Supermarket giant Tesco has removed a children’s fox hunting dress-up costume from sale following a number of customer complaints.
Complaints came from shoppers who had spotted the outfit earlier this week. Anti-hunt campaigners said it was “encouraging children to become animal abusers” and was not an appropriate costume for children to dress up in.
The fancy dress costume itself was marketed as a ‘red fox hunter jacket’, and was available for children aged seven and older, on the supermarket’s website.
Lee Moon, a spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: “This appears to be remarkably poor judgement from Tesco. Fox hunting is an illegal, archaic pastime that’s abhorred by the majority of the population.”
“Why Tesco would think it’s an appropriate fancy dress costume for children is quite beyond us.” he continued. “We look forward to seeing their badger baiting or dog fighting outfit in the near future.”
Tesco quickly pulled the costume, which it said had been placed on the site by a third party vendor. A spokesman said: “We’ve listened to customers and have immediately removed this product from sale.”
However, Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance was unimpressed and said the supermarket had “bowed to intimidation” from activists.
“There will be hundreds of children out hunting this Saturday as many hunts come to the end of their season. They will not have brought their coats from Tesco, but they will be taking part in a thriving, legal pastime which is indelibly written into British culture and its countryside.”Fox hunting with dogs has been illegal in the UK since 2004.
