While we are on the subject of fox hunting again, can I say I have never taken part in a hunt in my life, but I do love the spectacle.

Watching dozens of finely turned-out horses galloping across the English countryside is a wonderful sight and no, I don’t want to see a fox torn apart.

Chasing after a scent laid down beforehand is fine by me and from what I’ve seen makes very little difference to the hounds who get a great day out without the bloodshed.

I am, however, rather sceptical about the actions of so-called hunt saboteurs who will apparently overcome all kinds of obstacles to stop the hunt taking place.

By far the most horrific cruelty to animals today is inflicted by dog fighting gangs who gamble inordinate amounts of money on their dog tearing another dog to bits.

I’ve rehabilitated a couple of these dogs and both the physical and mental scars are atrocious.

Do you know that these dogs are routinely burned with cigarettes and stabbed with needles in their daily ‘training’?

The cruelty suffered by these poor animals is gut wrenching.

Now the hunt saboteurs are smart. They know the who, where and when of every hunt they attend.

They know the hunting ground and where to gather for maximum effect.

They do their homework well.

So here’s my point.

Why have I never seen these animal loving warriors sabotaging a dog fight?

There’s a damn sight more illegal dog fighting than there is illegal fox hunting.

Dog fighting is big business.

So how come the saboteurs aren’t using some of their enormous energy disrupting dog fighting rings?

The public would love them for it.

They’d be national heroes.

It would bolster their image no end.

They’d be applauded in town and country alike.

Why won’t they give as much attention to the dog fighting rings, highlighting the plight of those pitiful tortured canines that must kill or be killed at every ‘show’?

WILL GOOGLE MONITOR YOUR LOCAL OFFICIALS?

Do you recall back in the 70s and 80s where large banks bought out small local banks?

The District Bank where I opened my first account was acquired by Westminster Bank, which later became NatWest and eventually absorbed into the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The introduction of counter-free banking drastically reduced staffing levels until online banking wiped many of our local banks from the High Street.

If you want to deal with a bank on a person-to-person basis today you will find it extremely difficult unless your business is sufficiently large to justify the attention.

Some towns have no bank at all, leaving customers talking to a cash dispenser.

During the 1980s banks turned into casinos, gambling wildly with their clients’ money until the whole banking industry had to be rescued from collapse at taxpayers’ expense in 2008.

For the public it was a financial disaster they hadn’t contemplated when they were being offered cheap credit cards every day in the post.

Fast forward to the present and the very same is happening to our newspaper industry as an ever increasing number of readers obtain their ‘news’ online, news which must first be gathered at significant cost.

Most of the ‘news’ stories appearing on social media are reproduced from TV, radio and newspapers at no cost whatsoever.

No news agency can sustain its future without paying customers so what happens when local newspapers cease to exist?

Are Facebook and Google etc going to hold your local council to account?

Are they going to give you a heads-up when your local hospital is under threat of closure?

Will they tell you when the local Police Community Support Officer your village is financing gets siphoned off for other duties?

Are Google or Facebook going to highlight your case if you have been unjustly treated by local services?

Of course some of these stories may appear on social media but readers will have no idea where they came from or whether they have any veracity or not.

We need to consider this before the media giants squeeze your newspapers out of business.

Surely the price of a newspaper and placing the odd advert is not too big a price to pay to ensure their survival?

SOME PHRASES JUST DON’T SOUND RIGHT

I WAS at a social gathering the other lunchtime when an elderly gentleman in his late 80s excused himself saying he had to pick up his ‘girlfriend’ in town.

I think it’s great that we can find love at any age but there was something about that word ‘girlfriend’ that just didn’t sound right.

It was like Jeremy Corbyn referring to his ‘skateboard’.

By Guardian columnist Vic Barlow