Has the hunting argument died down a little in England? Not, anyway, in publications which always devoted much space to it. It's not all pro-hunting in their correspondence columns, either, though the pro-hunters tend to come out on top. Thus in Country Life, a magazine devoted to the social life and sports in the country, and which carries many pages of property advertising. One sniffy note appears on its letters page. A Mr Hale from Hampshire writes to say that he was for 13 years parish clerk for a village, and believes that most country people are neutral on the subject of hunting. "They couldn't care less. The job losses you envisage, if hunting is banned, are fantasy. Hunting will be banned, for why should the wishes of a tiny minority thwart the wishes of the majority?" He says he reads Country Life for the interesting garden and natural history articles. But there is no doubt where the magazine's heart lies. Under a heading "All That's Worth Living For", it has another advocate of foxhunting, and the subheading is "Rob Wood, chimney sweep." In his picture he stands in riding gear minus jacket and cap, his right hand resting on a chimney-sweep's brush. Denizens of Dorchester, we are told, hunting or others, have cause to thank Rob Wood. On cold winter nights, the chimneys he sweeps keep their fires going, and in the summer his bouncy castles business keeps the children occupied. He, in turn, is delighted that he can earn enough to go hunting. He is only five years into it and says: "I used to put work first, but now horses take priority."
He originally trained as a butcher but when he got the chance of running a shop he turned it down because he wouldn't have the freedom to keep horses. He now hunts three times a fortnight with the South Dorset Hunt "and it has become an integral part of his life." At first he wasn't sure how he would be accepted in the hunt. "There may be very rich heiresses out, retired army colonels or ordinary people like me . . . there's a great camaraderie." He finishes: "Hunting costs the taxpayer nothing. For my part it is financed by hard work." For many people in England, the hunting row is secondary to the fact that, with its blood up, the Blair regime might go on to banning fishing, the real field sport of the millions. Nor is shooting the exclusive domain of the gentry. Knocking off pigeons or duck at the weekend is a widespread game. Hunting can go, but not these.