Pro-foxhunting group says UK hunters should be protected ethnic minority

[Still Waters]

A pro-foxhunting group says it has prepared a legal case to try to prove that hunters are an ethnic minority whose hunts should be protected under equality laws.

Ed Swales, the chair of Hunting Kind, claims he has been advised by a leading human rights lawyer that hunters unequivocally qualify for legal protection under the UK Equality Act 2010.

Speaking to the FieldsportsChannel podcast, Swales said: “The qualifications of an ethnic group, there are five of them, and we hit everyone straight in the bullseye.”

He said he had spent three years preparing a legal challenge that had now been reviewed by a human rights KC “who sits on the council of the European court of human rights”.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/12/pro-foxhunting-group-says-uk-hunters-protected-ethnic-minority

[Abramelin]

Quote:

He also said hunting was not cruel. “I can tell you for a fact it is not cruel because I take no delights in the suffering of an animal. I am as animal welfare friendly as anyone I have come across, and my hunting compatriots are the same.”

Yeah, right: being ripped apart by hunting dogs is not cruel at all...

[Waspie_Dwarf]

[MrsGently]

If you're not the fox it's a lot of fun. Personally I think there are also fun alternatives, like one of the hunters playing the fox... but it's a much shorter hunt. lol

[+ouija ouija]

11 minutes ago, Abramelin said:

Quote:

He also said hunting was not cruel. “I can tell you for a fact it is not cruel because I take no delights in the suffering of an animal. I am as animal welfare friendly as anyone I have come across, and my hunting compatriots are the same.”

 

And that ^ ^ right there, tells you all to need to know about people who enjoy hunting. It also shows without a shadow of a doubt, that hunting should remain banned forever.

[Abramelin]

7 minutes ago, MrsGently said:

If you're not the fox it's a lot of fun. Personally I think there are also fun alternatives, like one of the hunters playing the fox... but it's a much shorter hunt. lol

Man hunts. Cool.

[+Desertrat56]

9 minutes ago, ouija ouija said:

And that ^ ^ right there, tells you all to need to know about people who enjoy hunting. It also shows without a shadow of a doubt, that hunting should remain banned forever.

There are good reasons for hunting certain animals but the british fox hunt is ridiculous, 15 people on horses with 20 dogs chasing one fox.  Just seems an idiotic entertainment to me.   We have idiotic hunters in the U.S. as well, but most of them eventuallyl get caught and put in jail, because their idiocy involves hunting endangered species or hunting on private property without permission or hunting outside of the allowed hunting season, or killing animals that are not on their license (they don't have permission).   I think people who hunt should be required to use bow and arrow, not rifles.  Then at least they have worked for their meat.   Fishing is just as bad.   There are rules for a reason.

Edited August 12 by Desertrat56

[Setton]

53 minutes ago, MrsGently said:

If you're not the fox it's a lot of fun. Personally I think there are also fun alternatives, like one of the hunters playing the fox... but it's a much shorter hunt. lol

An easy compromise, every hunt, pick one of the hunters at random to be the quarry for the next one.

[Saru]

2 hours ago, Still Waters said:

A pro-foxhunting group says it has prepared a legal case to try to prove that hunters are an ethnic minority whose hunts should be protected under equality laws.

How ridiculous, "fox hunter" is not an ethnicity.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

3 hours ago, MrsGently said:

If you're not the fox it's a lot of fun.

I'm sure that there are plenty of serial killers that will tell you that, if you are not the victim, murder is a lot of fun. That doesn't make them any less morally bankrupt or their actions any less repugnant. 

[MrsGently]

29 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

I'm sure that there are plenty of serial killers that will tell you that, if you are not the victim, murder is a lot of fun. That doesn't make them any less morally bankrupt or their actions any less repugnant. 

Which is why I sort of suggested the switching the roles thing, I just stopped short of putting the fox on a horse...

[Setton]

15 minutes ago, MrsGently said:

Which is why I sort of suggested the switching the roles thing, I just stopped short of putting the fox on a horse...

And give the fox it's own shotgun.

[diddyman68]

3 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

There are good reasons for hunting certain animals but the british fox hunt is ridiculous, 15 people on horses with 20 dogs chasing one fox.  Just seems an idiotic entertainment to me.   We have idiotic hunters in the U.S. as well, but most of them eventuallyl get caught and put in jail, because their idiocy involves hunting endangered species or hunting on private property without permission or hunting outside of the allowed hunting season, or killing animals that are not on their license (they don't have permission).   I think people who hunt should be required to use bow and arrow, not rifles.  Then at least they have worked for their meat.   Fishing is just as bad.   There are rules for a reason.

