Barbaric sport coverage

The front page headline on the Shropshire Star on December 26 - "Thousands at hunt meets" - confirms my view that the Shropshire Star supports fox hunting with dogs. I doubt if many newspapers would devote so much coverage to a sport that was banned by Parliament and which at least 80 per cent of the public disapproved of.

I am not surprised Otis Ferry claims the turnout for the meet was a two-fingered gesture to the Government, for that is a turn of phrase you would expect from a man who created a disturbance in the House of Commons.

Hunting with dogs is a barbaric sport, although hunt numbers will claim it's a essential service. I worked on a large farm of several hundred acres and I never saw the hunt while working on the farm for seven-and-a-half years. What puzzles me is that some farmers will quite rightly confront walkers who wander from the footpath when crossing a field, and yet 40 to 60 riders can gallop all over a field with no complaints from the farmer or landowner. I wonder why not?

For the majority of riders it's the thrill of the chase that appeals to them and not the kill, and surely that can be done by following a false scent. If it's fresh air and exercise riders want then there's nothing like a spot of gardening or a good brisk walk up the Wrekin!

I hope the Shropshire Star will refrain in future from promoting a so-called sporting pastime!

R Williams, Shifnal