The title refers not to the report earlier this week of a fox shooting a hunter, but to an announcement that some hunting clubs in England have replaced the traditional quarry with… humans.
And although he started the day nursing a sore knee, 54-year-old Andy Kay and his fellow runners are putting up a fine chase, it has to be said, pausing occasionally to listen for the hounds in pursuit or to pull brambles from their hair. Despite the suction of the mud and the slight rasp that comes from inhaling frigid air, this fit crew of three men and two women, given a half-hour head start, is maintaining an exhilarating lead over the hounds….There are several advantages to hunting men rather than hunting fox:
Hunting foxes can be a dangerous pastime, and not just for the fox. That’s because foxes show so little concern for the welfare of their pursuers: They’ll dart across major roads and leap over train tracks, with unwitting members of the pack following doggedly along behind. Sometimes to their doom…The Washington Post article at the link goes on to explain how the club overcomes the problem of the humans not being sufficiently malodorous, the pleasures derived from the humans by the sensation of being hunted, and what happens when the hounds catch the humans
Men, Budd argued, can be instructed to stay away from roads and railway tracks. They also avoid disturbing farmers’ livestock. And they can choose to lead the hounds and horsemen on a challenging chase over the highest hedges and the triangular wooden fences known as tiger traps.
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