Hunts breed foxes to hunt - MYTH
This is another of those myths that the anti-hunters like to put about, knowing that, even though they have no proof, some mud will stick.
Take it from me, hunts do not breed foxes. They don't need to. Foxes do it all by themselves – they’re clever like that.
You might have heard of an incident a couple of years ago in Yorkshire, where an anti-hunter claimed to have "discovered" a cage containing fox cubs being bred on Hunt Land. This accusation was so fatuous, that when an investigation was set up to look into this, the anti-hunters did not even bother to submit any evidence.
So where does this myth spring from?
The basis usually turns out to be the fact that many Hunts, or hunt supporters have constructed "artificial earths" in their territory
An "Earth" is the technical term for a fox’s burrow, or den, and an artificial earth usually consists of a buried box or chamber with two or more buried pipes leading into it.
The logic usually runs something like this :
The hunt say that they are trying to kill foxes, and yet they have put this artificial earth in for foxes to breed in.
If the hunt want foxes to breed, then obviously they are not trying to kill all the foxes.
Therefore, their reason for hunting must be because they are sadists. Q.E.D.
The problem with this argument is that the Hunt is not, and never has been, trying to kill all the foxes.
Hunting is about Control of foxes, and control means keeping numbers up when they are too low, just as much as it means reducing numbers when they are too high.
Think about this scenario :
If I plant a new wood, I am a conservationist.
The majority of small birds and mammals in woodland live on the edges. So, if I put rides and glades in the wood, thus increasing the amount of "edge" available, I am a conservationist.
If I plant fruiting shrubs and trees to feed the birds – I am a conservationist.
If I put up artificial nesting boxes for the Birds - I am a conservationist.
If I were to put in an artificial badger set - I am a conservationist.
If I were to do any of these things, all of which increase the wildlife and diversity of the wood, people would say that I had done a good thing.
The Government would even, in many instances, pay me Grants for it.
But :
If I put in an artificial Fox Earth to encourage the foxes into my new wood, then suddenly the only reason that I would do that is because I am a Sadist.
No. I don't think so. Just a little bit of inconsistency there.
Why?
Because everyone knows that we kill foxes.
What they forget is that we kill many other species too and for exactly the same reasons. Conservation means killing.
The only difference is that Fox Hunting is a high profile activity, that people want to have a go at.
The problem, once again, is that these people "cannot see the wood for the trees."