B-----ds

[boboff]

So all farmers who take animals to county shows then?

People who breed brids of prey?

Game wardens in the most part do a good job, allot take a great deal of pride in the work they do.

I am not against pheasant shooting, allot of money goes into it, the cover crops are good for insects and bees etc.

In an odd way I think that ONLY those animals reared for the purposes of killing for sport should be killed. Leave the wild populations alone. Except Rabbits and Foxes, and lone Badgers, grey squirels, Wood Pigeon, snakes and Dear.......

Anyway, it's not an easy line to draw, but somehow killing Raptors should always be illegal ( or again is that a poorly bird of prey?)

[oldfella]

I am not against pheasant shooting, allot of money goes into it, the cover crops are good for insects and bees etc.

So lets bring back Fox hunting, a lot of MONEY go'es in to that as well.

[oldjerry]

I deliberately avoided the 'killing for fun' side of the issue,though I would point out that the bringing a load of cash into the countryside arguement is the main arguement put forward by those who would wish to harrass the Buzzards (step forward those one-time '' defenders of the Countryside and the people who live there''.....the Countryside Alliance).
Although I've spent much of my life in Cornwall,I was as a child (half a century ago) brought up in rural Shropsire,just a few miles from here,obsessed with birds and wildlife,I spent most of my time watching birds,looking for nests,collecting owl pellets etc.etc. I NEVER saw a buzzard.
Now through legislation,and vigilence if I drive the 20 or so miles back to our old place I will see several.Watching buzzards ride thermals is simply as good as it gets.

One way or another,this idea must be dumped immediately.

[demi]

i dont agree with killing animals unless you're going to eat them. or for self-defence, or if its as population control of an invasive species.
killing for fun should be outlawed! fox hunting is a horrific act and such a waste of life. besides, we need the foxes to control the bunny rabbit populations!

every life is special and should be respected. wither its a tree or a bee or a dolphin or a human. peace.

[clanpowell]

I deliberately avoided the 'killing for fun' side of the issue,though I would point out that the bringing a load of cash into the countryside arguement is the main arguement put forward by those who would wish to harrass the Buzzards (step forward those one-time '' defenders of the Countryside and the people who live there''.....the Countryside Alliance).
Although I've spent much of my life in Cornwall,I was as a child (half a century ago) brought up in rural Shropsire,just a few miles from here,obsessed with birds and wildlife,I spent most of my time watching birds,looking for nests,collecting owl pellets etc.etc. I NEVER saw a buzzard.
Now through legislation,and vigilence if I drive the 20 or so miles back to our old place I will see several.Watching buzzards ride thermals is simply as good as it gets.

One way or another,this idea must be dumped immediately.

You are right it's always the money into the community argument they throw up when they want to kill things (Fox hunting, badgers etc). You can't just kill things for sport, end of story. It's that bit that these so called elite of society can't deal with because it means they have to do as they're told rather than what they want. Unfortunately it'll probably get passed because it's their buddies/chums in charge of the country at the moment. (Just an aside. I had to laugh at David Cameron claiming he was a man of the people because he sometimes does the shopping at the big orange supermarket in Chipping Norton. CHIPPING NORTON IS NOT THE HOME OF THE COMMON MAN DAVID!!!! Try the blue, stripey supermarket in Easton, Bristol then we might take you seriouly)
Surely if buzzards take pheasants, they'll mostly take the ones that aren't fit to survive, therefore improving the pheasant species and in turn make them more difficult to shoot as they'll be stronger, cleverer etc, making the sport more of a challenge and surely thats the idea of a pastime/hobby, to be a challenge Or am I missing the point

[Odsox]

i dont agree with killing animals unless you're going to eat them. or for self-defence, or if its as population control of an invasive species.
killing for fun should be outlawed! fox hunting is a horrific act and such a waste of life. besides, we need the foxes to control the bunny rabbit populations!

every life is special and should be respected. wither its a tree or a bee or a dolphin or a human. peace.

Wow, I never thought I'd say this Demi, but I agree with every word you wrote.
I would also include people who buy meat, primarily chicken in supermarkets and then throw them away a week later. My ideology is that if an animal has (unwillingly) given up it's life to provide you with food, the least you can do is the respect it and make the most of it's sacrifice, including boiling up the bones for stock.
Of course that also sits well with the mean streak in me.

Sorry to wander off a bit OJ, but I hope that someone comes to their senses. We have a problem over here with (so called) farmers indiscriminately poisoning Sea Eagles and other raptors, and that's with it being totally illegal. Goodness knows what would happen if officialdom unofficially turned a blind eye.

