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I lost any remaining respect I had for Sir Mark Prescott the moment he appeared on BBC2 last night, actively comiserating the loss of hare coursing. <br>Not that I had a lot of respect for the guy to begin with.
It’s so tragic that his dogs will not get to tear any more petrified animals to pieces. I am so sad about that loss :angry: <br>Twat.
Yes.
I am completely capable of respecting someone who’s views are different from my own, particularly if they have a rational and coherent defence of their opinion.
I don’t agree with the death penalty but I still have respect for those who do.
Yes. <br>By coincidence there was an interesting piece in the latest edition of The Spectator which I reproduce below:-<br> <br>Low Life<br>The last slipper<br>Jeremy Clarke
<br>In the 167 years that the blue riband of hare coursing, the Waterloo Cup, has been run, there have been just 21 slippers. For those unfamiliar with coursing, perhaps I should explain that I don’t mean over the years people at the event have been spotted wearing carpet slippers, and a record of these sightings meticulously kept. No, the slipper is the red-coated official who holds back the competing pair of greyhounds until he judges that the hare has about 100 yards’ start and both dogs have it in their sights. Then he runs forward with the animals frantically bounding under their leashes and releases them with a balletic flourish. Done well â€â€Â
My dad used to go coursing at Crebilly in Northern Ireland when he trained greyhounds, and although I wasn’t enamoured by the brutality (I was far too sensitive as a child), I had no problem respecting him for participating in the sport.
Rory
I don’t think you were too sensitive – to be horrified by brutality is the normal, human reaction. That such empathy becomes dulled or disappears altogether is a curse of growing old.
"For the people involved, the ban on coursing and hare hunting is a tragedy. But for the Brown Hare it’s a catastrophe."
An intriguing article, but I have to disagree on the above point. I see a distinct difference between chasing a hare down with two dogs and humanely shooting it. That is of course just my opinion. <br>I can’t argue with the premise that you, rory, would respect your dad regardless of his coursing interest. That would go without saying. If that man was not you dad however, would you see him in the same light?
(Edited by Racing Daily at 8:01 pm on Oct. 1, 2005)
Our government is obsessed with banning and prohibiting almost everything that they don’t agree with and minutely controlling everything that they do.
I might not agree with hare coursing but I disagree with banning it more.
RD,
In answer to your question, I’d have respected the coursing connections even if they weren’t related to me. If, however, I thought they were getting a kick out of the kill, I’d have detested it. I was impressed by the art of coursing, and the dedication of the men involved. I think it’s important to understand how people are affected by what they do ~ ie does it make them better or worse people.
On a personal basic, I find bloodsports pretty gruesome and distasteful, but I think there are far more important issues to discuss and debate at length than foxes and hares…
Hi RD
To answer your question – yes.
I’m not a great fan of Sir Mark Prescott – especially since he went on North West Tonight several years ago to condone hare coursing. Having said that, I think I dislike him more because of his class and title.
Are you a vegetarian RD? Because if you’re not then I’d be perfectly entitled to call you a hypocrite. Whining about cruelty to hares whilst stuffing you face with an animal who’s life was short, pointless, painful, unnatural and dirt cheap. The only way the consumer will have it. If you are veggie, then ignore the last bit.
Being a vegan, I’m tend to become involved in dialogues like
‘Would you like some of this?'<br>’Nah'<br>’Why not?'<br>’ ‘m a vegan'<br>’Aw really! good for you! you’re great'<br>’oh……thanks’ – When I’m actually thinking, ‘No, I just look like a nice person next to you you evil pig eating piece of s**t
‘So through no fault of my own, I’m a total arsehole for having certain morals which require more dietry dedication than most others.
Similarly, I can go completely off my head at anybody who works (hard in the West) for or buys products from the likes of Nike, McDonalds, Orange, Disney, Starbucks, HSBC, Pepsi, Warner Brothers, Nestle, Esso, BA, Marks And Spencers, Glaxo SmithKline, Marlboro, Shell, RBS, Rupert ‘fu<king’ Murdoch, Microsoft, Asda, Coca Cola, any musician who appears on MTV, Del Monte, Lufthansa, Virgin, Carling and so on.
