Providing that it is done properly, and for a purpose, I do not have a problem with it.

I absolutely thoroughly wholeheartedly oppose hunting.
And sorry but I`m a vegetarian, and no I don`t wear leather, [ nor will I sit on leather chairs, will only ride a horse with a synthetic saddle, yadda yadda ].

Please don`t make assumptions that what people do or don`t eat has a bearing on people feeling disgust at activities some do which involves animals being terrified, often torn to pieces - sorry but not all dogs do things as clinically nice and gentle and fluffy as hunters would like to make out - and no way do I find it acceptable to hunt because a dog `like`s` to, there are plenty of other ways to give a dogs mind and body things to do which don`t involve the needless death of another animal - or 6 in the instance you give - and any offspring which would starve to death before ever seeing sunlight

**Yes where I live there are loads of rabbits in the paddocks, they do not cause a problem at all, and to answer the point of them being on `home ground`, as a result because they live with horses, people and dogs around they are not as easily spooked because they are used to not being the only creatures around, so they would`nt stand a damned chance.

And lamps might be used to reflect off their eyes to help the dogs but please don`t try to suggest they don`t react the same as when a car is bearing down on them and the headlights make them freeze.

Also, dogs nightvision is far better than ours, the nearest equivalent being like us using nightsights like on a weapon so the dogs sure as hell don`t need the lamp to be used, but is`nt it handy how it does startle a rabbit long enough to hinder their chances of escape from an unnatural hunter - this is`nt Darwinism, its not wild dogs hunting to survive, its humans using a domestic dog in times when hunting is not necessary for the dog or hunter to survive.

How many species are extinct or close to extinction because humans hunt them needlessly just because they can ? Not much natural selection and Darwinism going on there for those species then...
Humans do not need to eat animals to survive in this day and age, and if humans did not continually encroach on so much of the environment, wild animals would not be `pests`, Darwin did`nt factor in human greed for wanting to own everything and do away with whatever is in the way, including other humans hence wars killing millions...
Ever seen a rabbit set up a war bunker to take out the local population of hedgehogs because `they want that thar land` ?

Now that you have let Cassie know its `ok` to chase and kill, how are you going to console an owner of a cat that she might easily get by mistake - you`ve had it happen, do you really wish that on someone else with you and your dog being the cause of their loss ?
Or would you now just think `oh well never mind`...

Patch - I thought you were about to say you'd only sit on a horse with synthetic skin.

'Please don`t make assumptions that what people do or don`t eat has a bearing on people feeling disgust at activities some do which involves animals being terrified, often torn to pieces'

A lurcher that has been trained well should not tear the rabbit to pieces, Cassie never has and neither has any of the other dogs i have seen worked.

It was the middle of winter when we did this as i mentioned my BTL does not hunt in the spring or summer to make sure litters are not left to die.

I wasn't making assumptions about people, its a fact that a lot of people eat meat and don't really know where it comes from. while at uni a flat mate didn't even know that eggs come from chickens! The rabbit being chased by my dog will experience less terror then a chicken hanging upside down waiting to be killed who god knows how long. After living a life of utter misery in a barn having never seen sunlight. The point i'm making is i find it hard to take people saying A is horrible and cruel but then go and do B which is worse but because its less hands on then its ok.

We have worked with Cassie a lot, before and after we took her out lamping, with cats and chasing when off the lead. She came to us already a working dog and she had to ajust to life as a pet. We have a pet cat at my family home and while she gets excited round her (she always has) she will not give chase unless told. as we would never set her on any pet this doesn't cause any problems. She goes to the park everyday to play ball with roads either side so for her safety we had to make sure she doesn't run after everything that moves.

I can only comment on my dog and the experience i have had. I am not cruel and hate cruelty so to implie i would say 'oh well never mind' is making asumptions about me! If i didn't have control over Cassie then she would not be allowed off the lead.

yeah im with Colin on this one for sure - mine love chasing rabbits in my paddocks or neighbouring fields and rarely catch them, but its something they all do togehter and im reluctant to stop them.

I don't have a problem with it at all. Before dogs were domesticated, how did they eat? Nature hasn't moved on too much and is still seen to be cruel to some people. I also don't believe in interfereing with someone else's occupation or views, it's up to them at the end of the day. I am not a vegetarian and would never hold Patch's views, but it does not prevent me from admiring and respecting her or anybody else as a human being.

I have no problem with it, if it serves a purpose. I respect that farmers need to keep pests at bay and as long as the animal isnt put under any undue stress, I think it's fine.

I'm not sure of a rabbit being hunted isn't being stressed though, so would probably not agree to it, although having never witnessed it, I don't know !

Having said that mine have caught a rabbit or two in the past, although they have usually been Mixy bunnies who they were told to leave alone !

I haveno problem with it. I think the way animals are intensivaly farmed, live a life of misery and die a horrible painful death is much much worse than lamping.

im not for or against - im sitting int themiddle

my points for - its nature - just seeing to dogs natural instincts

against - the chase - but its over within minutes...

you can be a meat eater and be opposed to hunting or even oppose the thought of a dog chasing a rabbit and killing it.
Both women in my life ( my wife and daughter ) tell me off if i tell them the dogs nearly got a rabbit and they both eat meat, but i have to admit i do love to watch the way they come together when one chases or stumbles on a rabbit unlike any other time when they are behaving a lot more independently. But i dont encourage it i just dont correct them. If we lived nearer the road i may have had to redress that as the rabbits converge on the grass verge in their droves.
I dont shoot rabbits but will shoot a rat as we have a problem at the moment but do view all animal life as special.
But is the rabbit hunt part of my dogs daily walks ? - yeah it is and it doesnt cause a passionate response in me either way just see the dogs following their instincts.
But as an aside bear in mind the majority of us who readily eat meat do so in the comfort of not having to catch and kill it and many of us would be chicken if we had to kill and gut the food we take for granted in the supermarkets so i dont think people are contradicting themselves if they dont like the thought of a rabbit being killed by a dog, but eat meat - most of us lazily eat our meat safe in the fact that the messy business is out of site and therefore normally out of mind.