Britain still loves fox hunting. The Economist explains.

The Economist tries to explain the enduring British love of the fox hunt

(Image credit: The Economist/YouTube)

published 17 July 2015

In 2005, Britain's Parliament prohibited the use of dogs to kill foxes during the storied British fox hunt, and now Prime Minister David Cameron wants to relax that ban. The law has enough loopholes and is hard enough to enforce that dogs still kill foxes in fox hunts, The Economist explains, and despite what you may have been led to believe, "hunt members come from all walks of life," not just the landed gentry. That's one reason Britons still hunt foxes, the magazine says, and farmers and landowners aren't upset about efforts to reduce the fox population, either. That's about as far as The Economist gets in its explanation for why the fox hunt is such an enduring part of British culture — the purported purpose of the story — but the short video serves as a very useful introduction to a controversy quietly raging across the pond. Watch below. Peter Weber

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.