Author Topic: FOXES !! (Read 12857 times)

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #30 on:** May 15, 2011, 09:22:20 am »

She should not feed the foxes cooked meat its bad for them, especially cooked chicken bones. ( I know they will scrounge them from McDonalds waste bins etc. )

Coley · « **Reply #31 on:** May 16, 2011, 08:39:42 am »

"It's pretty obvious that some people have absolutley no idea what foxhunting with hounds is about".

Zat so? I thought it involved the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible, old I know, but still the most succinct description of that 'sport' I have come across. As for snares and hunting with a shotgun? pikey pursuits on a par with robbing stables.
The only regret I have re; the foxhunting ban was, that it was brought in on the back of labours low key 'class war' as opposed to a genuine belief in animal welfare.

CameronS · « **Reply #32 on:** May 16, 2011, 07:16:42 pm »

When hunting foxes with horses and hounds it is not 100% guaranteed that you will get anything and any foxes flushed are given a chance to escape and not be found where as lamping at night with vehicle and long range rifle gives the fox less of an advanage.

Hunting is 100% guaranteed that anything caught will be stone dead before any "tearing appart" takes place. where as guns and snares can leave animals suffering.

Haven ridden with a hunt a few times i have noticed that the dogs hardly ever rip the fox limb from limb as most people see to think.

Despite agreeing with fox hunting i used to listen to people opposing, until i saw the damage they caused to many horses (including my aunts) during the many violent protests.

robert waddell · « **Reply #33 on:** May 16, 2011, 08:19:58 pm »

as with any subject there are those that are for and those that are against and never the the two will agree
yes if you are not protective of your poultry the fox will get them (in 46 years we have not lost one hen to the fox)
lambs are a different thing the hunt used to come over our land and they had two events a Tuesday hunt and a Saturday hunt when the protesters started sticking there neb in the Tuesday hunt was left alone it was only the Saturday hunt that was disrupted with students from stirling uni (transported there in stirling uni mini buses) they could not give a flying fig about property crops or livestock or the fox for that matter (paid protesters with nothing else to do with there time)
lamping with high powered rifles one of my neighbours houses has been hit with bullets on more than one occasion and plod once again could not care less the real reason they are out at night the badgers and the deer now i am not criticising the true lampers that have permission and the land owners blessing
snaring that is another pet hate of mine who gives the tollies the right to come on my land and set snares and catch cats
as to pikey pursuits it is all very well blaming a much maligned group of people when the most likely suspects are within your own comunity as i am all to aware of in our own area

NorthEssexsmallholding · « **Reply #34 on:** May 16, 2011, 09:14:30 pm »

foxes are part of the countryside, like it or not, thats not to say they should not be controlled, shooting them is more humane than hunting with dogs.

ellisr · « **Reply #35 on:** May 16, 2011, 09:22:34 pm »

I have been out with hunt since I was a child and have never seen the hounds get a live fox yet. The fox was normally shot before the whips allowed the hounds in. If a hound can corner a fox then there is something wrong with it. The hunt is not about killing the fox but the balance and respect the fox has when it knows it has a predator. Now they don't have a predator and do not respect the smell of dogs or hounds which was more the point of the hunt than any kill.
I let the hunt across my land and I have sheep and lambs and the hounds have no interest in them and have never harmed any livestock. If we don't reinstate the hunt then foxes will suffer from being a weak species with a lot of disease and this has already started to show by livestock getting mange. This week I have seen 7 foxes out in day light playing in fields with livestock and it is only monday.
We need to bring back a balance to the coutryside and without local hunts we loose alot of land management,jobs and sports such as point to point

Coley · « **Reply #36 on:** May 16, 2011, 10:52:24 pm »

"until i saw the damage they caused to many horses (including my aunts) during the many violent protests."

While having absolutely no time for 'professional protestors' I would suggest many more horses are actually killed in the course of the hunt than have been killed or injured by protestors.

Plantoid · « **Reply #37 on:** May 17, 2011, 12:05:07 am »

Back on to the OP's topic.. fox proofing your pen and night enclosure is costly and hard work
For any pen you'll need to dig a trench about a metre deep and hang some galv or stainles steel chain link fence wire in it then back fill for a fox will happily dig under 18 inches of set in wire if the food is there. have a 1 foot upstand above the ground to connect /overlap to the main fence wire.

