guys,

cruelty is all around us, the houses we live in were built on some animals habitat, the food we eat is farmed on land that has been cleansed of animals not useful to us. other sports are just as, if not more, cruel than fox hunting and alternative cullling methods such as shooting and poisoning are also not nice either, in fact iirc the most efficient way of culling foxes is to send terriers down their holes to rip them apart so banning hunting hasn't actually changed anything. the ONLY reason there was such a furore over fox hunting is that it is a political hot potato and a lot of people are getting publicity they wouldn't ordinarily get. my main gripe is that peoples livelihoods and an old tradition have been swept away in nothing more than a pr stunt.   once again the political process is brought down to the level of pop idol, simon cowel for prime minister i guess....

cheers

julian