ICONS – A Portrait of England is announcing today that it will include ‘Foxhunting and the Ban’ in its next round of national icons to be released at the end of July. It is another step in the creation of an online collection that aims to provide a snapshot of the life of the nation in the 21st Century.
The news follows intense lobbying and voting on the ICONS site in favour of choosing Foxhunting as an icon. But there were thousands of votes against as well, reflecting the strength of feeling in the country in support of the Government’s ban in 2005.
Jerry Doyle, Managing Director of ICONS said:“ In England, whenever images of horses and hounds gathering on village greens come to mind, so too, inevitably do images of hunt saboteurs and scuffles with the police."
“ We can’t ignore the fact that teacloths, place mats and paintings the world over depict hunting pinks and that they are identified with this country in a particular kind of way. But it is a hugely emotive issue and we want to be fair and to cover both sides of the debate. We are releasing news of our decision as soon as possible because of the level of public interest in the issue. It was important to give everyone a chance to have their say and to decide the best way to cover this issue.”
“The public response to the ICONS site overall has been overwhelming, with around a quarter of a million visits to the site, more than 5000 suggested nominations and around 300,000 votes,” said Jerry Doyle. “ It is not purely a numbers game alone, of course, and the advisory board’s role is to help us ensure we are achieving a rich mix of icons. ICONS aims to fully reflect the England we live in today across a wide range of activities, from the arts, sports and business worlds to everyday things like food and drink, fashion and popular TV hits. A geographical mix is also important. Nowadays foxhunting and the ban are inextricably linked in the popular
imagination. This is the way ICONS and its advisory board has decided
to include ‘foxhunting and the ban’ in its collection."
