Fox Hunting News

The recent horrific incident of an actual fox attack on a pair of young twins in London spawned, according to Chris Atkins and Johnny Howorth, a media hysteria there disproportionate to the extent of the problem. According to Atkins, the reporting, including by the BBC, was irresponsible and misrepresentative, and the reports never stressed that urban fox attacks were rare and that foxes were not dangerous. To expose the “ludicrous media coverage” of the dangers of urban foxes, Atkins and Howorth produced a video satire as “ridiculously silly and Python-esque” as possible. Their video, showing a fox being clubbed to death in a London park, was posted on Facebook and YouTube, resulting in complaints to the police and condemnation by animal rights groups. Atkins apologized to those of the public who were upset by the footage, and assured them that the “dead” fox was actually a stuffed fox, and the live fox shown was actually a pet dog. Part of the video is said to have been used by the BBC in a television report documenting the apparent practice of urban fox killing. The video had since been removed from Facebook and YouTube. “I did not expect so many people to take it seriously,” he said. BBC News has more.

Three hunts face prosecution for incidents which occurred last season that allegedly violated the terms of the Hunting Act of 2004: the Fernie and Sinnington Foxhounds and the Quantock Staghounds. The trials, which are expected to take place this autumn, will be prosecuted based on surveillance evidence provided to prosecutors for the Crown by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). For more details, see Abigail Butcher’s article in Horse and Hound.August 8, 2010

We’re all busy legging up our horses for the upcoming hunting season now. And the summer has been a scorcher. You’ve no doubt become hot and sweaty while exercising your horse, but did you know that horses are much faster than people to become debilitated by the heat? This weather calls for electrolytes.. The Summer Olympics in Atlanta taught us a lot about summer heat and horses. Canadians researchers especially were stimulated to research the problem because their horses were not accustomed to the temperatures they were expecting to encounter. One surprising response they found was that horses feel the heat up to ten times faster than people. The horse not only gets hotter faster, but is more susceptible to the negative effects of heat stress. Professor Michael Lindinger of the University of Guelph was a lead researcher for the Canadian team. “It only takes seventeen minutes of moderate intensity exercise in hot, humid weather to raise a horse’s temperature to dangerous levels,” says Lindinger. The horse sweats to cool his body by evaporation, but the greatest majority of the sweat simply drips off the horse’s body. That sweat is ineffective in the cooling process, yet it carries needed salts from the body. In fact, the salts in horses’ sweat is four times more concentrated than in human sweat. “Those salts have to be replaced,” says Lindinger. “Just giving the horse water will not re-hydrate a dehydrated horse.” An electrolyte solution—water with the correct amount of salts dissolved in it—should be made available to the horse to replace those losses. For more information, read Teresa Pitman’s article in the University of Guelph newsletter.July 29, 2010

On July 15 an Iowa state economic development board agreed to co-fund a feasibility study by a start-up company seeking a humane way to euthanize and process horses for consumption by animals. Responsible Transportation, LLC wants to develop innovative methods to collect and euthanize horses with no charge to the horse owners.

Early this month, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced a compromise puppy-mill bill that he would recommend to the state legislature. The compromise has the backing of both the hunting dog community and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the bill’s sponsor. The question now is, will the compromise hold through the legislative process?

July 7, 2010
Foxhunters in Britain are backing plans for regulation of hunting by an independent authority in return for an overturn of the despised 2004 Hunting Act.

Hunt supporters have proposed creation of a Hunting Regulatory Authority (HRA) which would demand a strict code of practice to eliminate unnecessary suffering of the fox and to ensure that hunts respect animals, property, land, and crops. Flouting of the code could result in prosecution in the courts and, for the guilty, fines and disbarment from hunting. Hunters with hounds operate under a similar system in Northern Ireland.

July 1, 2010European Union legislation passed in 2008 required all foals to be micro-chipped by July 1, 2009. New legislation requires all horses to have valid passports issued from an approved studbook or agency as well. Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith has consulted with representatives of that country’s equine industry to determine how best to transpose the EU regulations into Irish law. He continues to engage with the industry on developing a system to monitor the movement of horses and the transfer of ownership. For further details, see Ray Ryan’s article in the Irish Examiner.

June 29, 2010
Legislative initiatives to curb puppy mills, in recent years brought before numerous state legislatures, is now in the hands of both houses of the U.S. Congress. The so-called PUPS Act (Puppy Uniform Protection Statute) would require dog breeders who sell more than fifty puppies a year to be federally licensed and regulated.

June 25, 2010Riding helmet manufacturers Charles Owen, Troxel, GPA and Aegis will be offering discounts on helmets purchased through participating retailers on July 10, National Helmet Awareness Day. The event is endorsed by USEF, USEA, and USDF. A list of participating retailers and further information is available at Riders4Helmets.com. Stylistically, although anything goes for schooling, showing, and hacking, remember that only black (or dark blue for ladies) velvet covering is appropriate for the hunting field during the formal season! (For a refresher on correct attire, go to the Resources drop-down menu and click on Attire, Tack, and Appointments under Foxhunting 101.)

June 24, 2010The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on Wednesday decided to close all fox pens in that state. Legal text for the ban is expected to be drafted in September, with the actual closures not occurring until next year. The Humane Society of the United States along with other animal rights organizations argued that hunting in fox pens was akin to dog fighting. Hunters felt that their position was not fairly heard. Read Julie Watkins’ report in Jacksonville’s Action News for more details.