10th August 2015
Petition to organisers of Bucks County Show - stop promoting bloodsports
On Thursday 27th August the 148th Bucks County Show takes place near Aylesbury. ‘Attractions’ for visitors include the obligatory parade of hunting dogs. You’d be forgiven for thinking that in 2015 such a spectacle was a thing of the past but it seems not. Hunters and Show organisers would no doubt claim that they operate within the law. We question that. Time and time again the false alibi of ‘trail hunting’ has been proven to be a cynical ploy to circumvent the Hunting Act.
Many folks turn a blind eye to such things. Others take action. One such person is Buckinghamshire resident Katie Angus. She has started a petition asking the Show organisers to stop giving support to illegal hunting and we’re happy to share a link to her petition here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/564/084/639/stop-bucks-county-show-from-promoting-fox-hunting/
Look out for reports in local newspapers such as the Bucks Herald. The LUSH store in High Wycombe will be sharing the petition on their social media platforms!
Katie contacted Hounds Off asking us to support her efforts. We asked Katie to write some words for us to use for raising awareness about her petition and the reasons why she started it. This she did:
What is a County Show? A family event filled with traditional fun and a sense of community? An opportunity to support local businesses and feel proud to be part of a more rural way of life?
What is fox hunting? A cruel, barbaric ‘pastime’ of a minority who find sick gratification in chasing a terrified animal to a torturous death!
So where I ask is the reasoning behind local fox hunts and beagles (hare hunts) being invited to parade in the main ring of the Bucks County Show? A direct promotion of the hunt and it’s vile ‘values’ that are statistically proven to provide no benefit to country life.
The UK fox population is stable and has been for the past decade, both in rural and urban areas. There is no overpopulation of foxes.
Foxes help to manage the rabbit and vole populations which has a significant economic benefit for farmers.
According to Defra, 95% of lamb losses are due to farm husbandry practices and, in a study conducted on two Scottish hill farms, just 1% of lamb losses could confidently be attributed to fox predation. Just 1%!!
What justification is left? Tradition and sport??
Have we not evolved enough as a species that we no longer need to hunt and barbarically kill wild mammals for amusement?
Does anybody seriously consider it acceptable to drive terrified animals from their homes for sick entertainment by an out of touch minority with no conscience or heart?
66% of the British public are supporters of foxes, across every region in the UK! Every region has significantly more people in favour of the hunting ban than in favour of fox hunting.
So why do the organisers of Bucks County Show believe they’re providing Bucks residents, and those who travel from surrounding counties, with the kind of entertainment they want to see?
The truth is they don’t care what the majority of us want to see. The show serves to support their own outdated beliefs and provides a platform for them to promote their barbaric, depraved enjoyment to the public in advance of the continued attempts to repeal the Hunting Act.
Something so politically emotive and subjective should not be forced on the majority of the public who want to see an end to this barbaric ‘sport’.
This is the reason that I began a petition, after being dismissed with a generic email response and no explanation at all from the organisers as to why they feel it justified to invite the local hunt to a family event, meaning I wouldn’t take my own family if they paid me to!
It’s time Bucks County Show brought tradition in line with a changing society. One where the public do not consider animal torture as a sport or as entertainment! One where animal welfare matters and this outdated, terrible ‘tradition’ no longer has a place!
Please make your views known by signing the petition for the change that’s so desperately needed and help us to be the voice of the voiceless. Thanks so much in advance.
Katie Angus
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/564/084/639/stop-bucks-county-show-from-promoting-fox-hunting/
© Joe Hashman
7 Comments | Leave a comment
sharon meakin says:
Posted August 10, 2015 at 8:34 pm
Against
jeanie brown says:
Posted August 10, 2015 at 9:45 pm
It’s really time to stop this ridiculous, barbaric sport. It belongs in the past, with all the other self indulgent, evil passtimes.
Aki Suzuki says:
Posted August 10, 2015 at 11:45 pm
I hope that stop blood sports.
amanda brookfield says:
Posted August 10, 2015 at 11:57 pm
It’s not right how can anyone enjoy watching that poor animal trying to escape then watch it being ripped apart no that’s just stuck up people that don’t move with times don’t come out with that excuse about we need to keep numbers down nature will take its course
Colin Gatrell says:
Posted August 11, 2015 at 12:04 pm
Hunting is only supported by vermin.
Rene'e Cond'e says:
Posted August 13, 2015 at 9:04 am
Stop murdering all wildlife
James Cross says:
Posted August 13, 2015 at 11:17 pm
Every life is important… do you think at all about how it feels to be hunted…. to a terrifying sickening end… perhaps you should…