Boxing Day is usually a fairly challenging day for me because I have to balance my cheerful festive spirit with my anger at the completely unnecessary animal abuse that occurs annually on this day. Sadly, this year was no different.

On the 26th of December 2018, a series of unlawful events occurred up and down England: Boxing Day fox hunting. Since 2005, it has been illegal to hunt foxes with hounds, yet every year this law is proudly ignored by fox hunters. These hunters mask their cruelty by claiming that they are “trail hunting”. Yet since many foxes are evidently killed during these events, I will quite confidently call it what it is: illegal fox hunting.

Photo by Martin Arusalu on Unsplash

I’m sure you’ve seen the upsetting photos of the recent accelerations between fox hunters and anti-hunting protesters. Once again, the Boxing Day hunts turned bloody, and not just for the poor foxes. Every year, courageous groups of protesters brave the cold to voice their disapproval at this barbaric practice. Yet every year, these planned hunts are allowed to continue. Up and down the UK, there were reports of violence, aggression, and anti-social behavior as a result of these illegal hunts. The anti-social behavior these hunts result in is surely enough reason for the ban to be imposed. A list of some of the incidents that occurred can be found in this article.

I won’t go into the ethics of hunting here; however, I am very much against any hunting that is not subsistence hunting, which these Boxing Day hunts certainly were not. It is also worth mentioning here that foxes are indigenous animals to the UK, whereas humans are not. Therefore, any arguments about tradition and culture are surely outweighed by the foxes’ inherent rights over British soil. They have been there far longer than we have. Thus, it will always be their land more than ours.

I just have one simple question that I would like answered:

Why do we have to protest an event that is already illegal?

The police are usually present at these protests, yet they are seemingly only there to stop scuffles from breaking out between the protesters and hunters. They apparently have little interest in stopping the illegal hunting from going ahead. What is the point in a law that is not enforced? This law is broken every year as the police stand by and watch. Whilst I fully-support the anti-hunting protests, I don’t think that we should have to do this. Nobody wants to spend their Christmas holidays yelling at animal abusers in the cold. Hunting with dogs is already illegal; therefore, we shouldn’t have to protest it. We need to be protesting the police and making them impose the laws of the state.

Even worse, I feel like these hunters are mocking the protesters as they ride by. These hunters know that the police won’t stop their hunt even though it is illegal. What does this teach people about respecting the law and police force? It essentially implies that it is fine to break the law if you’re rich enough. Therefore, it makes a mockery of our legal system.

Photo by Jason Wolf on Unsplash

The reality is that this issue is about more than animal cruelty; it is also about wealth and social class. Every year, the hunters arrive in swanky equestrian gear, riding expensive well-bred horses, accompanied by a handsome pack of well-trained hounds. They are clearly spending a lot of money on their hobby. It is as if they know that their illegal hunt will go ahead as planned.

If these hunters were a group of working-class men down the local pub dog-fighting, would the police stand by and watch? Would people defend their cruelty as “cultural traditions”? No, of course not. Fox hunting is only accepted as a cultural tradition because it involves the upper-classes. Animal abuse committed by the working classes is viewed much less favorably and rarely “traditionally”. Working class people would never get away with this kind of anti-social behavior, so neither should anyone else.

The fact that it seems to be permissible for only upper-class people to abuse animals is concerning. Additionally, I think it adds further resentment and anger to this issue. Generally, animal abuse that is out of most people’s price range tends to be viewed much less favorably. Wearing fur, trophy hunting, and purchasing ivory are good examples of this. This point is not a negative. Personally, I think that anything that makes people oppose animal abuse is positive.

Ending animal abuse will not be an easy task. It is an overwhelming challenge that will take decades to resolve since it is a problem that has wildly spiraled out of control. The only way we will unravel animal abuse is by resolving each issue one step at a time. This is why England’s fox hunting ban is so important. It may seem like a small and insignificant law, but it is a much-needed step in the right direction.

Like many people who oppose animal abuse, I will be joining in the anti-hunting protests on Boxing Day 2019. I don’t want to be doing this; I would prefer to spend the day at home with my family. However, unless the police are willing to enforce the law and stop these hunts, I have no choice but to protest them. I actually feel quite sorry for the hunters too. Imagine having nothing better to do on Boxing Day than watch an innocent animal torn to shreds? I personally cannot envisage a worse way to spend my winter holidays. We all have better things to be doing on Boxing Day, so let’s all move on from this barbaric practice for the sake of our Christmas, our wildlife, and our society.

Photo by Sunyu on Unsplash

References

Damien Gayle “Anti-hunt protester taken to hospital after Boxing Day clashes” The Guardian, December 26th 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/26/anti-hunt-protester-taken-to-hospital-amid-boxing-day-clashes

All photographs taken from Unsplash.