Brexit, British borders, and The Hunt
British Prime Minister Theresa May has to be one of the most harried politicians in the developed world. Not only does she have to navigate her way out of the European Economic Community without Britain losing its biggest trading partner but she has to worry about losing Scotland and Northern Ireland in the process. Both of these parts of what is looking less and less like a ‘United’ Kingdom have already said they’d much prefer to stay with the EEC.
On top of that she will soon find herself in the middle of an election campaign which she recently called hoping to show the Europeans that the country is solidly behind her efforts – not counting Scotland or Northern Ireland of course.
Throw in the constant worry about home-grown terrorism and the PM has a pretty full plate on her political table. Which is why one has to wonder what she was thinking about when she recently announced that if re-elected the Tories would move to reinstate fox hunting.
The long tradition of riding to hounds was banned in 2004 by Britain’s Labour government much to the dismay of the horsey, land owning class and there has been moaning and grumbling ever since.
To those of you not familiar with this ancient sport it’s simple. A fox is let lose to run across the country chased by a pack of baying dogs and a herd of riders dressed in nifty red jackets, jodhpurs, high boots and hard hats. Everybody rides cross country so there’s a premium on being a good rider since there’s a stone wall or a hedge row about every twenty feet in rural Britain. One of the riders, called the Huntsman, has a miniature bugle which he blows to give the dogs directions. The rest of the riders periodically yell out things like “Tally Ho” and “Yoicks” designed to encourage the dogs, who apparently understand a form of ancient English.
The hunt goes on until one of three things happens. First, the fox goes to ground. This means he out ran the dogs long enough to find a suitable burrow or hole in one of the stone walls where he can safely hide. Second, the dogs actually catch the fox and he becomes lunch. Third, all the riders manage to fall off their horses and are forced to go back to the manor and drink sherry until they fall off their chairs.
That famous wit, Oscar Wilde, probably came closer to anyone in his portrayal of the hunt when he described it as, “the English country gentleman galloping after the fox – the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.”
It is not clear how the news that Prime Minister May is considering legalizing fox hunting again will sit with the gnomes in Brussels. The EEC’S bureaucrats probably already have a law governing the practice which details the minimum size of the fox, tail length, maximum hunt time, the number of riders, hunting dog breed, hedge row heights and decibel restrictions for the bugle. Perhaps the only way the hunt can actually be re-instated is for Britain to leave the EEC.
On the other hand, maybe it’s just a very tricky manoeuvre on May’s part to keep Northern Ireland in line since that part of the UK still allows the hunt. As for Scotland, it actually banned fox hunting as far back as 2002 when the Labour Party decided to thumb its collective nose at the upper class twits of the border area, which usually voted Tory anyway.
No matter. Theresa May has thrown down the gauntlet. In this election it’s Brexit, Britain’s Borders and The Hunt. Tally Ho!