A sense of humour

[on parade at an undisclosed spot out in the country]

The book at reference 2, first noticed at reference 1, is a regular treasure trove of all kinds of curious bits and pieces about how we get on with animals. From which I presently offer just one, one which I, in the first instance at least, thought was evidence that a retired Treasury Knight, that is to say Lord Burns, could have a sense of humour - in that the inquiry he led into hunting with dogs concluded, inter alia, that: 'There is a lack of firm scientific evidence about the effect on the welfare of a fox of being closely pursued, caught and killed above ground by hounds. We are satisfied, nevertheless, that this experience seriously compromises the welfare of the fox'.

However, on slightly closer inspection at references 3 and 4 - this last running to more than 200 carefully written pages - I am not so sure. The remit of the inquiry was cunningly worded to avoid the central question of whether or not hunting should be banned and so the report managed to avoided it too. Notwithstanding, hunting with dogs was more or less banned a few years later.

All the same, a conclusion from the same school as the economy with the truth of another mandarin at another time - and I think that I must have read about this compromised welfare at the time, although I have no present recollection of so doing.

PS 1: I suppose, by extension, we might say that torture or capital punishment seriously compromises the welfare of its object.

PS 2: I might add that foxes are quite a nuisance in our part of suburban Surrey. I would be well pleased if there were fewer of them.

PS 3: a sport once characterised for us, by a countryman who had done quality time in the army, as the unspeakable chasing the uneatable. A countryman who, I should add, had no problem with shooting squirrels off his strawberries or rabbits for his pot. Or, occasionally, for our pot.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/06/paused.html.

Reference 2: Beastly: A new history of animals and us - Keggie Carew - 2023.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Inquiry.

Reference 4: The Final Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales - Burns, Edwards, Marsh, Soulsby, Winter - 2000. Open access at the National Archives.

Reference 5: Humiliated Theresa May finally U-turns on her cruel bid to bring back fox hunting: She will admit there was a "clear message" the public don't want the cruel bloodsport brought back - despite her offering MPs a vote to do so - Ben Glaze, Nigel Nelson, Dan Bloom, Mirror - 2018. The source of the snap above, turned up by Bing.