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Anti-hunting
Anti-hunting is a term which is (often informally) used to identify or describe persons or groups, generally in a political context, who stand in opposition to hunting. It is also used to describe efforts to prevent hunting through legislation and other means which can include acts of civil disobedience (WP) such as hunt sabotage (WP). Anti-hunting laws such as the English Hunting Act 2004 are generally distinguishable from wildlife conservation (WP) legislation such as the American Marine Mammal Protection Act by whether they seek to reduce or prevent hunting for cruelty related reasons or to regulate hunting for conservation, although there are violations which impinge upon both boundaries, for example the illegal hunting of endangered animals.
The term is used as a Wikipedia:pejorative by pro-hunting, and traditional hunting conservation sources. This use is based on a complex negative assessment of either side in a controversy which could be called the theory of general negativity. It is related to projection, in that it conflates the negative reception of criticism, by the recipient, as negative emotions in the critic(s), and further conflates that with critics' supposed negativity in general, and so on.
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Geographic differences[edit]
It is difficult to compare strength of anti-hunting sentiment in different countries, for example because the word 'hunting' carries different meanings in the UK and United States. Nonetheless, it is more possible to compare the strength of the anti-hunting movement in different countries, with some having stronger organization, such as in the UK, and some being nearly without it, such as New Zealand. However, as can be seen in the results table, opinions can vary widely on different surveys even within the same country, and as in all Wikipedia:market research, consideration must be given to the wording of the questions, which can influence results.[1]
Roots of the movement[edit]
The Burns Inquiry analysis of the opposition to hunting in the UK included social class (WP), sometimes proposed as a differentiating factor between hunting in the UK and hunting in the United States,[2] as one among many anti-hunting concerns. Furthermore, they showed the UK's anti-hunting movement was itself only part of a wider, grassroots (WP) opposition to hunting in the UK. The Burns Inquiry reported that:
- "There are those who have a moral objection to hunting and who are fundamentally opposed to the idea of people gaining pleasure from what they regard as the causing of unnecessary suffering. There are also those who perceive hunting as representing a divisive social class system. Others, as we note below, resent the hunt trespassing on their land, especially when they have been told they are not welcome. They worry about the welfare of the pets and animals and the difficulty of moving around the roads where they live on hunt days. Finally there are those who are concerned about damage to the countryside and other animals, particularly badgers and otters."[3]
Opposition to hunting is not new. Victorian era dramatist W. S. Gilbert remarked, "Deerstalking would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns."[4]
The UK government's response to the call for bans on hunting, notably rabbit and hare coursing, has historically been to show its support for the interests of farmers, according to political historian Michael Tichelar.[5] As recently as 2005, one anti-Wikipedia:hare coursing organisation referred to coursing supporters as being made up of "10% Nobs and 90% Yobs".[6]
The next two paragraphs are mostly crap, but whatever. Bit tired atm. Writer has a point or two, but overestimates the impact of these geographic and historical influences. And, 'democratic perspective on hunting'? Can you say, brainwashed? An element of class is absent from the hunting debate in the United States where there are not many obvious class differences in hunting habits (except for there being little evidence for significant support of hunting by the welfare class). Instead the differences in anti-hunting sentiment relates to urban sprawl and increasing population density.[7] Because of the abundance of Wikipedia:public land in the United States, as high as 75% of the land in some states, one need not be wealthy to have access to huntable land in less densely populated areas.
The democratic perspective on hunting in the United States started as a result of the reaction against English laws restricting game to the crown.[8] This is one of the aspects of American culture which formed as a result of that nation's original high number of refugees from the Wikipedia:UK and Wikipedia:Ireland.(see Enclosure movement)
A further difference between the context of debate on hunting in the UK and US is that US hunting is often licensed by Government, providing licence fee income to the state. In contrast to this, hunting in the UK has broadly required only the permission of the landowner (WP) or the owner of sporting rights (WP) over the land.
Opinion polls[edit]
| Country | Polling Firm | Question | Date of polling | Source | Pro hunting | Anti hunting | Don't know/ no opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Wikipedia:MORI for Wikipedia:League Against Cruel Sports (n=2,032) | Do you think fox hunting should be made legal again? | 5–11 September 2008 | [1] | 16 | 75 | 9 | |
| United Kingdom | MORI for BBC (WP) (n=2,234) | To what extent do you support or oppose a ban on hunting with dogs? | Feb 2005 | [2] | 26% | 47% | 27% | |
| United Kingdom | MORI for Wikipedia:RSPCA / Wikipedia:IFAW (n=1,983) | Do you support the ban [on hunting with dogs] staying in place / being scrapped? | 2–8 February 2007 | [3] | 17 | 58 | 24 | |
| United States | Responsive Management | Do you approve or disapprove of legal hunting? | September 2006 | [4] | 78 | 16 | 6 | |
| Northern Ireland | Wikipedia:Millward Brown | Is fox hunting cruel? | 20–27 March 2006 | [5] | 11 | 79 | 10 | |
| United States | Responsive Management | Do you approve or disapprove of legal hunting? | 1995 | [6] | 73 | 22 | 5 |
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
| This article contains content from Wikipedia. Current versions of the GNU FDL article Anti-hunting on WP may contain information useful to the improvement of this article | WP |
- The Science and Sociology of Hunting: Shifting Practices and Perceptions in the United States and Great Britain from The State of the Animals II: 2003 ISBN 0-9658942-7-4
- American Hunt Saboteurs Association
- Bath and Bristol Hunt Sabs
- League Against Cruel Sports, anti-hunting page
- The Hunt Saboteurs Association
- Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary – Wikipedia:PETA web site
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Moon, N. (1999). Opinion polls: History, theory and practice, Manchester University Press.
- ↑ Could Deer Hunting Be Banned In England?, Jan 2005, The Hunting Report
- ↑ Burns Inquiry report, para 4.12
- ↑ Grossmith, George in Wikipedia:The Daily Telegraph, 7 June 1911
- ↑ Tichelar, M. (2006) ‘Putting Animals into Politics’: The Labour Party and Hunting in the First Half of the Twentieth Century, Rural History, 17: 213-234 (the reason) "...private members bills introduced in 1949 designed to prohibit hunting and coursing...were defeated was the strong desire of the Government to preserve its relationship with the farmers and the wider rural community
- ↑ FAACE comment on hare coursing
- ↑ dead link The Elusive Hunter, Newsweek 4/12/2006, accessed January 10, 2007
- ↑ dead linkThe Elusive Hunter, Newsweek 4/12/2006, page 3, accessed January 10, 2007
