Ex-Beatle McCartney calls for fox hunt ban

[SF4-EVER]

LINK (http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011226/en/people-mccartney_1.html) to story.

LONDON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney renewed calls on Wednesday for the government to ban hunting with dogs.

McCartney and other British celebrities called on the ruling Labour government to allow a free vote on the issue in parliament.

His demand comes on one of busiest days in the British fox hunting calendar, when thousands take part in fox hunts or line the routes to protest against the practice.

``We want to live in a country where it is illegal to inflict pain and suffering by hunting wild animals with dogs -- an activity that we along with most British people believe is cruel, unnecessary and outdated,'' McCartney and other campaigners said in a letter to the government.

Among those supporting the campaign are McCartney's fashion designer daughter Stella, actress Jenny Seagrove and former model Twiggy.

Pro-hunting campaigners say any ban would further damage Britain's rural communities which were devastated this year by a seven-month foot-and-mouth epidemic.

The Countryside Alliance said support for a ban on hunting with dogs was weakening. A spokesman for the rural pressure group said a recent poll of veterinarians found 61 percent opposed a ban on animal welfare grounds.

``On the issue of animal welfare, who would you believe -- a thousand members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons or Twiggy?'' a Countryside Alliance spokesman told Reuters.

A ban on hunting with hounds, brought in 10 months ago to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, was partially lifted on Monday.

Up to 30 of Britain's estimated 300 hunts were granted special licences after they showed they had taken steps to avoid spreading the disease.

Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged after his June re-election to give members of parliament a chance to ban fox hunting.


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Contributing Editor for Rooftop Sessions (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
www.sandraulbrich.com (http://www.sandraulbrich.com)

[SF4-EVER]

My boyfriend's a vet, so I'm going to ask HIM what he thinks about fox hunting and foot-and-mouth disease. Personally, I think that if they're so concerned about foxes spreading the disease, they can find other, more humane ways to deal with them.

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Contributing Editor for Rooftop Sessions (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
www.sandraulbrich.com (http://www.sandraulbrich.com)

[mindgames]

Is he doing it for the dogs, or the foxes?

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This week, the Beatles' greatest hits album, 1, is at number fifty-eight on the US charts.

I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

[MaccaGirl]

I think both the foxes and the dogs

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[Hippie_Lennon]

hey ... i had to do someon... i mean MY report on foot and mouth disease in 8th grade... its some nasty stuff really...

YAY! go paul!! *claps*...i do think he's doing it for dogs and and foxes... I always though fox hunts were mean...

Reminds me of Marry Poppins http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/images/icons/smile.gif

*~hippister~*

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"Imagine All the People, Living Life in Peace." --John Lennon--

[st.paulygirl]

I had a fox in my yard last spring that was looking a bit tired and raggedy. My daughter and I fed him a half-a-pack of hot dogs! He took a nap under our bushes and ran off a bit later, good as new.
I wouldn't want to see a poor little fox hunted down and killed.Fox hunting's a tradition there and I have to admit they do look dashing in their red coats...maybe they could find a more humane way of doing it.Do the dogs tear the little guy apart, or do they kill it themselves?

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[bearkat77]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By st.paulygirl:
I have to admit they do look dashing in their red coats...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's what the Colonists thought over 200 years ago. http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/images/icons/wink.gif

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[lisa465]

Hooray for Paul!!! I hope he gets it passed.

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[mr. kite]

fox hunting is wrong. why should an animal be hunted down like that? it's high time the world sees how cruel it is to do this, as well as eating meat...

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"‘Beatle George’ is like a suit or shirt that I once wore on occasion and until the end of my life people may see that shirt and mistake it for me.”

[Amalthea]

I agree mr. kite, you are completely right... the problem is not us intelligent people, but those stupid who keeps doing it...(hasn't Madonna just started to join the english way of life? I wonder who told her that hunting was english, first, and was good way to coduct a life, second, since you are a murderer in this way...)

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"Because there wasn't any reason left to keep it all inside"
- Paul McCartney 1982

[lisa465]

I agree with both of you - Amalthea and mr. kite.
And I also can't stand it when people use "tradition" to defend such horrible acts (I know you weren't doing that, st.paulygirlhttp://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/images/icons/smile.gif), like hunting and trapping, etc... They seem to forget that horrors like slavery and child abuse were once "tradition".
It's time that animals were allowed their God-given right to a decent life. I really applaud Paul(and the others, too) for all he's done for animal rights. It makes me even prouder to be a Beatle fan. Go Paul!

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[mindgames]

Hunting = Murder? Since when?

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This week, the Beatles' greatest hits album, 1, is at number sixty-three on the US charts.

[Amalthea]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By mindgames:
Hunting = Murder? Since when?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Since the beginnig? I mean, it's murder since you kill someone, you keep someone else's life... due to defence or nutrituon it can be, it's always a killing...



