NEWS AND OPINION: this story is an example of a foxhunter going on the attack to defend foxhunting. I think the man, Ed Swales, 55, a former army captain from rural Northumberland, got the idea from Ukraine who as the world knows went on the attack into Russia as a means to defend themselves. When a party simply defends themselves all the time it becomes ineffective. It is too submissive.
Ed Swales believes that some animal rights activists should be on the MI5 watchlist as terrorist groups. And he’s inferring that anti–foxhunting groups could be on this list.
He also states that people who foxhunt are a vulnerable minority and should be protected under the law. He argues that those who hunt foxes have most of the characteristics of a protected philosophical belief or ethnic minority. He is referring to the long and shared history and culture of foxhunting. It is a distinct custom and comes from a common geographical origin. There are common ancestors and literature et cetera. It’s a cultural phenomenon which has extended from a different world I would argue and which has no place in the modern world.
But he, as mentioned, has gone on the attack. He wants foxhunting protected (can you believe it?) And those who campaign against foxhunting and disrupt foxhunts on the ground should be on the MI5 watchlist as a terrorist group.
Opinion
I am very much against foxhunting because it is obviously cruel. It’s barbaric. That’s common sense. Anybody who supports foxhunting has something missing. They cannot be decent, moral people. It’s impossible to envisage that. He appears not to discuss or mention the cruelty of foxhunting. He appears to see it as a benign countryside pursuit. It is not.
What Ed Swales is suggesting is ridiculous. I think is just a ploy as mentioned to go on the attack to try and make some headway against the effective anti-foxhunting campaigners.
Chris Packham hits the nail on the head in his Twitter/X post below.
He sees it as a last desperate attempt by foxhunters. “You couldn’t make it up and you don’t have to”. Indeed, you couldn’t make it up as Ed Swales’ suggestion looks absolutely ridiculous.
Another aspect of Ed Swales’ ridiculous suggestion is that I think he is jumping on the bandwagon of modern Britain’s judges and the establishment in being very reactionary against protests. The recent ‘riots’ in Southport suggests that judges will imprison protesters who resort to violence against the police and/or damage property for three or more years on conviction. Protests are being designated riots and rioting carries a 10-year prison sentence. There has been a gradual ramping up of anti-protest rhetoric from the establishment for years. It is a very unhealthy development.
A woman who made an unwise Facebook posting in which she suggested that a mosque should be burnt down was prosecuted, convicted and jailed for 15 months. She had no previous criminal record and was a carer for her husband. She led a quiet life according to her barrister in court. She was foolish after she joined a Facebook group but the judge had no compunction in jailing her for 15 months for a single comment on social media. A very bad and ugly comment which she admits she was stupid to make. But you would have thought that a fine of about £1000 would have been sufficient. This is modern reactionary Britain.
The judges want to make examples of protesters. They want to put the fear of God into them to stop future protests. What happened to democracy in Britain? It looks a little bit like Russia sometimes under Vladimir Putin or Stalin.
An unnamed human rights barrister has said that Ed Swales’ idea stands up to scrutiny. He is saying that technically animal rights campaigners might be put on the MI5 watchlist in the UK at the present time. As I said, Britain is becoming like Russia. Notice the barrister remains unnamed. They are probably a foxhunter.
Other protected groups are the Roma travellers or the LGBTQ plus community. This man wants foxhunters to be classified in the same way. And in being classified as a protected group it would make it illegal for employers or venues providing services to discriminate against someone for having a pro-hunting stance.
Ed Swales is looking for a test case to bring it to court. He runs the Hunting Kind campaign group.
He said: “I would like to see these cases come forward and establish a legal precedent that is our protected belief, and we are a protectable minority group.”
He thinks foxhunters are being victimised or abused for their beliefs.
He cites examples of events being cancelled due to pressure from animal rights campaigners and hunts being sabotaged and hunters facing issues with employment.
He believes that some foxhunters have very difficult problems because of their beliefs and activities. Vehicles had been smashed he says and tyres slashed. Foxhounds are been kidnapped never to be seen again. He’s certain that some animal rights volunteers qualify as extremists.
He believes that foxhunting is a “cornerstone of the countryside.” It’s more than a hobby. It’s a centuries old tradition of rural life and it needs to be protected under the law he believes.
Whole communities are based around it. He said that “the people I know, all the people I socialise with are through hunting, pretty much exclusively.”
Comment: sad for him. Sad for him that he socialises with like-minded people who enjoy killing foxes for pleasure. That’s his problem. He is in the wrong circle. He has the wrong beliefs for modern day Britain. It’s time he stopped. These whole communities based around foxhunting are based around an objectionable, cruel, sport which is no place in society today.
Note: it is illegal to hunt foxes with dogs in Britain and foxhunters should do trail hunting instead but animal rights activists and campaigners have exposed the fraudulent behaviour of foxhunters who sometimes hunt and kill foxes under the guise of trail hunting. This has happened countless times and there have been successful prosecutions against foxhunters. This is the work of campaigners exposing criminality. And he wants these campaigners to be designated as terrorists! The man must be mad. I think he needs to look at himself a little bit harder and ask some tough questions in the mirror.
