On 16 November 1993, I observed the Oxfordshire County Council vote regarding the ban on fox-hunting on land owned by the council. According to the League Against Cruel Sports, by 1992 'over half the county councils in the country have a policy opposing hunting', and 'over 120 local councils have banned hunting on land that they own or control' (1992). On this day Oxfordshire joined the growing anti-hunting force in Britain. Those who argued against fox-hunting indicated that hunting was not an effective method of controlling the fox population and that killing and chasing animals for sport was cruel and morally wrong. Those who defended hunting argued that hunting was a relatively humane way of controlling the fox and that if killing for sport should be banned, killing for gastronomic pleasure should also be prohibited. They expressed their frustration that fox-hunting, among many
展开▼