Hunters death shamefully used

This post is in response to an article by Kevin Dowling in The Sunday Times:

An article by Kevin Dowling in a Sunday newspaper caught my eye Sunday. It was being touted around some online hunting sites and claimed as a kind of grisly victory over those against hunting by the pro-hunting fraternity.

The article was titled ‘Trolls jeer at death of huntswoman’, and a collection of less than sympathetic comments, allegedly coming from anti-hunt supporters, were printed in the Sunday Times for casual perusal of those voyeurs who like to revel in the misfortunes of others.

The lady, who died on November 5, 2015, after a fall from her horse whilst out trail hunting, was joint Master of the Cottesmore hunt.

She was described by her friends in a tribute, as a pillar of the hunting world, and a kind and talented human being.

Mr Dowling’s article informed us that the lady was an only child and her surviving parent, who is elderly, is being sheltered from the comments by friends and family members. It is indeed heart-breaking to think that a mother may be subjected to unkind comments about the child she has just lost, and had those comments remained only on FaceBook where they originated, it is extremely unlikely that she would ever have known of their existence.

However in their eagerness to score points against the anti-hunt movement as a whole, the pros have once again ridden over the sensibilities of others proving they have one agenda, and that agenda has nothing to do with empathy or compassion. 

The pro-hunters who supplied the information claimed to have seen a thousand comments on FaceBook, which they say continued to be posted after the huntswoman died. Rick Jones, from the FaceBook group ‘Ban Hunt Saboteurs’ was especially vocal, although he did not mention the abusive comments made at an earlier time by some of his group members when they expressed their regret that saboteurs trying to prevent illegal hunting had not been run over by a Landrover or harmed by galloping riders!

On a separate occasion, pro-hunting Internet trolls were particularly vicious about a 40-year-old saboteur known as Nid, who was allegedly deliberately ridden down by a rider from the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hunt.

The rider didn’t stop, and the saboteur was left lying semi-conscious, with seven broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a punctured lung.

It was alleged that the attending ambulance was blocked by the hunt support and the severely injured saboteur was air lifted to hospital by helicopter. Some of the commentators even went so far as to express regret that the incident had not been fatal.

Others prayed that the pain was excruciating, and one offered to buy the huntsman, Mark Doggrell, a case of wine.
    
Hunting is an emotive issue, and it is particularly despicable that the pro-hunt lobby should use the death of a leading huntswoman to try to score political points in their fight against those who risk their lives every week to try to save our wildlife from being torn apart in the name of entertainment.

Perhaps if the hunters were more respectful of the family of the lady who died they would not have contacted a national newspaper where the comments were printed in their entirety for the grieving family to see.

It is obvious to any bystander that the article is sensationalism, written to shock and not written out of consideration or respect. Nico Morgan, a photographer friend of the deceased, even attempted to bring up the ‘class issue’, which is a favourite ploy among the hunting set as they cannot refute the evidence of animal cruelty in a traditional fox hunt.

The pros went further and contacted the places of work of those who had left the comments. There followed several posts claiming gleefully that the commentators had been sacked.

Revenge is obviously a dish best served cold, but to use the death of an innocent lady in order to further their pro-hunting agenda is more in keeping with spiteful brinkmanship than any desire to show genuine concern.

You can view the full Sunday Times article here