Fox Hunters Try for More Populist Image

Britain's beleaguered fox hunting crew is undergoing media training to stop acting so bloody "toff," as the Brits say, in order to curry favor with the hoi polloi, reports the Independent. Hunters should always climb off their horses before speaking to the press and refrain from wearing their red riding coats on camera. "Too often, the people defending hunting on TV came across as arrogant, aloof toffs," said a spokesman for a hunting association arranging the training. "Hunting is very diverse."

Animal rights activists bridle at the new strategy, and insist it won't help hunters to loosen fox hunting limits. Hunt laws are expected to be an important issue in the general elections. At a recent mid-session election the Labor party issued a leaflet featuring a picture of a fox cub reading: "Vote Labor or the fox gets it." (More Britain stories.)