Hunting foxes has no place in society
■ I AM so happy you highlighted the issue of the Boxing Day meets (Mirror, Dec 24 and 27). I was brought up on the edge of Dartmoor and the Mid-Devon Hunt met in our village every Boxing Day. We were brought up to think this tradition was a wonderful part of Christmas and country life.
How little we understood what it really meant, until one year the hunt tore a fox to bits in the field in front of my house. I was about 10 and it still haunts me to this day.
The problem is the people at these horrible hunt kennels seem to think they are above the law. I believe they lie about trail hunting and “accidentally” killing foxes.
They don’t give a damn except for getting their blood lust satisfied. Please keep on exposing the truth about fox hunting.
Janice Wray, Newcastle upon Tyne
■ I was really pleased when fox hunting became illegal in 2005, but I cannot see the sense in trail hunting being allowed. It is obvious and logical that the hounds could very easily attack foxes.
The dogs are not going to know the difference between an artificial scent and the scent from an actual fox, and therefore there’s a risk that foxes could be killed. For this reason, all forms of hunting should be banned, including trail hunts. Debbie Richens South East London
■ Jeremy Corbyn is right to say if elected he would imprison anyone caught flouting the ban on hunting with hounds. With trail hunting, too many innocent animals are still being “accidentally” ripped apart by dogs. It is sickening that the tally-ho brigade claim this so-called sport is part of country life when most rightminded country folk have a respect for nature and wildlife.
Henry Jenkins, Newport, Gwent
■ When are the police and Parliament going to wake up and see that supposed trail hunts can be a cover for illegal fox hunts? These illegal meets have been exposed by campaigners, but too often nothing gets done to protect the poor animals that are savaged by the hounds. These people seem to think they are above the law.
Moira Ward, Fareham, Hants
■ A poll has found 91% of rural dwellers think “countryside values” are about respect for nature (Mirror, Dec 27). This shows the support for the fox hunting ban is stronger than ever, a fact that sticks in the craw of many Tory MPs who would like nothing more than to repeal the law against fox hunting. This barbaric practice should never again be legal and anyone breaking the law should be punished.
S Carr, via email
■ Why do these toffs have to hunt or shoot wild animals for sport? Anyone who is found flouting the 2005 ban on fox hunting should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They cannot be allowed to get away with it.
S Hyde, Walsall, West Mids
■ What a great tradition and colourful spectacle fox hunting is. Toffs on horses chasing a poor fox over the countryside, all in the name of sport.
Kathy Hill, via email