28th July 2018
Are Hunters Spreading More Than #TrailHuntLies In Cheshire & Beyond?
Are badgers really to blame for spreading bTB or is there another, much more dangerous, source? Photo courtesy of Cheshire Monitors
Cheshire Monitors write about hunting and it’s role in the spread of diseases, especially bovine tuberculosis (bTB):
The 2017/18 hunting season in Cheshire was interesting , to say the least. Yes, a number of Cheshire foxes sadly lost their lives to criminal interests but in many other ways it could not have gone better for us. We oversaw leaps forward in many areas as the nets were closing in on Cheshire’s three foxhunts….
- In response to Mike Amesbury MPs enquiries, Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner announced a review of how foxhunting is policed in the county, as reported here by the Cheshire Chronicle.
- Cheshire’s Conservative MPs are abandoning their traditional support for foxhunting, mirroring the national stance of their party.
- Foxhunts are losing their land. Estates have recently revoked permission for access to their land in Cheshire.
Cheshire landowners would be wise to note this trend and get ahead of it by stopping hunts from entering their properties, especially those who have a stake in keeping disease at bay. Foxhounds have been recorded with bTB in a number of places, most notably within the Kimblewick Hunt where a large number of dogs were culled after picking up the disease in December 2016, and in Ireland where post-mortem results revealed bTB in foxhounds.
Biosecurity and foxhounds do not go well together. One report says they are at risk of a wide range of parasites and diseases including bTB when breaking up fox carcasses. Yes, foxes do carry bTB; just look at this research from France. Yes, foxhounds do break up foxes that they’ve caught; look at what Andrew German allowed to happen on Boxing Day 2017.
Conversely, the badger cull has found a very low rate of confirmed bTB in badgers across the country (a mere 4.87%) after testing 861 badger carcasses that were culled in High Risk Areas. A recent Freedom Of Information request to Nottingham University* pointed out that the tests can’t distinguish between ‘infected’ or ‘infectious’. It’d be charitable to describe the badger cull as a farce, and an expensive one at that (£831,093 in policing costs in Cheshire alone) …. and don’t the three Cheshire foxhunts employ people specifically to tamper with badger setts**? Not very biosecure, is it?
Foxhunters know about their role in the spread of bTB but hide it, as evidenced by the absolute stonewall at DEFRA that was erected after the Kimblewick Foxhounds outbreak. Did you know that the DEFRA Minister for Animal Welfare is a member of the Kimblewick and a former Master of one of the hunts which amalgamated to form the Kimblewick?
Foxhunters have known about the risk that hunting with hounds poses in the spread of bTB for decades. Just have a read of this quote from ‘To Hunt A Fox’ (1937) by foxhunter David Brock, page 187;
“There is in this country a great move on foot for the establishment of more and more Tuberculin Tested herds. To establish such a herd is an expensive and troublesome affair and, once he has established it, the farmer is not going to risk incurring infection from outside. It is at present believed that this infection can be carried on the boots of human beings and the feet of animals. What more likely than that it will be carried from an infected farm to a pure one by horses and hounds?”
We’ll leave these thoughts with you. If you’re a landowner in Cheshire (or anywhere) who wants to stop hunting on your land then please contact Hounds Off for specialist help, support and advice.
* Hat-tip to Cheshire Wounded Badger Patrol for this
** No, they are not there to mend fences
© Cheshire Monitors
11th July 2018
NOW AVAILABLE: Hounds Off ‘Sleeping Fox’ Cuddly Toy
After a long journey in planning and then across the seas, we are really pleased that our eagerly anticipated Hounds Off ‘Sleeping Fox’ cuddlies are now available and looking for new homes!
They’re genuinely soft and snuggly. We love ’em. Hope you do too.
Obviously they’re a fundraiser. All proceeds go directly to fund our work, which is seemingly endless and complicated; Hounds Off supports farmers, landowners and rural residents who are affected by hunt trespass. In the real world, this all costs money. We thought that selling our mascots like this could be a good idea! Thanks for reading, thanks for caring and hopefully thanks for spreading a little #foxylove.
£10 each + £3 p&p, purchase your HOUNDS OFF ‘SLEEPING FOX’ here!
For bulk orders please contact us to arrange appropriate postage costs: [email protected]
Please help us to spread #foxylove
Hounds Off Sleeping Fox vital stats: Made in China, 23cm x 23cm, 100% polyester.
