Hunting

[The Iceman]

I was part of a foot hound organization. We hunted hares. In the ten years I hunted I think we killed maybe 5? The purpose was the hunt, the chase.  We didn't want to kill the hare or we'd have nothing to hunt the next week. Hares run in circles or rings, each one about 1-2 miles in distance around.  You get to see what dogs have the speed, the scent, you get to watch the hare try to evade them - it was a real sport.  We hated to run into a fox because they'll head straight out for miles and you end up losing dogs. In my time hunting with hounds we killed one fox.

We hunted rabbits with ferrets for the Greyhound men. They bought them off us alive to blood their dogs. I also went out with terrier and lurcher men and dug foxes or lamped at night time.

The horsey brigade are an entirely different group.

Where is the sport or enjoyment in digging an animal out of its home? The fact that someone would want to do that is peculiar and a bit psychopathic in my opinion.

I specifically referenced the hound chasing the hare as a sport - not the digging foxes. Have you ever watched animals fighting in nature? Do you switch off the discovery channel when it's on there? I think as a teen it was something a lot of the country lads did.  There was something to be said about owning a great dog or being a great shot with a rifle. I think hitting a golf ball and walking after it for hours is peculiar...
I don't hunt with dogs anymore.  I haven't since I was in my teens.  My old foot hound club is still active but mostly with older men who were old when i was a lad. I grew out of it.  I'm not against it. 

[lurganblue]

must say i didnt realise this craic was very popular round here.  Do the tally ho crowd exist in Ireland?

My da would have done a bit of hunting/shooting when i was younger but i think it was mostly just ducks etc.  Still know people who do this but dont know anyone who goes out hunting foxes.

[J70]

I absolutely detest hunters who try to appropriate rural Ireland and try and make out that their niche interests are somehow an intrinsic part of the fabric of rural life that town folk just don't understand.

The fact no one in the hunting community will ever admit to is that they are probably disliked most of all in rural Ireland because the problems and harm they cause isn't philosophical but real, day-to-day issues that people in the countryside have to deal with directly. The amount of farmers I know whose fences have been destroyed on these organised hunts or whose cattle have been shot near because some idiot has seen a fox or a pheasant in the field over is unreal. So few of them have any respect for private land.

Vermin control, would ya ever cop on. That might sound good to the uneducated townies but anyone in the countryside knows you'll get a lot more done with some poison than dressing up like Jack Charlton and wandering around a hedgerow with a 300 euro peashooter.

The actual number of people I know who are hunters is incredibly low too, indeed most people don't even have a gun in their house and would never want one darkening their door in the first place.

I'd sooner go to a protest against hunting than I would one about water charges or any of that shite people waste their time with these days.

You were going well until the "poison" bit!

Although that depends on what you're talking about. Rat poison laid in a pipe or whatever in a shed to specifically target rats and mice is a lot different to a piece of strychnine treated meat or carrion which targets any wild mammal or bird which happens along.

[J70]

No real issue with hunting, in theory, myself, although I have a lot of issues with what is targeted and how.

As a scientifically informed method of wildlife management, it is necessary in places to control pests and other species that have adapted to humans, such as deer, and invasive species which pose a serious threat to native flora and fauna. But, scientific is the key: e.g. to control deer populations you have to shoot does/hinds as well as bucks/stags, otherwise all you're doing is taking out a male who will be replaced by the next boy in the hierarchy.

And the idea of targeting rare or endangered species or species trying to recover, sometimes amid reintroduction efforts, is completely abhorrent. There are some gobshites about in Ireland such as that Longford councilor last year with the ludicrous claims about pine martens.

[bennydorano]

must say i didnt realise this craic was very popular round here.  Do the tally ho crowd exist in Ireland?

My da would have done a bit of hunting/shooting when i was younger but i think it was mostly just ducks etc.  Still know people who do this but dont know anyone who goes out hunting foxes.

Horse led hunts from Tynan and Moy around Christmas. Not sure how regular it is but there are 2 clubs a stones throw from Davitt Park.

[Syferus]

I absolutely detest hunters who try to appropriate rural Ireland and try and make out that their niche interests are somehow an intrinsic part of the fabric of rural life that town folk just don't understand.

The fact no one in the hunting community will ever admit to is that they are probably disliked most of all in rural Ireland because the problems and harm they cause isn't philosophical but real, day-to-day issues that people in the countryside have to deal with directly. The amount of farmers I know whose fences have been destroyed on these organised hunts or whose cattle have been shot near because some idiot has seen a fox or a pheasant in the field over is unreal. So few of them have any respect for private land.

Vermin control, would ya ever cop on. That might sound good to the uneducated townies but anyone in the countryside knows you'll get a lot more done with some poison than dressing up like Jack Charlton and wandering around a hedgerow with a 300 euro peashooter.

The actual number of people I know who are hunters is incredibly low too, indeed most people don't even have a gun in their house and would never want one darkening their door in the first place.

I'd sooner go to a protest against hunting than I would one about water charges or any of that shite people waste their time with these days.

You were going well until the "poison" bit!

Although that depends on what you're talking about. Rat poison laid in a pipe or whatever in a shed to specifically target rats and mice is a lot different to a piece of strychnine treated meat or carrion which targets any wild mammal or bird which happens along.

Badgers have been under siege from poison since the moment they got associated with TB. Hell, they only realised last year that it's spread via faeces and urine rather than direct contact so the science behind it is a bit haphazard. Some farmers go full concentration camp and pump gas down badger holes to kill them. Illegal, but that's another issue.

