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Currently, foxhunting is banned in the UK, although I think their PM is in favor of making it legal again.
"Foxhunting" in the US is today primarily an equestrian sport rather than "hunting" because the rural landscape here is very different than in the British Isles. Agriculture here is larger scale, and farmers plant much more in the way of crops rather than having large pastures. The fields are larger. Hedgerows are full of trees, not marked with fences and stonewalls and shrubs that horses could actually jumps. There are also lots of wire fences, both the v-mesh hog/sheep fences and electric ones or even barbed wire ones, all of which are hard for horses to see/judge the height of and very dangerous. Furthermore, most American farmers are not going to like their dairy cows or beefers disturbed or their rye or wheat fields torn up.
Consequently, most "fox hunts" in the US are "drag hunts", ie somebody drags something with scent over a prescribed course so that the hounds will follow it over stonewalls or wooden fences or streams or hedges on land where the hunt club has gotten permission to go ... and the horses and riders follow them. It's probably much safer for hounds, horses, and riders given the conditions in the US.
I'm not in favor of fox hunting but it's not like dog fighting and anyone that thinks so needs to be educated. Dog fighting is much more brutal there is no chance of escape for those dogs who are forced to fight over and over. The fox at least has a chance to get away.
I am also not a big fan of fox hunting; maybe I don't like the English sports. However many people ignore control. We can have too much of any animal - including foxes. Foxes can carry disease; like rabies. Nature is not always 'humane' controlling it's own wildlife population. Trapping is out of vogue today; although there are still some around. Trapping is probably more inhumane than the old fox hunts (depending on the time the animal spends in the trap). We also tend to give all animals 'human' attributes - which I don't feel is entirely true (maybe too much Disney).
I guess the real problem I have is we do need control over wild animal populations. Nobody wants animals so thick that you cannot plant, safely leave your house, or live in fear of disease. Excess animals should be euthanized quickly and with compassion. Compassion does not always mean lethal injection (such as the bullet to the head) - but it should be quick. Poisoning should be an option of last resort; but not ruled out (especially for insects). Trappers should be encouraged to use quick kill traps over leg traps.
Sports, that involve animals and do not kill quick, should be abandoned - archery can leave animals to bleed to death over considerable time. Archers are trained to let the animals bleed out over the period of half an hour to one hour before they attempt to recover the animal. That time is needed for the animal to die from the original arrow penetration.
We wish speedy deaths for ourselves - nobody wants to suffer for long periods of time. I just think that our quest should be to offer the same to our wildlife population (when needed).
Thought provoking. These photos distract from the issue, and that is should foxes be hunted and killed in a manner that many would deam cruel. That manner I presume, having never witnessed it, would be a pack of dogs tearing into a live fox, therby killing it, but not immediately and not without suffering we assume.
Game laws (bag limits) are designed to protect the species, so the question is an ethical one, not a biological one. I personally would not condone it.... the ideal fox hunt to me would end with a .22 into the animal's vitals. I would not have a big problem with that, and for that matter I don't have a big problem with trapping, which is how the vast majority of foxes are taken in the US. But should we legislate these kind of ethics? Its tricky when we start telling others what ethics they should live by. This may be a clear cut case to many, but how do you draw the line? What would be next- prohibiting fishermen from letting the trout die in his creel from suffocation? (isn't that as cruel?). I would say that were this a common problem, then some regulation on the manner of the kill might be appropriate, but how many foxes are really killed in this way? 'Can't be many. Should frequency matter?
Of course the guy taking the pic thinks its cruel It Would be IF he released the ones he has they are PETS no Fear of humans or dogs! Foxes in the wild Learn from their parents how to avoid getting cought they are Not Born knowing.
Dogs are TRAINED not to kill the foxes. Once the Fox goes to ground the dogs are called off... huntsman blows gone o ground. & they have Whipins to help to move the dogs along to either the next fox scent or back home.
Dog Fights the dogs Fight to the Death! They are fenced in they have No Way to get away. No one cares about the dogs IF they did they would Stop IT!
Of course the guy taking the pic thinks its cruel It Would be IF he released the ones he has they are PETS no Fear of humans or dogs! Foxes in the wild Learn from their parents how to avoid getting cought they are Not Born knowing.
Dogs are TRAINED not to kill the foxes. Once the Fox goes to ground the dogs are called off... huntsman blows gone o ground. & they have Whipins to help to move the dogs along to either the next fox scent or back home.
Dog Fights the dogs Fight to the Death! They are fenced in they have No Way to get away. No one cares about the dogs IF they did they would Stop IT!
I had forgotten that part of the foxhunting ritual! Foxes are pretty small, too, and foxhounds significantly larger, and there are lots of small spaces that they can find safety like under a fallen log.
In most cases when hounds are used in hunting, the dogs don't actually kill the prey but simply trail it to where it's cornered (in the US that's mostly up trees like in coon hunting or bear hunting) or where it runs past the hunter (like in rabbit hunting).
Fox hunting is an uneven fight. That's for damn sure.
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Foxes are pretty small, too, and foxhounds significantly larger, and there are lots of small spaces that they can find safety like under a fallen log. 
