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Dear Editor,
Again, it was with great disappointment that your paper chose to include two letters hammering the anti-blood sports doctrine down all our throats, without publishing any alternative opinion.
Their usual lack of understanding of nature and man's relationship with it is as apparent as ever. When will these 'bunny lovers' wake up to reality? Nature is as beautiful and awe-inspiring as it is cruel and pitiless. There is little room in nature for the kind of weakness and nostalgia these 'Bambi fans' peddle. They continually appeal to us to feel sorry for something that by its very nature, doesn't feel sorry itself.
If we had apex predators in Ireland, such as wolves, they would, through competition, kill foxes in the same fashion as hounds do. The reality is what we don't have any wolves in Ireland and even if we did they would not control the urban fox.
In the absence of apex predators, the hunts have evolved. Over the centuries, they have become an intrinsic part of our heritage, whether we like it or not.
The anti-blood lobby has consistently used graphic pictures to horrify and shock us. These pictures remind us of our own mortality and our innate fear of death. In reality, these deaths are no less attractive to watch, than observing a fox dying of manage or a man dying of some fatal disease. Death in nature is as critical as life; one cannot exist without the other. There is no remorse, no disgust and no regret. The anti-blood lobby would try to apply human emotions on nature, when human emotions just don't exist.
Our attachment to nature is an intricate part of our being. The call of the wild in some of us is much greater than in others. Yet, even the most concrete bound Dubliner will surround himself with reminders of his origins, e.g. flowers, wooden furniture, leather suites etc. The anti-blood lobby would twist and deny our ancestry and create a surreal world devoid of man. What a load of self-righteous rubbish.
We live in the real world. For thousands of years, we have manipulated nature to serve our own needs. We should not feel guilty for our success as a species because some utopians think we should. Rather, we should be proud of our heritage. We must learn how to preserve it, and by so doing, preserve our environment without impeding our development.
The species designated for hunting in Ireland are on the list because they are not endangered. Removing a few foxes on the weekend will certainly not adversely affect the population. However, it may keep locally high fox densities in check, which will invariably create a healthier population in the long term.
Fox hunting, shooting, fishing etc are critical connections to nature. These connections to the environment will ultimately be its greatest chance of survival, especially in the current climate change conditions.
Changes in these outdoor pursuits must invariably come from within their respective disciplines and not from manipulative minority pressure groups dictating to a nanny state.
We are the guardians of our environment. We will ultimately fight to maintain our connection to it. Anti-blood lobbyists would spend their time better by writing to the HSE to prevent human death and leave the countryside to the people who know most about it.
Yours,
Name withheld
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