I bumped into the Hunt this morning!

Tweet

I had a bit of a shock today when talking dog Okami for her morning walk in the local fields. We reached a gate in a hedge and were about to go through when at least six or seven foxhounds came through from the other side. They were soon called back, so we went through the gate and saw the field on the other side being crossed by the local Hunt - around a dozen people on horses and the rest of the pack of hounds. They all made their way up the field, which is a large one that has been only partially used for a crop this year, leaving us free to continue round the field margin. We then crossed a stream into a neighbouring field, walked round it, and crossed back at the same place. By this time the Hunt had gone up to the top of the field, where a crop of potatoes is waiting to be harvested. From what I could see - at some distance - the horses must have been trampling all over the spuds! Hunting in England is a traditional "sport", the original intention being to chase foxes and for the dogs to tear them to pieces - you can see I put the word sport in inverted commas. These days, hunts are not allowed to kill foxes, but instead follow scent trails. Even so, I find the whole idea to be highly objectionable - hounds have been known to kill pet cats and terrify other dogs. Fortunately, my dog was none the worse for the encounter.