This is one of the few days in the hunting calendar that you will see the hunt, riders and hounds out on parade. Many of the riders will be adorned with Christmas tinsel and their mounts will be superbly groomed. But what you are witnessing is the public face of a cruel and barbaric activity vested in our brutal feudal past. After the hunt has departed the Town centre the huntsmen and associated terrier-men mounted on Quad Bikes will be in two-way communication, using the latest GPS and terrain mapping facilities available on mobile devices. All these hounds, riders, terrier-men and followers after a lonely and terrified fox which has probably been bolted from its den earlier that morning. You can hardly call it hunting or indeed a tradition, it is simply the execution of wildlife for the sadistic enjoyment of the few who pretend to be the guardians of the countryside.
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| Cotley Hunt |
This season the Countryside Alliance has initiated a programme to get more children introduced into countryside pursuits; suggesting that schools adopt a hound or arrange kennel visits at local hunts.
The children however must be very careful in case the hounds pass on tapeworm or parasites. This is because the hounds are fed on uncooked casualty farm stock, which would inevitably carry parasites, including the cystic larval stage of the tapeworm.
A few years ago a premier English hunt had to paid compensation to a former employee who claimed his liver problems were caused by poor control of tapeworm in the hound pack. Now lawyers have been circulating details as a warning to hunts and farmers who run working dogs. They point out cattle and sheep could be carrying eggs from the same worms, making stock handlers vulnerable – and also eligible to sue. They quote DEFRA figures showing more than nine per cent of hounds tested excreted the eggs of tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus) and there was a substantial risk of human handlers picking one up. Not very nice to have on your town centre over the Christmas period.
Some hunts are now being requested to hold there Boxing Day meet out of town as it can have an adverse effect on trade and then there is the concern about the movement of traffic (normal and emergency services) as down in South Somerset we have four market towns (Chard, Castle Cary, Crewkerne and Ilminster) gridlocked on Boxing Day at eleven o’clock and the police just watch helplessly as the hunt ride by.
Maurice Adams writing in the 'Humane Review' in 1910, stated, "In England today hunting is an anachronism which survives only because land monopoly and an injust distribution inheritance have led our 'splended barbarians' in the absence of the need to work, the pressure of social distinctions and the want of higher mental development to seek release from boredom and fill up an aimless life by the indulgence and artificial stimulation of sub-human instincts."
This coalition government has not done anything to help the situation, in fact they have made the divide between the rich and the poor even bigger!
Horses and Hounds and Dog Control Orders
Ordinary members of the public are limited by the numbers of dogs they can take out; each dog must be on a lead and have its identity available and be under control. If your dog worries farm stock it could be shot. However hunting hounds are exempt from all of these laws. No name tags nor collars are required, in fact the hunt may well be allowed to shoot the farmer if he interferes with the hounds, but I need to check this fact! There are also the issues surrounding horses and vehicles in the 21st century. The Highway Code does apply to horse riders, but it’s only as a guide, and therefore has no power behind it. If riders decide to block roads, there appears to be no law which can stop them. Should an accident occur between a horse and a vehicle there is also no requirement for a horse rider to supply a name and address. The rider can simply ride off into the sunset and leave you with the repair bill, whilst under the Road Traffic Act it is a legal requirement for the driver of a motor vehicle involved in a collision with a horse to supply a name and address and relevant insurance details to a person at the scene who has reasonable cause to require them, and it is the responsibility of the driver of that motor vehicle to report that collision to the Police. The Road Traffic Act places a clear responsibility on the driver of the vehicle and failure to comply is an offence. Horse riders do not require specific insurance for riding horses on the highway; it is not compulsory. If the rider is found to be at fault, the debt would be pursued by the Insurance Company for the driver either by making a claim from existing specific insurance policies or generic public liability insurance that the rider may have through other policies; i.e. household insurance or through the civil court or through the insurance policy held by the hunt, if they are a member of course.
This coalition government has not done anything to help the situation, in fact they have made the divide between the rich and the poor even bigger!
Horses and Hounds and Dog Control Orders
Ordinary members of the public are limited by the numbers of dogs they can take out; each dog must be on a lead and have its identity available and be under control. If your dog worries farm stock it could be shot. However hunting hounds are exempt from all of these laws. No name tags nor collars are required, in fact the hunt may well be allowed to shoot the farmer if he interferes with the hounds, but I need to check this fact! There are also the issues surrounding horses and vehicles in the 21st century. The Highway Code does apply to horse riders, but it’s only as a guide, and therefore has no power behind it. If riders decide to block roads, there appears to be no law which can stop them. Should an accident occur between a horse and a vehicle there is also no requirement for a horse rider to supply a name and address. The rider can simply ride off into the sunset and leave you with the repair bill, whilst under the Road Traffic Act it is a legal requirement for the driver of a motor vehicle involved in a collision with a horse to supply a name and address and relevant insurance details to a person at the scene who has reasonable cause to require them, and it is the responsibility of the driver of that motor vehicle to report that collision to the Police. The Road Traffic Act places a clear responsibility on the driver of the vehicle and failure to comply is an offence. Horse riders do not require specific insurance for riding horses on the highway; it is not compulsory. If the rider is found to be at fault, the debt would be pursued by the Insurance Company for the driver either by making a claim from existing specific insurance policies or generic public liability insurance that the rider may have through other policies; i.e. household insurance or through the civil court or through the insurance policy held by the hunt, if they are a member of course.
