I have been reading with interest the views on this emotive topic over the last few days and whilst I personally do not agree with hunting, feel that if it is done sensibly and humanly then each to their own. However my first encounter with the local huntsmen was when my electric fence was cut, allowing my horses to escape on to a busy road leading into our local town, this was because, unknown to me it was blocking a short cut across my land!!!! I am not an unreasonable person nor unapproachable, but was never asked...... Second encounter, one hen was killed and another badly injured by a pack of hunt dogs in the garden feet from the house, at the same time an elderly horse was so frightened she injured herself and had to be put down a few days later......no apologies.. just an offer to compensate the hen, but it was never received. Just to add insult to injury, as the hunters were being requested to leave, and not shoot or hunt on our private property, a small deer ran from the adjacent wood literally two feet away from myself, and was promtly shot, injured, and then the petrified animal was torn to shreds by the dogs, with no regard to myself or my wishes. Now if this is an organised sport participated by intelligent people, then I for one along with most of our French Neighbours would like to see it banned. As a foot note. In the last three years that we have lived here there are now blackbirds in the trees along with thrushes and all sorts of other hedgerow birds that were so obviously missing when we moved here.
