Read on Twitter
Hunting, we see it in this country through so much class and tradition, not surprising when the elites took hunting rights away from the common free man.
Richard II created a game law in 1389 limiting hunting to freeholders with 40 shillings of property.
Richard II created a game law in 1389 limiting hunting to freeholders with 40 shillings of property.
Before that hunting was the right of any free, excluding Forest, Chase, Free-warren.
Even our language reflects class and tradition, common use hunting mean horse & hounds, not shooting, or stalking.
Even our language reflects class and tradition, common use hunting mean horse & hounds, not shooting, or stalking.
hunt (v.)
Old English huntian "chase game" (transitive and intransitive), perhaps developed from hunta "hunter," and related to hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *huntojan (source also of Gothic hinþan "to seize, capture," Old High German hunda "booty"), which is of
Old English huntian "chase game" (transitive and intransitive), perhaps developed from hunta "hunter," and related to hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *huntojan (source also of Gothic hinþan "to seize, capture," Old High German hunda "booty"), which is of
uncertain origin. Not the usual Germanic word for this, which is represented by Dutch jagen, German jagen. General sense of "search diligently" (for anything) is first recorded c. 1200
hunt (n.)
early 12c., "act of chasing game," from hunt (v.). Old English had huntung, huntoþ. Meaning "body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds" is first recorded 1570s. Meaning "act of searching for someone or something" is from c. 1600.
early 12c., "act of chasing game," from hunt (v.). Old English had huntung, huntoþ. Meaning "body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds" is first recorded 1570s. Meaning "act of searching for someone or something" is from c. 1600.
I will use hunt in the older form, to deny hunting as a human activity is peverse. Hunting was a major activity in homind species our species evolved from. We modern humans are the most capable predators ever evolved, numerous species have been driven to extinction by us.
Some of the worlds most abundant species such as passenger pigeon, darkening the sun by day in vast flocks, extinct. Throughout the world historic human tool kit is a mix of hunting, fishing, gathering. Today throughout the world the poor hunting despite the law.
To pretend we are not a hunting, meat eating species is ludicrous, to choose not to be oneself is a matter of personal choice and freedom, as is the choice to be a hunter, a meat eater.
We are so successful that game laws are of great antiquity, not just reserving the hunt for
We are so successful that game laws are of great antiquity, not just reserving the hunt for
elite, but also conserving the prey population. I totally refute the claims that gamekeepers are the descendants of Forest deer keepers. It was made clear in 1800s by the last of the old Forest keepers that the gamekeeper was different.
Raptors were not rare in the days of the Forest keeper, industrial slaughter by gin trap, gun, poison was a 1800s inovation, battue shooting demanded game numbers to create the elite spectacle. Far removed from earlier shooting over pointers and much more limited vermin control.
UK has a great deal of baggage, a toxic mix of class and wealth antagonism, an obsession with traditions which have no real history, animal rights activism, sentimentality. Yes a toxic brew of emotions, distorted fact, biased argument. Bigotry is rife on all sides, arrogance
and lack of dialogue normal. It is instructive to compare UK with other countries, they are different, some of our issues are parochial, others more universal. Resource management in the US sense, open access to hunting for citizens is very different.
I can state without hesitation that I am in the Aldo Leopold school of thought
https://eu.jsonline.com/story/sports/columnists/paul-smith/2019/04/20/earth-day-reflection-aldo-leopold-land-ethic-and-hunting/3513736002/
https://www.aldoleopold.org/store/why-hunt/
https://eu.jsonline.com/story/sports/columnists/paul-smith/2019/04/20/earth-day-reflection-aldo-leopold-land-ethic-and-hunting/3513736002/
https://www.aldoleopold.org/store/why-hunt/
As such I am far removed from much of British shooting which is archaic, reactionary, disingenuous, it has a great environmental footprint, is highly artificial, a battue spectacle for an elite, too much land, too much influence, too much damage.
As to a rough shooter, a stalker, a rabbit or squirrel, wood pigeon for a meal, I see us as fellows, I may have binoculars, you a gun, but we are more similar than I am with people walking on an urban path inserted into wild country indulging in
sentimentality. Nature is wonderful, magnificent, does not give a shit about you, you can be inspired and filled with it in many ways, tarnish it and lose sight of any respect and appropriate approach.
Commercialised shooting and commercialised nature passion can at times due to
Commercialised shooting and commercialised nature passion can at times due to
scale, commerce, become equally impactful and certainly not for a contemplative person who wishes to function in nature not experience on a plate, be it a gun peg, or a photo safari or a chitter chatter “wildlfe” event
It is interesting that those things seem wrong because of frequency, scale, ubiquity. They dominate, impose humanity over nature. Our noise, clutter and stuff, our consumption, greed for more, desire for distinction, status.
It is like statues, piles of rocks, dirty campers
It is like statues, piles of rocks, dirty campers
we leave our mark all over by treading heavily, when we should learn how to be silent, leave no trace.
Personal feeling, no universal truth, but perhaps a hint of something for a few others?
In my view it is not hunting in an old sense of meaning that is the problem, it is driven birds, released birds, manipulation of habitat to create an excess, commercial shooting, gamekeepers, the current paradigm is broken.
Not fixable better to start again based on rough shooting style walk up shooting, wildfowling, deer stalking, a fresh start dumping all the last 200 years of ritualistic crap. Egalitarian, based around wild food, no keepers, no driven birds.
Will anybody make a lot of cash from that, no, will habitats be created yes probably plenty of small shoots do, yanks do via duck stamp. Egalitarian may mean more public involvement, different funding like duck stamp, a future for hunting rather than current terminal death throw
gamekeeping and fox control, if that works so well why have we got a fox problem, plenty of keepers, maybe feeding foxes is a bad plan, 50 million pheasants!
mind you looking that in an egalitarian sense it is not really enough for one each, almost enough
I support population of fox and carrion crow for conservation of ground nesting birds, especially waders & terns, is the current method of subsidising this by releasing a huge biomass of game the right way, is it part of the problem? can it be done better? differently?
