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CHAPTER IV. 



THE HUMANITARIAN ASPECT. 



By Col. Rohertson-Aikman. 



I HAVE been asked to contribute some remarks on the 

 humanitarian aspect of hare hunting, much having been written 

 to the Press on its cruelty, especially in reference to the E.C.H. 

 — a hunt that has been singled out for opprobrimn by people to 

 whom must no doubt be attributed well-meaning and humanitarian 

 feelings, but who it seems to me fail to recognise natural laws or 

 to take a broad-minded or unbiased view of sport in general 

 or to realise that they have not the monopoly of humane feelings. 



To commence with, what is cruelty? The infliction of pain 

 need not necessarily constitute cruelty, else many things besides 

 sport must be condemned. The infliction of unnecessary pain is 

 where cruelty begins, and this is reprehensible and inexcusable. 

 I think the subject must be approached with a sense of 

 proportion, and must be treated comparatively. All animals 

 have to meet their death, and those that are used for human 

 food an untimely death at the hand of man, and the chief object 

 to be kept in view is the avoidance of inflicting unnecessary pain. 

 This should be every true sportsman's aim. 



Nature herself is cruel, beasts and birds of prey being the 

 worst offenders. Who that has seen a cat with a mouse but is 

 not moved with pity and made to wonder why things have been 

 so ordained ? 



Venery has been in vogue since the days of primitive man, 

 when he hunted for the means of subsistence ; and nowadays, 

 when it is practised as a manly pastime for exercise, health, and 

 pleasure, every true sportsman who indulges in it makes it his 

 endeavour to minimise the sufferings of his quarry, and will 

 always give it a fair chance for its life. Contrast this with the 

 everyday occurrence of a calf or a pig being taken to have its 

 throat cut and bled to death with no possible chance of escape. 

 My sympathy is stronger for these than for any hunted animal. 

 Have those who decry the sport never eaten veal and ham pie? 



I said before that the question is comparative, and I should 



