The hunting man has a hundred reasons why hunting is a blessing to the
community. He argues that hunting circulates gold every year to the
tune of seven and a half million pounds--and that this is good for the
horse trade, the forage trade, for the blacksmith, the harness-maker,
and for an army of grooms. Then hunting tends to keep at their homes
in the country wealthy people, who might winter abroad if there were
no foxes to follow. This means that many large establishments are kept
open, servants are kept in food and wages, local tradesmen stand to
benefit. Further, it is claimed that there is little to be said against
hunting--we often hear how riders, horses, hounds, and foxes all enjoy
the sport; on this point, however, we have no direct evidence from
foxes. And it is claimed that the amount of damage done to agriculture
is infinitesimal--though farmers who have had hounds over young corn,
or seeds, or fine fields of turnips, might bring conflicting evidence
to bear on the point. Perhaps the favourite argument in favour of
hunting is that the sport is good for horse-breeding, and that the
hunting-field is the finest training school for cavalry. Gamekeepers
would be among the first to lament the abolition of fox-hunting, for
if it were not for the existence of foxes and their preservation for
the hounds, few keepers would be required to protect game. Nor would
there be those useful little sums to the keeper's credit on account of
litters, finds, and stopping.
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