Some traditions should stop if they were harmful to humans, animals, or plants, and one of those traditions in Boxing Day; a holiday celebrated on December the 26th, the day after Christmas. Having originated from the UK, this holiday is celebrated in other countries as well. According to “The Daily Telegraph”, Boxing Day is one of the main days in the hunting calendar for hunts in the UK and US, with most hunts (both mounted foxhound or harrier packs and foot packs of beagles or bassets) holding meets, often in town or village centres.
“The Guardian” mentions that “With “at least 250,000” gathering at some of the hunts taking place across the country, pro-hunting group the Countryside Alliance said it was a “great turnout”, adding that “This is despite anti-blood sports charity the League Against Cruel Sports suggesting opposition to repealing the ban has risen steadily since its introduction”.
On the other hand, Chief executive of the Countryside Alliance and former farmer Tim Bonner told AP there were “huge crowds from Cornwall to Cumbria”.
“Frankly, even though it is 11 years on after the ban came into force, it is business as usual and (they are) quite determined they are not going to lie down, they are not going to go away.
“We are seeing a huge amount of support from the rural community.”
Hunting Act
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales; the Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.
Drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial trail, is legal, but anti-hunt campaigners claim illegal hunting of foxes continues.
82% in Rural Areas Oppose Hunting
“Express” mentioned that “A poll by the League Against Cruel Sports shows opposition to fox hunting remains high across the country, with 84 per cent saying it should not be made legal again”, adding that “the Ipsos Mori survey of 1,986 people shows how 82 per cent of people living in rural areas said they opposed hunting compared to 69 per cent four years ago”.
League Against Cruel Sports chief executive Eduardo Goncalves said: “The Boxing Day hunts are portrayed as a glorious pageant taking place in front of a huge number of people who support them, but the truth is very different”, adding “The fact is 84% of the public do not want fox hunting made legal”.
“Just because families might venture out on Boxing Day to see the hunt, stroke the dogs or watch the horses, doesn’t mean they support repealing a law to enable the hunt to chase and kill wild animals with their dogs for sport.”
While activists predict that there might be a majority of pro-hunting MPs for a long time standing against better legislation, a proper ban is still awaited from the Labour government. Introducing the ban will need a huge majority, but hopefully, it will eventually happen. Killing animals is not sports, neither it is fun. It is just another cruel act against animals to ban.
