Re: OT - Boxing Day


<SteveO> wrote in message news:egi7r1paadj3givni2862mm9icmscmvc3r@xxxxxxxxxx
> On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 11:18:35 GMT, "Smithy"
> <mike.smith303@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>>The foxes are not killed "just for fun". They are killed because foxes
>>have
>>to be killed as they are in competition with man for resources (chickens,
>>lambs etc).
>
>
> You really suggesting that we're in danger of losing our national
> flock because of predation by foxes? That the Sunday roast chicken is
> soon to be a thing of the past because of roaming packs of killer
> /Vulpes/??
>
> hahahahahahhahahahahaaaa!
>
> <bumP>
> <ouch!!>
> /me picks self up from floor after falling off chair.
>

No, that's not what I am suggesting, although I appreciate that you antis
have to bend the truth in order to justify your soppy beliefs. If a fox
takes a farmer's chickens or lambs then his business loses money in the same
way that Woolworth's lose money to shoplifters. I doubt if the entire
captalist system would fail due to predation by shoplifters, but it makes
sense to control them (and before you mention it, no, I would not support
the hunting of petty criminals).


>
> Accepted that an occasional lamb is killed by a fox; a rogue fox? But
> how soon before a lamb, any lamb is simply too large for a fox to take
> it down? How many lambs are taken by foxes versus the numbers that are
> sent to the slaughter house and thence to our table?

The whole point of most lambs is that they are sent to the slaughter house.
That is the only reason they exist. If a fox takes a lamb then the farmer
loses money,

> As for chickens, yes its well documented that the occasional coop is
> raided by a fox. Repair fences and coops more frequently? Its not
> rocket science, foxes are not vying for the lead character in "Mission
> Impossible 3".

It is also not rocket science to realise that in the several centuries since
hunting with hounds evolved the average farmer has tried your suggestion of
repairing fences more frequently but has found that it does not provide a
good enough solution.

>
> However, in such instances control may be still necessary.
>
> But where do the trailing hordes of mounted voyeurs fit in with the
> control of a conflict between man and nature? How does the [required]
> uniform, the half-time glass of sherry, brandy, pimms, beer, hot toddy
> and the smearing of blood on a newcomers' face exactly fit in with
> solving a local resource conflict?

Where do the unwashed drunken hordes who fill the terraces on a Saturday
afternoon fit in with "the beautiful game"? It's a spectacle, it's exercise
out in the fresh air, it's community, it's showing off, it's defence of your
culture, it's art, as with many activities it's whatever you want it to be.
As for the traditions, in all cultures hunting has been associated with
ritual precisely because people who live of the land realise that taking an
animal's life is a serious matter.

>>but don't impose your prejudices on other cultures which you do not
>>seem to understand.
>
> What not to understand; some "cultures" (sic.!!!) like to kill things
> for the enjoyment of killing. QED. Some people have differing values.
> QED.

Quite, you see only what you want to see - the "enjoyment of killing". You
refuse to look beyond this tabloid headline. It's a bit like someone
condemning gays because of what they regard as their unpleasant sexual
activities rather than seeing the buggery as part of a larger picture. (Not
a perfect comparison, I admit!)

> Biggest economic impact (read: compeition for resources) comes from
> man: the (unacceptable) economic loss to a farmer caused by poaching.

Now it's my turn to fall off my chair laughing! What century are you living
in?

I feel that we are unlikley to agree on this subject...

Happy New Year.






.

Relevant Pages

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