Playing the role of a fox hunting huntsman for the day

When you campaign for the League, you expect to do things that will attract the attention of the public. It’s part of the job. But pretending to like fox hunting by dressing up as a hunter in a busy city centre wasn’t something I had expected to do.  

Never have I felt so unwelcome in a place as I did when walking through the centre of Cardiff dressed as a hunter. The looks I got as, carrying our fake dead fox, I walked past shoppers and restaurant goers told me all I needed to know about how the public really feel about hunting.  

People couldn’t keep the shock and disgust from their faces. Now we know why hunts like to hide behind a smokescreen, keeping themselves away from the disdainful glare of the public.

I didn’t enjoy dressing up as a hunter. Not only because I will never understand the mentality of someone who derives pleasure from fox hunting, but because it was incredibly uncomfortable pretending to be something that the public rightly despise. 

Unfortunately, these vile creatures walk among us still. Hunting is rife right across the country and, when you pop into town, you could be walking past someone who actually kills foxes for fun.  

Imagine the response if hunters were brave enough to reveal their true selves to anyone other than their mates and the defenceless animals they prey upon. Maybe the looks of horror and revulsion they’d see would show them the error of their ways. 

The hunting community will, of course, never subject themselves to the scrutiny of the public. They barely even consider themselves to be subject to the scrutiny of the law and the police. 

That’s why it’s so important that we make sure the government, when they launch their consultation on strengthening hunting laws later this year, hear from the vast majority who are appalled by fox hunting. Pledge to take part today and help make sure that not only do we save animals from persecution, but I never have to dress as a hunter ever again.