Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

8 August 2019Horse& Hound 71

LizBell(centre)is presentedwithgiftsafter 30 yearsofservice

THEsummerseasonmarches

onrelentlesslytowardsthe

inevitablestartofhunting.

Mastersandhuntstaffyearnfor

theconsistencyofthehunting

weekasthetorrentofpuppy

shows,houndshows,parades

andeventsdrawtoa close.

Lastseasonwaswithout

doubtthemostchallengingfor

huntsnationwide.Increased

attentionfromsaboteurs

employinganincreasingarray

oftactics,pushingcriminaland

civillawtothelimits,madeit

toughforsomehuntstooperate.

Butnotonehunthasrecoiled—

quitetheopposite.

Theprominenceofthese

extremistsis largelydueto

theneuteringoftheLeague

AgainstCruelSportsand

RSPCA.Internalcivilwarsand

badpresshaverenderedour

establishedopponentsweak,

butthishascreatedspacefor

themoreextremeelements,

givingthemoxygentoprosper

andpropagate.

Cleverandrelentlessuse

ofsocialmediacertainlygives

theimpressiontherearefar

moresaboteursthanactually

dorunacrossourfields.Mock

army-stylevideosaredesigned

toimpresssomebutintimidate

others—thereis nodoubtthat

asmanyhuntingpeoplelookat

thesesitesasantis.

Butthesearen’tallthe

rent-a-mobsabsofold.They

areincreasinglyorganised,

technologicallyarmed,legally

astuteandfit; moreverbal

and“gobby”,too,trainedin

baitinghuntsupportersand

quicklymanipulatingorstaging

situationstotheiradvantage.

Notsolongagothese

motlygroupsposedmoreof

anirritationandpublicorder

threatratherthananyserious

chanceofgainingevidence,

oftenwithdisingenuous

doctoring,ofso-calledillegal

hunting.Thewindhaschanged.

Courtsseemincreasingly

willingtoaccepttestimony

andevidencefromdubious

individualswhoseraisond’etre

is todismantleandrageagainst

theveryestablishmentthat they

areusingtodestroyit.

WENEEDTOBESAVVY

THISallpresentsa darkening

picture, but it is worth

rememberingthatonlya

minorityofhuntsexperience

problemsfroma sabbase

spreadthinlyacrossthecountry.

Notwithstandingthenumbers,

thetrendneedstobehalted.

Huntsneedtobemoresavvy

andprepared.Theymustrise

upfrombehindthecurve,

communicateandlearnfrom

oneanotherwhiletakingheed

ofcentraladvice.

Societywilleventuallywake

uptothehorrorsoffakenews

andtrialbysocialmedia—its

bubblewillburst,hopefully

enforcedwithimproved

regulatorylegislation.

Inthemeantime,weresist

anyretreattoa clandestine

position. Media may have a

subconsciousinfluencebut

empiricalexperienceis still

ourbestformofpromotion

—fromthankingeverycar

youencounterouthuntingto

meetsinpublicplaces;taking

thehoundstoevents

toraisingmoneyforlocal

causes;speakingabout

huntingtochallenging

prejudice.Theimportanceof

latentgrassrootsupportinthe

localcommunityshouldnotbe

underestimated.

Theoff-seasonhasgiven

huntstheopportunityto

regroupandreaddressthe

balance,shoringuprelations

withlocalauthoritiesand

bodies.Fora numberofhunts

thetideis turningintheir

favouragainsttheiraggressive

harassers.A buoyanthound

showseasondemonstrated

thathuntingis backonform.

Oursecretaryreportsthat

subscriptionsareflowingin

andeveryoneis excitedforthe

seasonahead.

Huntinghashadtoevolve

overthepasttwodecades;

nothingnewthere—afterall,

huntinghasfacedinnumerable

challengesbeforeandyetit is

morepopularthanever.

“Harkfor-ard,they’re

runningon.”H&H

‘Hunting is more popular than ever’

Andrew Sallis refl ects on the increase of sabs and the evolution of hunting

ONLY IN HORSE & HOUND

OPINION

AndrewSallishasbeenjoint-master

andhuntsmanof the Kimblewick

since 2017.

Fife secretary retires

LIZBELLhasretiredassecretary

oftheFifeaftera remarkable

30 yearsinthepost.A party

washeldatTheRhyndFarm,

Leuchars,tomarktheoccasion.

Presentingherwitha chequefrom

the subscribers and supporters,

on,includingbringingtheFife

intothedigitalagewiththe

establishmentandmanagement

ofthehuntwebsiteand

introducingthehuntinghotline.

Lizherselfrarelymisseda

day’shunting.Shewasinvariable

welcomingandhelpfulto

visitorsandnewcomers.She

wasalsocloselyinvolvedinthe

managementofallfundraising

functionsincludingthepoint-to-

point,huntertrialsandnumerous

socialfunctions,andshewas

assiduousinenlistingassistance

ofothersupportershelptoput on

theseevents.

Thejoint-mastersalso

presentedLizwitha portraitby

JudithStowellofherselfandher

hunterTinker.

Inherreply,Lizpaidtribute

totheenormoussupportand

encouragementwhichshehad

receivedfromherhusbandJohn.

Shealsopromisedthatsheand

Tinkerwouldcontinuetohunt

regularly with the Fife.H&H

theTipperaryandtheoldEnglish
houndsoftheCo.Limerick.
Ulstermadeitspresencefelt
oncemorebytheEastDown
Risky 14 liftingthebroodbitch
title.Thebitchchampionship
winnerwasSouthTyronePeewit
18 fromtheirearliertwo-couple.
TipperaryAbbey18,alsofromthe
two-couples,gainedthereserve.
WaterfordSaintly17,a contender
inthebroodbitchcompetition,
tooktheprizeforthebestold
Englishbitchshown.
Somemodernkennelshave
outcrossedusingoldEnglishsires
tocopewithfarmingconditionsin
partsofIreland.Thisexperiment
wasapparentintheunentered
classes.Thesecondcrosswillbe
interesting.Mostkennelshave
maintainedtheirtype,although
someringsidersfelta fewyoung
doghoundswerebecoming
light-framed.Timewilltell.
Soendedanotherwell-
supportedshowcase for Irish
foxhunting.

huntchairmanRobertTurcan

said:“Duringher 30 yearsin

office,Lizhasbroughttheposition

ofhuntsecretarytoa newlevel.”

Hewentontolistmany

theadditionalresponsibilities

and duties that she had taken