The day pen wire will need to be at least seven foot high with no jump over places or trees within three metres of the wire .. the wire used must be at least 1.5 mm thick and have a lap over of at least a foot above ground with the chain link wire. A fox will happily cut its mouth & paws to shreds chewing through cheap thin chicken wire ... some people who keep ducks for the crimbo market use a decent electric fence for day time prevention usually five or six strands reaching up at least five feet set in a well de weeded alleyway .. they still lose duck but not so many ..all duck are put in fully fox proofed sheds over night an hour before dusk .
Don't forget to have the sub surface wire and a lintel at the entrance gate to the pen with a gap no greater than 3 inches at the bottom of the gate . Make sure the gate will not easily be pushed /twisted at the bottom ot allow access 9 use a batton for the gate to be pushed against . Always use hasp staple and a lock to secure it as well as bolts top and bottom .. dion't just rely on bolts , snecks or hooks & eyes.. You can always hang the key on some wire or stron cord fixed to the fence to ensure the key is always there.

The night pen / enclosure will need a sound wire roof as well to be totally safe ..my mate lost his 15 Orphington buffs when a fox jumped six feet off a tractor cab into the pen , it chewed its way into the shed at the back where there were some clumps of nettles... at sometime each night it managed to jump back out using the shed roof and revisit the next evening . Paul came home after night shift to find two birds missing and the rest slaughtered.

I'd also go for a hasp and staple with a lock as a way of securing the door and pop hole ..pegs of wood are usually pulled out and wooden turnbuckles are no probs to an educated fox. Even the much vaunted guillotine can occasionally be lifted by the odd fox and they pass that skill on to their offspring.

Coley · « **Reply #38 on:** May 17, 2011, 12:38:51 pm »

"as to pikey pursuits it is all very well blaming a much maligned group of people when the most likely suspects are within your own comunity as i am all to aware of in our own area Angry"

Pikeys can live in a caravan or a 4 bedroomed house it doesnt change their character, as for "much maligned" could there possibly be a reason why they are so 'maligned'? and, sorry if this offends, their relative prosperity always seem to increase when metal prices rise

AengusOg · « **Reply #39 on:** May 17, 2011, 01:12:16 pm »

Quote from: Coley on May 17, 2011, 12:38:51 pm

Pikeys can live in a caravan or a 4 bedroomed house it doesnt change their character,

Whereas all other thieves and ne'r-do-wells just live in houses, eh?

robert waddell · « **Reply #40 on:** May 17, 2011, 01:26:17 pm »

coley i don't know if you have been the victim of pikeys from my own experiences of theft the mention of a white transit to plod they automatically put the crime down to THE GYPSYSIES thats plods involvement finished with crime never solved or persued and the criminals left to get on with screwing every one over insurances increase and if plod does get lucky and it goes to court it is a victimless crime EH!!!!!!!!! where do these sheriffs get there ideas from and the thief just goes out and steals some more

CameronS · « **Reply #41 on:** May 17, 2011, 02:29:39 pm »

Quote

While having absolutely no time for 'professional protestors' I would suggest many more horses are actually killed in the course of the hunt than have been killed or injured by protestors.

not meaning to be rude but have you actually had the experience of riding with a hunt?

In all the years i havebee involved th worst injury i have seen caused but the actually ride is a broken leg, where as the protestors slashed flancs with knives, and set trip lines to trip a ow of horses, jumped out inforn of them and setting fire crackers causing a crush.
a broken leg is a more naural injury than a human caused incident.

Coley · « **Reply #42 on:** May 17, 2011, 03:13:07 pm »

Quote from: AengusOg on May 17, 2011, 01:12:16 pm

Quote from: Coley on May 17, 2011, 12:38:51 pm

Whereas all other thieves and ne'r-do-wells just live in houses, eh?
Pikey,traveller,gypsy whatever you want to call them, tend to be unemployed, living is a static or mobile usually, own a few horses and dogs, make their living off stealing and benefits, we have a 'travelling community' nearby and many empty houses, many business premises left unattended overnight ect have all have been stripped of copper piping and wiring, many manholes have been lifted, in short they make life a misery for many.
Oh, re the above a number of them have actually given up their 'nomadic' existence and built houses, its local name is Pikey raa, clivver lads managing all that on benefits eh?

Coley · « **Reply #43 on:** May 17, 2011, 03:19:25 pm »

Quote from: CameronS on May 16, 2011, 07:16:42 pm

When hunting foxes with horses and hounds it is not 100% guaranteed that you will get anything and any foxes flushed are given a chance to escape and not be found where as lamping at night with vehicle and long range rifle gives the fox less of an advanage.

Hunting is 100% guaranteed that anything caught will be stone dead before any "tearing appart" takes place. where as guns and snares can leave animals suffering.

Haven ridden with a hunt a few times i have noticed that the dogs hardly ever rip the fox limb from limb as most people see to think.

Despite agreeing with fox hunting i used to listen to people opposing, until i saw the damage they caused to many horses (including my aunts) during the many violent protests.

I thought the idea was to give the fox the least advantage possible? Now dont get me wrong, if people want to ride around in red jackets etc thats their business, but to try and excuse it as a 'service to the rural community' is stretching it,