[Raynor]

When Tolkien presents us with members of one culture hunting down & killing another, judging the other culture as 'beasts', he is either saying this kind of behaviour is wrong, or he is saying it is acceptable.

Orome and his host were hunting down fell beasts, as his fight against evil and I know no incrimination of him. So this sets a precendent of a way to combat evil.

The Eldar hunted the petty dwarves, seeing them as dangerous beasts, which attack them. I am not aware that their actions, as long as they didn't know about the dwarves (which happened later) are incriminated anywhere. Do you think the Eldar did a wrong thing?

but not Gamling, because Gamling knows more than his Lords.

Then again, one should ask if Gamling really recognised the voices of the dunlendings when they were making their war cries, most likely together with the orcs, or if he simply presumed they were there, knowing of their alliance. My impression is that the later happened. .

Their treatment of the Woses cannot be put down to their seeing them as 'animals' - which they clearly are not - animals do not beat drums, nor use bows & arrows.

This presumes they knew that; we have no such evidence. We have zero evidence of what happened then. I don't see what relevant conclusion we can draw, besides noting a tragedy.

Clearly the Woses do not behave like Orcs, or look like them.

How many other races use poisoned darts? Chris doesn't rule out their likeliness; after mentioning the idea of orcs being related to humans, he quotes the description of Ghan: "Hh is described as having a scanty beard that "straggled on his lumpy chin like dry moss," and dark eyes that showed nothing"; previously, it was stated that their eyes are red when angry. I don't have a description of orcs handy, but perhaps it would help if someone could present it.

In fact, in order to hunt anything (animal or human) effectively the hunter needs a thoroughgoing knowledge of his 'prey'.

I think you are describing an ideal "hunt". Again, we really don't know the context of the attacks.

And from Ghan's words its plain that we are not talking here about the odd isolated incident but a systematic policy of hunting down & killing the Woses.

If you are intent on speculating on a passing refference, then just as well there may have been no casualty. There is zero evidence either way. Can't we accept that? This is leading nowhere.

because however 'wild' the Dunlendings may look they could not be mistaken for 'animals' - yet Eomer states clearly that 'animals' is how he sees them.

He doesn't "see" them actually. He hears war cries, most likely mingled with the orcs's. He doesn't know there are any Men there; he simply makes remark on what he hears.

But, as I stated, by the end of the story he has come to acknowledge the Woses as 'human' beings.

Where is it stated that Eomer viewed them otherwise anytime??

Note that there's no discounting the works of Saruman and Sauron, which may have flamed the estrangement of these peoples.

This is one thing that the critics of the rohirrim don't seem to want to take into account. Also, I would go further than saying they simply flamed the enstrangement.