Two years on from the ban and Britain’s hunts are flourishing

When the ban on hunting was introduced, supporters feared that the future of the sport was threatened. Almost two years on, however, a survey has revealed that many hunts have increased their membership, with some being forced to turn people away. The results of the study, carried out by the Countryside Alliance, provided a boost for hunt supporters as the new season got under way yesterday.

The Chief’s heart is warmed by this report from across the eastern pond, that the attempt to ban the traditional style of foxhunting in the UK has had the effect of stimulating greater interest, and greater participation than before. It seems that the legislation has enough “wiggle room” that the hunt organizations found that they could continue to function quite well, thank you!

Not only are the hunt groups prospering, but the overall numbers of foxes killed has greatly increased, chiefly due to an increase in alternative (and more efficient) methods:

More than a third of respondents said fox and hare numbers had dropped since the ban. While 20,000 foxes a year were killed by registered packs before the ban, and 75,000 a year by all forms of hunting and pest control, hunt insiders believe that both of these numbers have risen. The reasons are complex, but the use of guns rather than hounds and the renewed vigour that gamekeepers are applying to controlling fox numbers after the ban are cited as the most likely.

Chalk this one up as another failed attempt of the moonbats to impose their world onto the rest of us, whether we want it or not, sort of like the wildly expensive exercise in futility that comprises the Canuckian gun registration laws.

There’s apparently still hope for Britain in spite of years of ennervating exposure to the Labour government’s EngSoc.