit Opik, a notable Pro-Hunting Liberal-Democrat MP, was beaten in Montgomeryshire. But his replacement, Conservative Glyn Davies, has impeccable rural credentials.

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart (Con) replaces Nick Ainger (Lab) as MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire with a majority of 3,432

Kate Hoey (Lab) retains Vauxhall with an increased majority of 10,651

Robin Walker (Con) with a majority of 2,982 replaces Michael Foster (Lab), former M.P. for Worcester and the sponsor of an Anti-Hunting Bill. 

Andrew Stephenson (Con) replaces Gordon Prentice (Lab) as MP for Pendle with a majority of 3,585

It seems inevitable that there will have to be another General Election ere long.

Therefore it is even more necessary to re-engage every person who hunts, and everyone in the country who supports their right to do so, in the campaign to scrap the Hunting Act. Scrapping the Act is not simply of benefit to the hunting community. The futures of other field sports, particularly shooting, will be secured indefinitely by repeal. In addition, the interests of rural and urban people who simply believe in a tolerant society will also be greatly enhanced. This committee will help steer hunting past the potential pitfalls of the next two years and to ensure that every last effort is made to prepare the ground for the early delivery of repeal.

Years ago, as the Hunting Act became law, the idea that there might now be a realistic possibility of scrapping the ban would have seemed optimistic. In that time, however, it has been exposed as one of the most pointless, illiberal and incompetent laws ever to reach the Statute Book. The time is now right to put this failed law out of its misery and the members of this committee are ideally suited to that role.

When we were fighting the introduction of the Hunting Act the entire hunting world, and the wider rural community, was engaged and active in the campaign. The last few years have been focussed on the ground to ensure that the infrastructure of hunting is maintained. Now is the time to start a renewed political and public campaign for repeal with the realistic possibility that the next Government will be willing and able to deliver.

We have just one aim, repeal, and will have just one chance to achieve it. This new committee will ensure that no stone is left unturned and no avenue is left unexplored as we seek that goal.

A warning

BUT, there are still many misguided people in Great Britain anxious to remove all forms of "permitted hunting", or to stop practices essential to maintaining the infrastructure of our packs of foxhounds. I sense some complacency and the behaviour of a minority of Hunt Followers (mounted, foot and car-borne) continues to be the worst threat to Trail or Fox Hunting after bigotry. Quite rightly, farmers and the general public resent thoughtless acts such as leaving gates open so livestock is risked, or roads blocked, grass verges cut up, etc. This complacency and indiscipline could be fatal to preserving the basis for a return to proper Fox-Hunting. In this context, I am reminded of an excellent BBC TV programme "Going for the kill" and I urge our supporters to get a copy of the DVD from http://www.sussex-southdowns-guide.com/going-for-the-kill.html   It is one of the five documentary films made for the award-winning BBC 'Storyville' strand, entitled "A Very English Village". It was first transmitted by the BBC in Autumn 2005, and repeated in January 2007. It has received excellent reviews.

This film is an excellent wake-up for those who believe that Fox-Hunting is safe from further legislation.

It is part of an intimate record of a country village made through the dreadful days leading up to the ban and concludes with the first day of Trail-Hunting. Shot directly with the people most affected, it does not glamorize hunting, nor farming, showing reality in the raw. The integration of hunting with farming is well brought out. A back-drop of continuity in farms and village life through generations of the same families, adds poignancy to the display of feelings induced by the Ban: heartbreak, sorrow, resentment, rejection, victimisation, horror, disbelief; but, above all, anger and a determination to fight back.
The camera work has a real sensitivity to the country scene and the DVD is of a very high quality.
A modern message that can be drawn from this film is the intellectual dishonesty of law-makers, who can legislate against many types of discrimination, but discriminate against a significant cohesive factor in the society of country villages. This while trying to promote "Social Cohesion."

Why a site on fox-hunting?

The case against fox-hunting seems to me to be based on emotion not fact. Therefore, I would like to put before those who bother to visit this site a few of the logical reasons why I support fox-hunting. I am encouraged to do this by the fact that over several years four senior "officers" of the League against Cruel Sports have resigned from this well meaning but misguided organisation after learning a lot about hunting. Eventually, they became convinced that logic supported the case for hunting as preferable to other methods of controlling numbers. I feel, therefore, that all you Surfers deserve to be given the facts. You can then come to a logical view on this contentious subject.

Organisation of the Site

The site is divided into four main areas :

A. An introduction;

• An overview of the Current Situation.
  
  
• The Background. An outline of the disgraceful waste of Parliament's time, weakness of government, deceit and bigotry that eventually lead to the ban.
  
  
• A proposal for defusing the subject for the longer term.

B.The case for Repeal of The Hunting Act;

• The case for fox-hunting is taken as made.
  
  
• The particular reasons why The Hunting Act should be repealed.

C.The case for fox-hunting;

• A page about each element of the case.