Geoscience Reference
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the mobility of photographs is limited, such as the debating chamber of the House
of Commons. Thus, in proposing the Wild Mammals Bill, Michael Foster firstly
verbally constructed the hunting of foxes as being unnatural: 'The fox has no
natural predator in this country' (
Hansard,
301, 28 November 1997: col. 1205).
Second, he constructed the fox as being the victim of unnecessary cruelty during the
chase and the kill, through reference to quoted anecdote and veterinary reports:
I am told that the average fox hunt lasts less than 17 minutes before either a
kill takes place, or the scent is lost. I shall read out a boast from the
Worcestershire hunt which states: 'I cannot let the occasion pass without
putting forward the claims of the Worcestershire Hunt to the longest
recorded run…. From the place where they found to that where they killed is
more than 50 miles in a straight line and with the compass of the ground
which must have been covered, the distance could not have been less than 80
to 90 miles.' So says Alan Cure, the former master of the Worcestershire
hunt. That is the equivalent of the circumference of the M25. I wonder when
the fox stopped laughing.
(
Hansard,
301, 28 November 1997: col. 1206)
A vet who conducted the post mortem of a fox killed by the Cottesmore fox
hounds concluded: 'I feel that the most likely cause of death was that of shock
(in the pathological sense) brought about by blood loss, organ damage, lack of
oxygenation of the blood due to lower respiratory dysfunction and upper airway
obstruction…. In short, the fox died a painful and unpleasant death, which
probably was not as quick as evidenced by the areas of haemorrhage seen at
many sites.'
(
Hansard,
301, 28 November 1997: col. 1207)
Much of the cruelty argument turns on the representation of foxes as sentient beings
—as conscious beings with the perception of sense, the ability to feel sensations, and
particularly in this case the sensation of pain:
The debate is about how we treat other species and our relationship with
them. The compassion and consideration that we show those species is a mark
of our civilisation. We cannot treat them as quarries for our entertainment or
pleasure. They are creatures like us, with nervous systems. They feel pain,
suffering and fear, just as we do. We cannot treat them as targets or a
collection of inert, non-suffering chemicals.
(Paul Flynn,
Hansard,
301, 28 November 1997: col. 1229)
I am against the chase, the cruelty involved in the prolonging the terror of a
living, sentient being that is running for its life.
(Ann Widdecombe,
Hansard,
301, 28 November 1997: col. 1251)
