I live out in the sticks, keep rare breed poultry and yep I have foxes - one vixen in particular has her earth at the top of our paddock and she has killed  some of my hens and  one of my female call ducks - I also have owls living in the barn that will take baby chicks, stoats that will kill an entire hen coop of youngsters given half the chance and Peregrine falcons that will kill any youngsters too. My garden is regularly eaten by the hares that thrive in the fields around here , hedgehogs pass their fleas onto my dogs and at night I get dive bombed by bats -Do I want to kill them all ? - no ! -  it's very sad when I lose one of my hens but mostly it's because I have been careless about locking them away - I consider living in such close proximity with some of our native wild animals a privilege - we have so few and most of them are shoehorned into smaller and smaller areas - what a crying shame that so many people's first reaction to a wild animal is to kill it :rolleyes:

Yvonne

I love wildlife too Yvonne, and certainly don't want to kill it all but unfortunately mans occupation of this earth has led to imbalances in nature and control is necessary for the good of all.

Animals are often killed for amusement it appears particularly where I live. They start shooting from 6am most days when it is the season. I have overheard the shooters shouting " Yeh get the b****** s" they have shot at anything that runs . After a shoot I have seen many discarded carcasses of crows, pigeons, doves,foxes,hares,rabbits and have even seen 3 shot kestrels. I try to go out the village when a big shoot is on so I dont see the carnage !!  I guess people think that I have to accept country living and what comes with it. I wont accept it but I guess people have choices to do as they please !!

No, people cannot do just as they please.  They are not allowed to be cruel to animals and some species are protected.  The kestrel is a fully protected bird so I hope you reported this to the police.

Sorry You misunderstood what I said. I meant that people have a choice to shoot aniamls as a hobby, sorry for not making it clearer. Yes there are protection laws, do they work ??? Does not appear so where I live !!!

Protection laws can only work, when breaches of the law are brought to the attention of the authorities - if no-one reports cases of shot kestrals and the like, then no-one can be charged with breaking the law.    It is the responsibility of EVERYONE to ensure that things like this do not go un-reported.

Margot

I see, you want people to do the job but not enjoy it.  Personally I don't care if they do enjoy their hobby as long as they do it in a considerate and professional manner.  Did you report the kestrels?

Yes, kestrels reported. No outcome from this as far as I am aware and no one has been held responsible.

Aah but Isabel I do wonder about the mindset that turns the death of an animal into ones 'hobby' - when this is done to domestic animals i.e with dog fighting then it is widely seen as repugnant - why then is the death of a wild animal legitimately seen as a source of 'entertainment' for some ?

Yvonne

I think the enjoyment comes from the satisfaction of a job well done.  I am sure there have been regretable instances but it never seems to have been part of the culture of hunting to deliberately inflict suffering, as in dog fighting etc., far from it, the pride seems always to have been in a clean dispatch.  I am not sure that I would use the word entertainment, sport or hobby describes it better I feel.

but should it be ok to have the death of an animal as central to the enjoyment of ones sport or hobby ? -  surely not ? - what kind of message is this ending out  - that killing animals is 'fun'

Yvonne

I don't think the death is particularly central.  I think for hunters the central point is to use their wits and skills.

that includes fishing then?

Course fishing, sport fishing or trawler fishing, Sam ;)?  I must say, I have never seen the point of fishing when it doesn't end up in a frying pan, it's not pest control is it?  Well, maybe pike fishing is. :)

Cutting Edge: Meet the Foxes is repeated on   ( MORE 4) Sunday 22/4/07 at 10pm  ;-)

Hello all,

Watched this last night - good program.

A few points to make that really got up my nose!

1) The family that had the fox trapped in their garden and then took their kids to see it before school - ok, i agree that the kids may not have seen a fox close up before, but in the p*****g rain, why did they not at least put a bit of plastic over the trap. I know that the fox was prabably going to be shot, but thats no excuse for leaving it in distress beforehand!
2) Did the lady that had the mangy fox trapped REALLY think that it was going to the vets to be treated and then released? She seemed truly shocked that it was going to be shot rather than pts by injection.
3) The couple that filmed the fox and then watched it back again the next morning, i felt a bit sorry for. They obviously had not thought through what they were doing, or were not aware that making the foxes tamer was a BAD idea.

I have to say, although i didn't like to see it, the marksman was a very good shot. Sad but True.

Ali