How to get around the hunting ban - use a Cheetah
Discussion
That'll learn them damn wabbits.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/...
Times said:
A CAPTIVE cheetah that can run at up to 60mph is being secretly trained to hunt for its food in the English countryside — as part of a plan to release its offspring into the wild.
Boumani, a two-year-old male reared by humans from birth, has been allowed to chase rabbits in an eight-acre Essex field surrounded by a 6½ft fence. Its owners, who run a wildlife park, hope Boumani will eventually teach his cubs how to catch their own prey and prepare for a new life on the plains of Africa.
The venture exploits a loophole in hunting legislation. Pro-hunting campaigners, who want a hare-coursing ban lifted, claim the laws are “a mess”. While it is forbidden for dogs to pursue hares, the legislation makes no mention of cats.
“It is fantastic exercise and stimulation for the cheetah and it teaches him to hunt,” said Jonny Ames, whose family runs the Eagle Heights wildlife park near Dartford, Kent.
“We will need to repeat this every couple of weeks or so. When we breed from Boumani he will hopefully teach the cubs to hunt, so we can release them into the wild in Africa.
“Even if he can’t teach the cubs, we will by then know how best to teach them ourselves.”
Boumani, born in captivity in Germany, weighs 8 stone and was prepared for hunting live prey by regularly chasing a dead rabbit attached to a moving “zip wire”. Last month Ames and his father Alan started taking the cheetah to an undisclosed location in Essex.
Its first attempt to catch rabbits was witnessed by The Sunday Times and filmed for a new internet television channel promoting field sports.
The transportation of “dangerous wild animals” in Britain is tightly restricted, but they can be moved for filming purposes — as long as they are kept within an enclosed area. The field in which Boumani was set loose was surrounded by a mesh fence with holes that allow small creatures, such as rabbits, to pass through. Experts say it could be illegal for animals to hunt “captive” prey.
The cheetah was released into the field through a camouflaged gate in the evening (the time that rabbits come out to feed on grass). After familiarising himself with the territory, Boumani began to scent the rabbits and gave chase. The exercise was repeated last week and although the cheetah has yet to kill a rabbit, he ate a dead one he was given.
“Rabbits are not Boumani’s ideal prey, as they are a bit small and hard for him to see,” said Ames. “Hare or deer would be better, but they wouldn’t be able to escape through the fence.”
“A cheetah hunting is a potent thing to watch,” said Charlie Jacoby, a presenter for FieldsportsChannel (www.fieldsportschannel.tv), which will broadcast an online programme about Boumani at 7pm on Wednesday. “This shows what a mess our laws on hunting have become. This is a cat chasing a rabbit, which is legal, and if it was chasing a hare it would still be legal. But if it was a dog doing the same it would breach the Hunting Act.”
The League Against Cruel Sports condemned the exercise as “astonishing and barbaric”. Louise Robertson, a spokeswoman, said: “The link between teaching an animal to hunt and the eventual release of captive-bred animals into the wild is extremely tenuous.”
So there are big cats in the wild in the UK Boumani, a two-year-old male reared by humans from birth, has been allowed to chase rabbits in an eight-acre Essex field surrounded by a 6½ft fence. Its owners, who run a wildlife park, hope Boumani will eventually teach his cubs how to catch their own prey and prepare for a new life on the plains of Africa.
The venture exploits a loophole in hunting legislation. Pro-hunting campaigners, who want a hare-coursing ban lifted, claim the laws are “a mess”. While it is forbidden for dogs to pursue hares, the legislation makes no mention of cats.
“It is fantastic exercise and stimulation for the cheetah and it teaches him to hunt,” said Jonny Ames, whose family runs the Eagle Heights wildlife park near Dartford, Kent.
“We will need to repeat this every couple of weeks or so. When we breed from Boumani he will hopefully teach the cubs to hunt, so we can release them into the wild in Africa.
“Even if he can’t teach the cubs, we will by then know how best to teach them ourselves.”
Boumani, born in captivity in Germany, weighs 8 stone and was prepared for hunting live prey by regularly chasing a dead rabbit attached to a moving “zip wire”. Last month Ames and his father Alan started taking the cheetah to an undisclosed location in Essex.
Its first attempt to catch rabbits was witnessed by The Sunday Times and filmed for a new internet television channel promoting field sports.
The transportation of “dangerous wild animals” in Britain is tightly restricted, but they can be moved for filming purposes — as long as they are kept within an enclosed area. The field in which Boumani was set loose was surrounded by a mesh fence with holes that allow small creatures, such as rabbits, to pass through. Experts say it could be illegal for animals to hunt “captive” prey.
The cheetah was released into the field through a camouflaged gate in the evening (the time that rabbits come out to feed on grass). After familiarising himself with the territory, Boumani began to scent the rabbits and gave chase. The exercise was repeated last week and although the cheetah has yet to kill a rabbit, he ate a dead one he was given.
“Rabbits are not Boumani’s ideal prey, as they are a bit small and hard for him to see,” said Ames. “Hare or deer would be better, but they wouldn’t be able to escape through the fence.”
“A cheetah hunting is a potent thing to watch,” said Charlie Jacoby, a presenter for FieldsportsChannel (www.fieldsportschannel.tv), which will broadcast an online programme about Boumani at 7pm on Wednesday. “This shows what a mess our laws on hunting have become. This is a cat chasing a rabbit, which is legal, and if it was chasing a hare it would still be legal. But if it was a dog doing the same it would breach the Hunting Act.”
The League Against Cruel Sports condemned the exercise as “astonishing and barbaric”. Louise Robertson, a spokeswoman, said: “The link between teaching an animal to hunt and the eventual release of captive-bred animals into the wild is extremely tenuous.”
Times said:
The exercise was repeated last week and although the cheetah has yet to kill a rabbit, he ate a dead one he was given.
Bah, much easier this way!
Times said:
The League Against Cruel Sports condemned the exercise as “astonishing and barbaric”. Louise Robertson, a spokeswoman, said: “The link between teaching an animal to hunt and the eventual release of captive-bred animals into the wild is extremely tenuous.”
FFS! 
AJS- said:
I've said it before, but we should release dangerous animals into the wild in England. I'd suggest a pack of monkeys in this case, probably macaques, with rabies and a habit of throwing s
t at unwelcome visitors.
Ah yes. The population control by wild animals method.t at unwelcome visitors.I prefer lifting the ban on hunting.
Chav hunting that is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9_YhKbrhnY
Times said:
The League Against Cruel Sports condemned the exercise as “astonishing and barbaric”. Louise Robertson, a spokeswoman, said: “The link between teaching an animal to hunt and the eventual release of captive-bred animals into the wild is extremely tenuous.”
Well what do they suggest
teaching a big cat to enjoy salad?
How do they do it on other breed and release programmes? Obviously using a "drag" animal for the predator to chase, but do they then release them into the wild directly or do they engage upon a similar line of "training" as above with live prey for a few weeks before the animal is released into the wild?
thinfourth2 said:
Times said:
The League Against Cruel Sports condemned the exercise as “astonishing and barbaric”. Louise Robertson, a spokeswoman, said: “The link between teaching an animal to hunt and the eventual release of captive-bred animals into the wild is extremely tenuous.”
Well what do they suggest
teaching a big cat to enjoy salad?
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