<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:admin="http://webns.net/mvcb/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:creativeCommons="http://backend.userland.com/creativeCommonsRssModule" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/1999/html" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"><channel><title>Ross Burton</title><link>http://www.burtonini.com/blog</link><description>A potted account of Ross' life</description><language>en</language><ttl>60</ttl><dc:creator>Ross Burton</dc:creator><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://pyblosxom.sourceforge.net/"/><admin:errorReportsTo rdf:resource="mailto:ross@burtonini.com"/><item><title>No More Hunting in T Minus 3 Hours</title><guid isPermaLink="false">life/hunting-2005-02-17-21-03</guid><link>http://www.burtonini.com/blog/life/hunting-2005-02-17-21-03</link><description>As of midnight tonight the barbaric &quot;hobby&quot; of fox hunting is finally banned in England, so the news was saturated ...</description><content:encoded><![CDATA[    <p>
      As of midnight tonight the barbaric "hobby" of fox hunting is finally
      banned in England, so the news was saturated with outside broadcasts from
      a mix of resigned last-ever hunts and determined last-legal hunts.  The
      resigned people have cunning alternatives involving artifical fox scent
      and running around in the woods for a day, which seems like it would work
      just as well without the scent and dogs; and the defiant people are
      telling the world about all of the loopholes they've found and that no
      amount of prison and fining will stop them hunting foxes with dogs.
    </p>
    <p>
      What strange people.  So far the best argument for hunting foxes is that
      it's "an age-old tradition" (the argument about keeping fox numbers under
      control as they are pests doesn't really work with me, when many weekends
      they don't actually kill any foxes), so I presume these are the same
      people who want to bring back public hanging, slavery, child beating, no
      voting for women, and other "age-old traditions" which have been recently
      stopped.
    </p>
    <p>
      Most amusing were the people moaning about the changes to their lives
      after the ban.  Future circulation of <cite>Horse and Hound</cite> is
      unpredicable (unless it turns into an underground hunting magazine,
      <cite>Foxx 'n' Hounz</cite>), shops selling hunting gear have seen a 90%
      drop in sales, but the most amusing (in a dark way) was the man who
      claimed he'd have to shoot all 90 of his hounds and he doesn't want to.
      I'm pretty sure there is a better solution to surplus dogs: giving
      away/selling them as pets maybe (assuming they don't chase and kill other
      animals, like domestic cats), or even selling them to people in other
      countries where fox hunting is practised.  I hear the south of France is
      getting ready for a boom in fox hunting from British people, and frankly
      they are welcome to them.
    </p>
    <p>
      <small>NP: <cite>Sketches of Spain</cite>, Miles Davis</small>
    </p>
]]></content:encoded><category domain="http://www.burtonini.com">/life</category><dc:date>2005-02-17T21:03:00Z</dc:date></item></channel></rss>