July 01, 2003
Double Dealing
In a move that should surprise no one, the Government last night betrayed the countryside, the rural economy, and of course the long-standing traditions of this nation. Because of the continuing urbanisation of the electorate, the vast majority in the House of Commons hail from the towns and cities. They have no understanding of, or care for, the livelihood of those who can still breathe fresh air. This Government has engaged in a systematic destruction of countryside than makes Sherman’s march to the sea look like an afternoon stroll.
The loony left wants to outlaw fox hunting. They always have. They are perfectly happy to permit the killing of baby humans, but foxes are a whole other matter. What it comes down to is pest control.
For those caught up in the spirit of this age, babies are a pest. They interfere with the core values of hedonism. They keep women from fulfilling their potential as pseudo-men. And after all, killing babies creates jobs for doctors and nurses and other medical staff. It is good for the urban economy.
For farmers, foxes are a pest. They kill livestock. They destroy the farmer’s ability to feed himself and his family. They are by no means an endangered species, but rather are increasing in population, even in the towns and cities. Other the other hand, fox hunting creates thousands of jobs. What really chaps the hides of the anti-hunt lobby is that farmers have taken this pest control as a cultural expression of community spirit. If farmers just went out quietly and shot foxes that were getting in their hen houses, the anti-hunt lobby probably wouldn’t have a lot of ammunition. But urban loonies hate that the farmers seem to enjoy the hunt and make a spectacle of it.
But back to the Government... They had agreed to support the licensing of hunting instead of an outright ban. This would make sure there was no hunting during the cubbing season, so there would be no danger to the little foxes. However, because the Government has faced increasing rebellions from its own backbenchers, it needed to give them a little to get a little on parts of its legislative agenda. So the Rural Affairs minister dropped his legislation in the middle of the debate and let the House run riot.
The Government may have agreed to licensure, but at heart it was for a ban. To be fair, one of the four Government ministers who voted against the outright ban was the Rural Affairs Minister, Alun Michael. Of course in true Labour fashion, he doesn’t represent a rural constituency, being the member for Cardiff South and Penarth. Perhaps he has gone native after having to spend so much time with the backward country folk.
The odd one in this whole thing has been the normally quite sane Ann Widdecombe. She a Christian and ardently is pro-life. The problem is that she is pro-anything-that-is-living. Where the left generally cuddle foxes and kill babies, she see no distinction between Man created in the image of God and foxes made in the image of, well, foxes.