Just the other week I was walking my beloved greyhound when a man at the park with his family came over to have a chat about dogs and that. He was a nice enough guy and he thought my dog was cool. He went on to tell of how he used to course on this slope near his. He’d do it on a slope to give the hare a better chance and if the dogs caught the hare, they would have it for tea.
Inside, a part of me was fuming because I think that bloodsports are sick. Another part was nodding and listening to the guys stories. On the surface, I was polite and mild mannered and as we parted, I thought to myself not how much I wanted to kick the sh!t out of him but that the conversation was a fair way to kill 5 minutes and it’s a shame that he liked such a sport.
To bottom line it for you, I have complete and utter disrespect for actions which I find immoral and such. But that shouldn’t mean I can’t have even a certain level of respect for anybody. Especially considering that most people, be it through apathy or measured consideration, <br>do something that I couldn’t possibly condone.
We are all hypocrites – it is only politicians who are required to hold to an entirely consistent party line come what may.
I haven’t yet met a human being who didn’t exhibit some contradiction of thought or action. This is why most debates grind to a halt amidst a shower of accusations and counter-accusations because it is too easy to ‘play the man’ rather than the ‘ball’ and very easy to find flaws in others rather than their arguments.
To derive entertainment and satisfaction from watching an animal torn to pieces is, to my mind, brutal and distasteful. But I do eat meat and I do watch National Hunt racing and I do bet on the Grand National, even when its run in a quagmire. Perhaps one day I will stop doing these things. But until I do, I am to some degree, a hypocrite.
Perhaps a better way of putting it is to say that I don’t actually understand how people find coursing entertaining. I can’t physically imagine how it could be ‘fun’, however hard I try. Perhaps Sir Mark Prescott is a flawed person because of it. But we are all flawed to some degree. So respect doesn’t really come into it. If I am honest, I don’t think there is anyone I respect. Better to have a realistic view of humanity than to idolise and demonise by turns.
(Edited by Aranalde at 12:33 pm on Oct. 3, 2005)
Very good post Aranalde. It mirrors what I was going to say.<br>We are all hypocrites in one way or tother. But hypocrite is not the right word for my arguement here.<br>Just because I eat humanely destroyed animal flesh, it doesn’t make me a hypocrite to disagree with wild dogs being let loose on a defenseless animal in the name of sport. I go out of my way to find out if the meat I buy has all the right stamps on it. If it hasn’t, it gets put back on the shelf.<br>Every carnivore in the animal kingdom eats meat, it is not something solely comsumed by humans. When I eat my Sunday lunch, my only concern is that the meat was produced in a humane manner. If that is the case, I heartily tuck into my lunch.<br>Just because I am a carnivore, it doesn’t mean that I should take equal pleasure in seeing a defenseless animal being goaded by rabid dogs, and a bunch of old guys with peak caps and sideburns, for jollies (and a nice silver cup).<br>Now if you said that I am a hypocrite for betting on the exploitation of the equine species, I would agree with you. But, as Aranalde said, we are all hypocrites in one form or another. <br>I would consider myself a hypocrite for buying a PC and yet agreeing that global warming should be combatted at all costs. But while I have principles, I don’t choose to live the life of a druid for those very reasons.
Quote: from Racing Daily on 9:02 pm on Oct. 3, 2005[br] Just because I am a carnivore, it doesn’t mean that I should take equal pleasure in seeing a defenseless animal being goaded by rabid dogsÂÂÂ
<br>I don’t think you would have seen that hare coursing, RD. Perhaps you dreamt it after eating too much cheese one evening?
Whatever the rights and wrongs of coursing, the dogs aren’t rabid and the hare is not defenceless.
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Stephen Little, he of the famous fur coat, approved of it – you can bet on that.
Hare coursing is banned / illegal now so:
Respect the person’s opinion that it should be legal – Although I’d disagree with his view – Yes.
Respect the person who used to go hare coursing when it was legal – Yes.
Respect the person who now goes illegal hare coursing – No.Value Is Everything
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