While a bunch of Rodney's dressed like the queens guard on horseback with hunting dogs is seen to them as elitist entertainment.but is barbaric .

But I think it's ok for farmers to protect their chicken coops by killing the foxes as long as it's on their own land.

[iAlrakis]

5 hours ago, Still Waters said:

A pro-foxhunting group says it has prepared a legal case to try to prove that hunters are an ethnic minority whose hunts should be protected under equality laws.

Ed Swales, the chair of Hunting Kind, claims he has been advised by a leading human rights lawyer that hunters unequivocally qualify for legal protection under the UK Equality Act 2010.

Speaking to the FieldsportsChannel podcast, Swales said: “The qualifications of an ethnic group, there are five of them, and we hit everyone straight in the bullseye.”

He said he had spent three years preparing a legal challenge that had now been reviewed by a human rights KC “who sits on the council of the European court of human rights”.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/12/pro-foxhunting-group-says-uk-hunters-protected-ethnic-minority

Wow, can't wait for the witch hunts to start again.  Following the same logic that should be ok too.

[iAlrakis]

4 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

There are good reasons for hunting certain animals but the british fox hunt is ridiculous, 15 people on horses with 20 dogs chasing one fox.  Just seems an idiotic entertainment to me.   We have idiotic hunters in the U.S. as well, but most of them eventuallyl get caught and put in jail, because their idiocy involves hunting endangered species or hunting on private property without permission or hunting outside of the allowed hunting season, or killing animals that are not on their license (they don't have permission).   I think people who hunt should be required to use bow and arrow, not rifles.  Then at least they have worked for their meat.   Fishing is just as bad.   There are rules for a reason.

Agree.  If there really is an issue with an overpopulation people should first look at nature itself.  Natural predators (eg. wolves), if allowed to live, can balance things out again.

[Essan]

In that case, fans of Jethro Tull are an ethnic group.  As are those who enjoy Marvel films.  Hillwalkers.  People who photograph clouds. And anyone who eats cheese. 

No wonder I feel so oppressed 🤣

Edited August 12 by Essan

[MrsGently]

8 hours ago, Setton said:

And give the fox it's own shotgun.

That would spice things up. The ethnical minority "fox hunter" fighting a war with "the red danger"

[Tatetopa]

If foxhunters are a persecuted ethnic group, will child-molesters be next to claim the status?

 

[+Desertrat56]

17 hours ago, iAlrakis said:

Agree.  If there really is an issue with an overpopulation people should first look at nature itself.  Natural predators (eg. wolves), if allowed to live, can balance things out again.

Yes, some of the problems with less predators is due to human poachers.  We need to get those people under control and then we would not have problems re-introducing the decimated predators back into their environment.   An example is the wolf population in north america.   It was decimated due to ignorance, incursions into wild lands, and poachers selling their hides.   Now they have been reintroduced and poachers are still after them and farmers feel threatened and poison them.  Humans are almost always the problem, not the solution.

[iAlrakis]

5 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

Yes, some of the problems with less predators is due to human poachers.  We need to get those people under control and then we would not have problems re-introducing the decimated predators back into their environment.   An example is the wolf population in north america.   It was decimated due to ignorance, incursions into wild lands, and poachers selling their hides.   Now they have been reintroduced and poachers are still after them and farmers feel threatened and poison them.  Humans are almost always the problem, not the solution.

It's the same here in Belgium.  Rich people with big, fancy gardens complain about wild boar going bananas.  But now that a few wolfs are coming back and trying to find a territory some people are using the safety argument.  They eat our sheep, and soon will eat our children....   So frustrating.

[Bendy Demon]

16 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

If foxhunters are a persecuted ethnic group, will child-molesters be next to claim the status?

 

It seems to be getting horrifyingly close to that.

38 minutes ago, iAlrakis said:

It's the same here in Belgium.  Rich people with big, fancy gardens complain about wild boar going bananas.  But now that a few wolfs are coming back and trying to find a territory some people are using the safety argument.  They eat our sheep, and soon will eat our children....   So frustrating.

Because those people are still willfully ignorant about animals like wolves. Wolves are predators and furthermore individuals tend to eat rabbits and other small prey while a pack will take down larger stuff like deer or caribou.

As for the fox hunting, I fail to see the sport in any of it. Hunting for sustenance or for eliminating an actual threat is one thing but killing an animal for trophies is quite another and if someone does not want to perpetuate the cruelties done to animals in the name of a sport then for heavens sakes do not partake in them. It is just that simple.