Thank you for your article in the Chronicle of 5th January (Crowds of spectators wave off town hunt). I would like to offer an opinion on this seemingly innocent part of society.

As a lifelong countryside person, I would like to offer a balance to these quite blood-thirsty people.

Fortunately, hunting with hounds has been outlawed but this does not stop much of the hunting brigade from flouting the law stating that the "law is wrong".

We should remember that if the hunts-folk have their way many foxes, not forgetting pet cats, would die a horrifying death being ripped apart by trained dogs.

Hunters would have us believe that foxes are a pest and need to be destroyed.

This of course is a myth as many hunts build artificial earths in order to encourage foxes to breed.

No, hunting and its hoped for re-instatement is nothing more than an act of people hell-bent on seeing a beautiful wild creature being ripped to bits.

Don't let the romantic connotation of jolly people in their red coats and sound of the "gathering horn" make it out to be part of cultural England.

Lets see what the proposed re-instatement of hunting foxes with hounds would be... legalised slaughter of a wild creature.

Fox Hunting is about chasing a fox over several miles with a pack of especially bred hounds (marathon runners rather than sprinters) to corner and rip the animal to shreds for the master of the hunt to parade the body as a victory. Let's keep this animal abuse in the history books.

Ian Parker

School Road

Little Totham