OUTFOXED

You have to wonder if the recent revelation that "far from trying to keep numbers down, [joint hunt masters in England] were trying to encourage foxes to breed in order to have sufficient numbers to hunt" had anything to do with it. Either way, though, "a majority of lawmakers in the House of Commons voted Monday for an outright ban on fox hunting with hounds, rejecting a government proposal for strict controls." The legislation is still not definitive, and it wouldn't take effect until 2005, and it's just fox hunting with hounds, but still... this is a watershed moment. Consciousness is growing, and it ain't going away.