Listening to People Jusifying The Hunt On The Radio (& Getting Angry)

This afternoon I was listening to Joe Duffy (Ireland's most popular call-in radio programme, for those of you who aren't familiar with it).
What is a day off college without Joe Duffy?
Its said that if you want anything done in this country you should call Joe!
Anyway, today I was half listening to it, to callers debating stag hunting.
Obviously as a vegan anyone trying to justify hunting makes me angry, but there were people talking about it being a 'misunderstood sport'.
Sport??
Its not a sport for the poor animal that is chased by 50 people, its not a sport for the animal being chased (usually a stag or a fox), the dogs trained for the hunt or the horses used.
Hunting is seen by many as a rural sport and they feel that people who object to it are 'city people', that only people who grew up with animals or come from a farming background understand what hunting really is.
It doesn't matter if you maintain that the animals 'aren't scared', or are 'treated well', its still hunting, its still abusing, frightening and killing animals and calling it sport.
What will happen to the herds of stag or the dogs specifically trained for the hunt if we ban the practise, one hunter asked.
My answer to that is that animals aren't just pottering around here for your twisted purposes, if hunting is banned you leave the stags to live their natural lives and take care of the dogs.
I always feel sorry for the dogs, trained to savage by the vile hand of man.
My aunt's dog, a lovely, loyal little terrier has been attacked and nearly killed by hunting dogs twice. I don't resent the dogs, I resent the dog's owners who have taken these dogs and abused their loyal nature by training them to be vicious. When my aunt complained to him he vaguely apologised but its obvious that he didn't care about what happened to her dog.
Many people who hunt claim to care about animals but its an inherent oxymoron, is it not?