In response to Jack’s post… I do not support a ban on fox hunting. Predictable, I know, since I rarely support banning anything. Frankly, though, I haven’t heard a single logical argument for banning it. The fact that it’s apparently ‘cruel’ to foxes certainly doesn’t count as logical. If it’s cruel, then it is already illegal under the Cruelty to Animals Acts 1849 and 1854, not to mention the Martin Act 1822, and the bazillions of other Animal Cruelty Acts (famously passed long before the Cruelty to Children Act 1884 – useless trivia, all part of the Tilly O’Shea service).

It’s like Tony’s ludicrous brainwave of passing legislation to ban using a mobile while driving – it was already illegal, why complicate the matter by introducing another bill specifying that this in particular is illegal? Are we to pass another law to say that killing someone by poking them repeatedly with a fork is illegal, just in case our laws on murder aren’t clear? Unnecessary legislation does nothing but infringes on the freedom of the people.

Back to fox hunting… Whilst I would not want to go and do it, and whilst I can see Jack’s point that “dressing it up as a sherry guzzling, red jacketed wankfest is wholly unnecessary”, I don’t see any good reason to ban it. If everything I didn’t particularly like was banned, then this country would be somewhat less than a utopian ideal.

Originally posted on The LBSC