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Substitute Sports

Could adequate replacements be made available to most of  those who enjoyed Foxhunting in the UK?

Not really,  because the essence of Foxhunting  in the UK was that it controlled foxes where  farmers wanted  them controlled.  It follows,  that many will  not tolerate  the inconvenience of having followers cross their  farms without having this  service from the Hunt. Furthermore  a Drag Line (course) needs more space than normally used  by a foxhunt  ( a chase ).  The uncertainty  in where the  quarry will go next is missing so that it has become a demanding equestrian sport,  more akin to  "point to point"  racing than Hunting.   It will not suit many of the less courageous  mounted Hunt  Followers. Also the absence  of the uncertainty  of the foxes' lines makes  it far less appealing, to  unmounted followers particularly.  Thus it is far  less of  a spectator sport. It will cater for only  a small part  of the many who used to follow Foxhunts in  cars and on foot. Thus Draghunting  could never cater for more than about 30% of those who used to follow a Foxhunt on horseback and would attract  very few car  and foot followers. Following an artificial scent  (drag) or the track of a man (bloodhounds)  requires far  fewer hounds,  not least because the quarry does  not have to be dislodged from thick cover. Trail  Hunting goes  some way to overcoming the disadvantages  of Drag Hunting but, after an  initial period of showing contempt for the ban, will still lead  to much reduced numbers of followers,  the slaughter of many hounds and a degraded service to farmers among many other disadvantages  of the ban.

Hunting live foxes but bringing them to bay and not killing them (as is practised in  some parts of the world) might suit some of the Animal Rightists, but would suit UK farmers  even less than Draghunting.  It is not an option because the ban outlaws the chase.

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