Fears expressed by some hunters in America have become reality in England. The British Parliament passed phase one of a bill that would completely outlaw certain types of hunting. And proponents make no secret that they would prefer to ban all hunting.
They voted by 368 to 155 in favor of the government's Hunting Bill which proposes a compromise, outlawing stag hunting and hare coursing, while allowing fox hunting to continue in some areas under strict license. But legislators, most from Prime Minister Tony Blair's ruling Labor Party, said they will push for a complete ban later in the bill's passage through Parliament.
The vote and passage took place in spite of hunters who took to the streets in protest. Thousands besieged Parliament, blowing whistles and hunting horns and letting off fireworks. Their banners read: "Born to hunt, ready to fight!" and "Hunting is life. No surrender." Some clashed with police and eight were arrested.
Opponents say fox hunting sport is cruel, barbaric, and anathema to a modern society.
Supporters, including royal heir Prince Charles, say hunting is a service to farmers who regard the fox as vermin and maintains thousands of rural jobs.
The battle symbolizes key faultlines in British society, pitting rich versus poor, town versus country.
Nearly 200 British legislators have signed a motion declaring that only a total ban will be acceptable to Parliament and the public. "It is a moral issue about cruelty to animals," former Labor minister Tony Banks said. "It is as wrong to take pleasure from the killing of animals as it is wrong to take pleasure from the killing of human beings."
But the unelected House of Lords, Parliament's upper chamber, is almost certain to reject a complete ban and may also throw out the government's middle way. That could delay the bill's passage into law for at least another year.
Fox hunting has been practiced in England for hundreds of years. Hunters on horseback in red jackets and shiny riding boots chase foxes across the countryside with a pack of hounds until the fox is caught and killed by the dogs.