Posted by Ed Kiser on November 05, 2002 at 19:20:40 from 205.188.209.46 user Kisered.
Reference is made in SWALLOWDALE about a fox hunt. Actually, it
was not really a hunt for a fox, but was merely a training
session for the dogs that were to be used in a fox hunt, a
training session for those dogs.
Never been on a "fox hunt". Just wondering about a few things
regarding that particular sport.
Presume the object the the removal of a fox, as it supposedly is
a predator that causes damage to domestic animals. That being
the case, in my part of the world, that would classify the fox as
being "A VARMIT", a pest, something that needs to be eliminated.
Now, having been raised on a farm, I can appreciate the need to
eliminate a varmit. Quite a few times I went to the corn crib to
shoot a 22 cal revolver at rats that were fouling the corn which
was to be used for seed next year, or for feeding the stock. The
22 shell was similar to a shotgun type shell, with many tiny
pellets, (not a single bullet) that made it a very limited range
shot, deadly to rats, yet not likely to blow a hole in the side
of the barn. It was not a sport; it was a necessity to save the
corn. Did not do it for fun; not much fun in gathering up "the
results" and digging a hole to bury them in. Just a job that
needed to be done, part of life on a farm. Certainly was not a
special social occasion at all.
I have seen rather glorious pictures of "A Fox Hunt" that seem
to show quite a bunch of people dressed in attire that is
peculiar only to this particular sport, practically a "Fox
Hunting Uniform". It looks to be more of a social gathering
rather than the eradication of a varmit.
The purpose of the dogs is obvious; they are to track the fox and
thus follow it to its present location.
What I'm not sure of is what is supposed to happen once the dogs
have located their quarry.
Is it the job of the dogs to kill the fox? Or is it just to
point him out to the human hunters so that they might make a
sport of killing the fox themselves? If the dogs are supposed to
have the final honors, for what purpose do the people go through
all this effort, except maybe for the pleasurable spectical of
watching the dogs tear up the fox. In these beautiful pictures
of people on horses leaping over fences, there never seems to be
any guns in evidence, so maybe this is really just a spectator
sport watching dogs have all the fun.
If the object is the death of the fox, it seems to be much easier
to just open the gate to the dogs' enclosure, let them dash out,
do their thing, and come on back home all excited and bloody at
the successful end of their job. That would save a lot of wear
and tear on the horses, and avoid the expense of having to buy
all those fancy duds for just this one situation.
(In case that is a foreign word, "duds" means "clothing", with
more emphasis on appearance and very little emphasis on comfort
or functionality.)
To summarize, "I just don't get it..."
Ed Kiser, South Florida