Fox Hunting in Britain

I find this article interesting on several levels. First, the article is heavily biased against hunting. Second, the British researcher's study was designed with an anti-hunting bias. Third, the researcher admits that the hunting ban during the foot-and-mouth moratorium in 2002 saw numbers trending upward -- although apparently not at a statistically significant rate. When you consider the small number of foxes taken by the sport, it would be difficult to determine statistical significance.

The real story here is that hunting is NOT detrimental to the fox population. It might even reduce the number of road kills. Do you think a bunch of sensitive do-gooders from London would rather see a fox "highway pizza" or a bunch of beautiful horses leaping over fences as the hunters blow their horns and the dogs chase the fox? I vote for the latter. In fact, I'd like to try the latter.

Conservation is the wise use of our natural resources in a sustainable manner. It looks to me that moderate hunting pressure on the fox population of England is certainly sustainable.

Fox Hunting's Supposed Benefits Dismissed

By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Published: October 8, 2002

In the debate over fox hunting in Britain, there is plenty of emotion to go around. Opponents argue that unleashing a pack of hounds to pursue and kill a fox is the height of cruelty.

Supporters, including the 400,000 who protested parliamentary proposals to ban hunts by marching in London late last month, say that nothing less than the future of the British countryside is at stake.

But there are more scientific issues as well. For instance, aside from its role as sport, there is the question of whether hunting with hounds is an effective means of controlling foxes and reducing attacks on farm animals.

Now, a study by a longtime fox researcher and colleagues suggests that it is not. The researcher, Dr. Stephen Harris of the University of Bristol, found that a ban on hunting, instituted for 10 months during the foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001, had no effect on the fox population.
''Statistically there was no difference from previous years,'' Dr. Harris said. ''If anything, the trend was slightly downward.''

The results, reported in the Sept. 5 issue of Nature, contradict assertions by pro-hunting groups that fox numbers had...(complete article here).