The impact of hunters controlling supposed vermin is minimal whatever they think or profess. The are simply neither good enough at hunting nor numerous enough to make a serious impact on that front - TB will spread just as easily with 70% of the badger population as 100%, to continue the example. If you're really going to deal with that situation via culling it needs to be systematic and relentless and a few rifles and traps won't do the trick. And those approaches bring with it massive collateral damage beyond the intended targets too. Animal control through vaccination would probably be the best solution when it comes to actually making a lasting positive impact for all involved in that case.

Hunters like the thrill of shooting and killing things. Everything else is just putting fancy clothes on the hooker.

[Denn Forever]

Have no problem with hunting as long as you you would eat what you kill.

[AhNowRef]

I don't like hunting. I don't like sports where one of the teams doesn't know they are playing.

lol .. I like you way you put that ... very good.

[AhNowRef]

I don't agree with this shite that only townies oppose hunting. I'm a country lad born and bred and I would have no time for this hunting shite. Pile of rich pricks doing untold harm to the countryside and wildlife.

Hmmm, have to disagree with you there .. I hunt every year from Oct to April and I can guarantee that 95% of those on horseback are definitely NOT rich pricks (myself included .. more's the pity  ) ....

BTW, I dont agree with Fox hunting in this way either .. not that I have any great fondness for the fox .. its just I think its a fairly cruel way to meet your end .. i.e. being ripped apart... but it must be said that even the hunts that chase foxes rarely get them.

Its all drag hunts we are on .. no foxes ... Its the amazing horses & the incredible buzz of jumping over hedges & sh1t that I love ... nothing quite like it ..

[AhNowRef]

I absolutely detest hunters who try to appropriate rural Ireland and try and make out that their niche interests are somehow an intrinsic part of the fabric of rural life that town folk just don't understand.

The fact no one in the hunting community will ever admit to is that they are probably disliked most of all in rural Ireland because the problems and harm they cause isn't philosophical but real, day-to-day issues that people in the countryside have to deal with directly. The amount of farmers I know whose fences have been destroyed on these organised hunts or whose cattle have been shot near because some idiot has seen a fox or a pheasant in the field over is unreal. So few of them have any respect for private land.

Vermin control, would ya ever cop on. That might sound good to the uneducated townies but anyone in the countryside knows you'll get a lot more done with some poison than dressing up like Jack Charlton and wandering around a hedgerow with a 300 euro peashooter.

The actual number of people I know who are hunters is incredibly low too, indeed most people don't even have a gun in their house and would never want one darkening their door in the first place.

I'd sooner go to a protest against hunting than I would one about water charges or any of that shite people waste their time with these days.

You shoudnt include drag hunts in your thinking though .. no foxes and they only go over land which has been pre-agreed with the farmers as its a set course....

Just wanted to point that out 

Oh and btw, as pointed out above .. Poison is probably every bit as cruel as anything else !!!

[AhNowRef]

I was part of a foot hound organization. We hunted hares. In the ten years I hunted I think we killed maybe 5? The purpose was the hunt, the chase.  We didn't want to kill the hare or we'd have nothing to hunt the next week. Hares run in circles or rings, each one about 1-2 miles in distance around.  You get to see what dogs have the speed, the scent, you get to watch the hare try to evade them - it was a real sport.  We hated to run into a fox because they'll head straight out for miles and you end up losing dogs. In my time hunting with hounds we killed one fox.

We hunted rabbits with ferrets for the Greyhound men. They bought them off us alive to blood their dogs. I also went out with terrier and lurcher men and dug foxes or lamped at night time.

The horsey brigade are an entirely different group.

lmao .. WTF 

[AhNowRef]

must say i didnt realise this craic was very popular round here.  Do the tally ho crowd exist in Ireland?

My da would have done a bit of hunting/shooting when i was younger but i think it was mostly just ducks etc.  Still know people who do this but dont know anyone who goes out hunting foxes.

Horse led hunts from Tynan and Moy around Christmas. Not sure how regular it is but there are 2 clubs a stones throw from Davitt Park.

Pretty sure these are "drag" hunts ...

The boxing day hunt from the Moy is definitely a drag hunt..

[The Subbie]

must say i didnt realise this craic was very popular round here.  Do the tally ho crowd exist in Ireland?

My da would have done a bit of hunting/shooting when i was younger but i think it was mostly just ducks etc.  Still know people who do this but dont know anyone who goes out hunting foxes.

Horse led hunts from Tynan and Moy around Christmas. Not sure how regular it is but there are 2 clubs a stones throw from Davitt Park.

Pretty sure these are "drag" hunts ...

The boxing day hunt from the Moy is definitely a drag hunt..

This still won't satisfy the do gooders, next it'll be what about the poor horse, it's inhumane , all uttered in a totally non anthromorphic way entirely.

[AZOffaly]

Forgive me, but is a drag hunt just where the scent is dragged along a pre selected course and the hounds pick up that scent and follow it. I,e. Nothing is being hunted actually.

That seems like a perfect compromise. You still get to follow the hounds walking or on your horse, but there's no kill or petrified animal at the end of it.

[The Iceman]

Forgive me, but is a drag hunt just where the scent is dragged along a pre selected course and the hounds pick up that scent and follow it. I,e. Nothing is being hunted actually.

That seems like a perfect compromise. You still get to follow the hounds walking or on your horse, but there's no kill or petrified animal at the end of it.

that's exactly what it is - and to my knowledge it isn't even anaimal scent they use its something strong the dogs are trained to chase.....
I don't get the petrified animal comment though AZ - was there never a fly chased around your house? or a mouse? is it all animals or just some?