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A group that represents fox hunters and gamekeepers is planning to sue to overturn Scotland's ban on fox hunting with dogs on the grounds that it constitutes cultural discriminate which is outlawed by treaties to which Scotland is a party to.
The lawsuit argues that Jews, Muslims, anglers and pheasant hunters are allowed to engage in activities that are at least as cruel -- if not more cruel -- to animals than fox hunting. As such, they argue, the ban on fox hunting is simply discrimination against a cultural minority and constitutes illegal persecution under the Human Rights Act.
Brian Friend, who represents the group, told The Times (London),
It is discrimination against us because we are told that we what we do is cruel when the ritual slaughter of meat is totally unnecessary, and is based on a custom that goes back to the time before they had refrigeration.
According to The Times, Jews and Muslims are granted exemptions from laws governing human slaughter of animals in the UK. Specifically, they are allowed to slaughter animals without stunning them first. Although most animals killed to meet Jewish and Muslim dietary customs are in fact stunned, about 600,000 animals are killed every year without first being stunned. Additionally, an estimated 36 million pheasants are bred each year specifically to be hunted.
Compare that to the estimated 15,000 foxes killed as a result of hunting every year.
Source:
Rural workers mount human rights challenge. Anthony Browne, The Times (London), November 13, 2002.