Foxes that escape the Hunt die of exhaustion anyway… - MYTH

 

One of the main problems that the anti-hunting lobby have in discrediting Hunting with Hounds is that with hunting the fox is either killed outright in seconds, or it escapes unharmed.

There is no wounding, no extended pain, no shades of grey.

Whatever alternative the anti-hunters try to promote – when of course they are being sensible and not trying their ridiculous "Foxes don't need to be controlled at all" theory – they are stuck with the inescapable fact that when these alternatives go wrong, they can be more distressing, more painful and cause more animal suffering than Hunting.

So, in order to get over this rather inconvenient hurdle, they invent this rather cunning myth that the foxes that escape the hunt all go on to die of exhaustion or stress.

The cunning part, you see, is that when we ask them to produce some proof of this, like perhaps some dead bodies, they reply :

The foxes all go off and die in holes underground and, as a result, they can’t find them.

Brilliant.

Invent a false theory, for which you have no proof, and then invent a plausible reason for why you cannot find any proof.

Now, let’s be honest here – I have absolutely no difficulty for a moment in believing that some foxes might indeed die of exhaustion after hunting. Some people die of heart attacks whilst climbing the stairs. That does not, however, mean that stairs should be made illegal.

The critical point here is one of scale – a very few foxes might, perhaps die of a stress related condition after hunting. Most don't.

 

Of course, as usual, it all boils down to "proof".

The anti’s claim that they cannot find any proof.

Absolutely right – Not because it is hidden but because there is NO proof to find!

 

I mean, lets just look at this little claim of theirs under the cold light of day, shall we.

There are over 180 packs of foxhounds operating in the country.

They go out 2,3 or 4 times a week from September through to March.

They might hunt, at a conservative average, say three foxes per day.

This means that if their claim were to be true, there would be tens of thousands of dead foxes littering the countryside.

And yet they can’t find even two or three.

Yeah, right!

 

"Oh no", sez they, "we can’t find them because the countryside is vast and they are tiny and secretive."

 

I’m sorry, but that bird won’t fly either.

Let’s not forget what we are talking about here :

Thirty or forty dogs charging across the fields followed by a whole load of people on horses, in turn followed by even more people in cars. The whole shebang being carried on in open countryside, and advertised to all and sundry for weeks in advance.

I think that if they really wanted to find these mythical "dead foxes", then the above process might just provide a teensy weensy bit of a clue as to where they might look.

don't you?

Next time you hear an anti-hunter trying this little claim, ask ‘em where the proof is, and if they can’t provide it, ask yourself :

Why if the case against hunting is so strong, so justified do the anti-hunters constantly feel the need to mislead the public?

 

The case of "Copper the Fox" proved that hunted foxes suffer dangerous levels of stress.