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"Because there wasn't any reason left to keep it all inside"
- Paul McCartney 1982

[mindgames]

"Someone"? Come on, animals are nowhere near being human. If hunting (and fishing) is murder, count me a serial killer and proud of it.

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This week, the Beatles' greatest hits album, 1, is at number seventy-three on the US charts.

[ChrisG134]

I agree with Mindgames on this one.The PETA people can over do it sometimes.I say worry about people killing people.Children killing killing children.Before we worry about fox hunting.Some things just seem a little more important right now.

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[darkhorse]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By mindgames:
"Someone"? Come on, animals are nowhere near being human.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>...and that speaks very well about them... we are the real monsters here...



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"And when life's through,
You are the light in death itself"
~ George Harrison, 1981

[Tim]

I don't mind Fox-hunting...provided her name is Samantha http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/images/icons/wink.gifhttp://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/drool.gif


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[ChrisG134]

As for Vegitarians whose to say plants don't feel any pain when you rip their leaves off.They are living growing things.

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[Amalthea]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By mindgames:
"Someone"? Come on, animals are nowhere near being human.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ain't they? They are, biologically speaking, no doubt about it....

Great one, dh http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/thumbsup.gif

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"Because there wasn't any reason left to keep it all inside"
- Paul McCartney, 1982

[This Message Has Been Edited By Amalthea On January 07, 2002 03:33 AM]

[Sally]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By mindgames:
"Someone"? Come on, animals are nowhere near being human. If hunting (and fishing) is murder, count me a serial killer and proud of it.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well you shouldn't be proud, what have these defenceless animals done to hurt you then?

Not very Beatle natured.


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[C-Moon]

yes plants are living things, and there's some studies that indicate they feel pain. However, they're lower on the food chain and it's less disruptive to the environment, as well as our digestive systems, to eat a diet mostly of vegetation than that of meat. It's better for your body, it's better for the planet.

The point is, hunting and killing an animal for "sport" rather than need is cruel and unnecessary. You really have to ask yourself WHY you're doing this. Is it for fun? Tradition? Is the killing truly justified?

If you hunt & kill an animal to feed yourself and your family, because you can't afford to buy food or it just isn't available in your area, than that's a necessary killing. However, I seriously doubt that any of the people participating in the fox hunts are that desparate for food!

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Have you heard the word is Love? It's so fine, it's sunshine. It's the word LOVE."

[SF4-EVER]

Life and death are intermingled. We kill other living things to eat and to defend ourselves. With sadness, we put our pets to sleep when they'll too sick to treat. If it's necessary to kill an animal, it should be done as humanely as possible. I think the two main issues here are 1) are the foxes carrying or spreading disease? (I did ask my boyfriend, and he wasn't sure if the foxes could spread foot-and-mouth disease. Of course, as a small-animal vet practicing in Chicago, he doesn't see too much of it.) 2) Are fox hunts humane? I would have to say no, they're not. If the foxes are causing problems, find a more humane way to deal with them.

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Contributing Editor for Rooftop Sessions (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
www.sandraulbrich.com (http://www.sandraulbrich.com)

[mindgames]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By Sally:
Well you shouldn't be proud, what have these defenceless animals done to hurt you then? Not very Beatle natured.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, maybe "proud" isn't the right word. Maybe "unapologetic" is better. I have to eat something, you know.


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This week, the Beatles' greatest hits album, 1, is at number seventy-three on the US charts.

[mindgames]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By C-Moon:
The point is, hunting and killing an animal for "sport" rather than need is cruel and unnecessary. You really have to ask yourself WHY you're doing this. Is it for fun? Tradition? Is the killing truly justified?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I totally agree with this. I really dislike people who only hunt for a trophy to hang on the wall. If you eat it, it's fine to keep that as a trophy. But only if you need it for food.

Every animal I have ever killed, I've eaten. Excepting a few skunks, a rattlesnake, and a few thousand bugs.

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This week, the Beatles' greatest hits album, 1, is at number seventy-three on the US charts.

[This Message Has Been Edited By mindgames On January 07, 2002 12:13 PM]

[st.paulygirl]

Still think they look dashing in those red coats...
Ah, the crisp air, the English countryside, an exciting romp on a noble steed and a bloody fox at your feet...I guess that kinda puts a bit of a damper on the whole scene, doesn't it?

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[Cecilia]

Killing animals just for fun is something HORRIBLE!! What's the point in it? It's retrograde! They are living things...they suffer when they are chasing them and then they kill them! They should do the same to the hunters!!

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"No sign of love behind the tears, cried for no one..."

[darkhorse]

Agreeing with the girl.

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"And when life's through,
You are the light in death itself"
~ George Harrison, 1981