A cornered fox can’t win the underground war
The hunt terrier men are called in when a fox goes to ground. One might think that given foxhunters' claims to be sportsmen, they would be prepared to admit defeat and let the fox reap the rewards of his ingenuity. Not so.
The terrier men will block all escape routes and then put a terrier down the only remaining entrance to find the fox.
The terrier holds the fox at bay until the terrier men and hunt officials can dig down to it, guided by radio-controlled bleepers on the terrier's collar. Imagine the scene when a hard terrier dog corners a desperate fox underground. The terrier is bred not to give way the fox will do anything to escape the man-created terror scene.
Fox dig-outs can take many hours. Both terrier and fox suffer appalling injuries or death. In terrier work, dogs can suffer dreadful injuries, all for the entertainment of a callous minority.
Even if the fox survives the onslaught of a terrier, it is shown no mercy by its sporting hunters. It then faces two options: it may bolt flushed out by the terrier in front of waiting hounds so that the chase can carry on, or it may be dug out alive and then shot with the carcass thrown to the hounds.
The process of digging out is identical to that involved in digging for badgers. The only difference is that it is illegal to inflict such brutality on badgers.
All digging out of wild animals should be outlawed. Terrier men should stay at home and dig the garden.
John Tierney,
Campaigns Director,
Association of Hunt Saboteurs,
PO Box 4734,
Dublin 1.