[Green Aura]

Highlands Constabulary has a specialised "protected birds" unit (our local bobby is in it). They take very seriously stealing eggs, killing birds etc and there have been a number of successful prosecutions while we've been here. I don't know how much total effect they have but they do seem to be quite high profile.

[demi]

i dont agree with killing animals unless you're going to eat them. or for self-defence, or if its as population control of an invasive species.
killing for fun should be outlawed! fox hunting is a horrific act and such a waste of life. besides, we need the foxes to control the bunny rabbit populations!

every life is special and should be respected. wither its a tree or a bee or a dolphin or a human. peace.

Wow, I never thought I'd say this Demi, but I agree with every word you wrote.
I would also include people who buy meat, primarily chicken in supermarkets and then throw them away a week later. My ideology is that if an animal has (unwillingly) given up it's life to provide you with food, the least you can do is the respect it and make the most of it's sacrifice, including boiling up the bones for stock.
Of course that also sits well with the mean streak in me.

Sorry to wander off a bit OJ, but I hope that someone comes to their senses. We have a problem over here with (so called) farmers indiscriminately poisoning Sea Eagles and other raptors, and that's with it being totally illegal. Goodness knows what would happen if officialdom unofficially turned a blind eye.

yes i love all creatures great and small.
i used to be vegetarian, and bhuddist. iv always loved animals, thats why i studied zoology at uni. the natural world is breath taking, how everything is connected, and if you wipe out one spices it affects the whole ecosystem. wlid animals should be left well alone, killing for sport is sickening. if you kill it, you should eat it, not waste it.

[boboff]

I do agree with all that you say about not killing gruesomly for fun, but again this is a personal opinion I don't have a problem with fox hunting.
I feel like a nasty chap for saying that, but I can't a see a fox in the same way as I can a kitten or a dog, they are pretty rank animals if you ask me, and I have enjoyed Boxing Days in front of the Pub with a load of locals on horses, the killing is really rather academic.

As for David Cameron not being of the people until he shops in Easton in Bristol? Well he's not a real man till he's drank in The Harriers in Hartcliffe either then........

[oldjerry]

I had my motorbike stolen from outside there in about 1987!!

As somene who occasionally goes coarse-fishing ,I'm not in a position to criticise fox-hunting per se.What does my head in is the ludicrously bogus arguements put forward by is supporters to justify what they do(''most real country people support it''...whoever THEY are,that's drivel,andalarge number of those hunting actually live in town,''the foxes need to be controlled''......yep but most of the ones you runaround after are old and knackered,we have to shoot them to control them properly etc..etc..)
Anyhow,life round here is less fun without them,the standard of some of the riders is hilarious ,and the extra beer money we got from sorting out the people who couldn't box their horses at the end of the day,was much appreciated.

[demi]

i love to see foxes, i think they're lovely.

if you think they are rank, you could say the same about badgers, they reek too.

think thing about fox hunting though, is that the foxes are not just shot and eaten, like you would with a dear. the animals are chased by a big pack of dogs for miles until they are in agoney from exhaustion then the dogs get a hold of them and rip them limb from limb. its a horrific and unnessesary form of tourcher.
the hunstmen can easily do drag chasing for the thrill of the chase through the contry side. i love riding and id happily go along for the fun of it if there was no foxes envolved.
another thing is the aragoncy of the fox hunters, if you've ever passed them they tend to be incredibly rude and have no respect for peoples land, galloping through fields of crops with the horses chopping up all thr ground. iv even heard of them charging through peoples gardens after foxes!

[demi]

i also dont agree with fishing for sport.
fair enough if your going to catch a fish and eat it for dinner, but whats with all this catching fish with a big hook which ripps through their mouth, then you just unimpale them and let them go!? i could do the same with dogs. bate a big hook with a piece of meat, throw it to a dog, wait till it starts eating it then pull the hook through its mouth, then unhook it and let it go. its unnessesary animal creulty.

[marshlander]

B-----DS!!!!!!!!

My sentiments exactly!

[oldjerry]

Sadly,I'm far from perfect.As well as coarse fishing,Ialso drive a car,have been known to fly in a plane,and probably other stuff,damaging the atmosphere,planet,and subsequently ALL the creatures upon it,God knows how many species,and individual animals have suffered as a result . Anyhow,I DO like Buzzards.

[boboff]

Well I have just spent £20 on bottles and milk formuka for 4 orphaned kittens...... Self Sufficient my Arse!