Quote:
Originally Posted by danielf
Errm, no. Fox hunting was not banned because some people didn't like what many 'ordinary' people got u to.It was banned because many people believed it constituted unnecessary cruelty to animals.
The way democracy works is that if enough people object to something then it will be legislated against. The fox hunting ban came about through democratic means. There is no point of democratic principle to repeal it any more than there is a reason repeal the abolition of slavery.
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As a point of morality, slavery is different. Slaves are human, foxes are not. This is a fundamental difference. Regardless of ongoing agitation from the "animal rights" lobby, animals, as non-human, do not have rights. Certain species have certain protections for certain reasons.
And I think you are wilfully conflating the concepts of majority rule and minority oppression. There are plenty of things that a majority of people in this country object to, which nevertheless are tolerated and do not become criminalised, because for the most part our representatives recognise that the purpose of democracy is to safeguard freedom, not to restrict it.
Smoking remains legal, despite the extreme harm it can cause. Religious organisations continue to enjoy exemptions from aspects of our equality laws, when religious reasons are cited, despite these legal guarantees supposedly being the hallmarks of a modern, tolerant society.