an introduction to fox hunting

7/21/2019 An Introduction to Fox Hunting

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HUNTIN

GF

ACTSAND

FIGURES

INTRODUCTION

AN

FOXHUNTING

foxfacts

TO

HUNTING-Whats

itallabout?

WORDSEARCH

INSIDE!


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Foxeswererefer

redtoasbeasts

ofthechaseinm

edievaltimes,an

dtheearliest

knownattempttohuntafox

withhoundswas

inNorfolkin1534

,wherefarmers

beganchasingfox

eswiththeirdogsforthepurpos

eofpestcontrol.

Thefirstuseofpack

sspecificallybredto

huntfoxeswasinthe

late1600sandthe

Bilsdale

whichhunts300squ

aremilesofcountryi

nYorkshireisthough

ttobetheoldest,ha

vingbeen

establishedin1668

.

Intheeightee

nthcenturyHugo

Meynelldevelope

dbreedsoffoxho

undsto

addressthenewgeograph

yofruralEngland

createdbytheIn

dustrialRevolution

.

Therearenowappro

ximately176packso

ffoxhoundsinEnglandandWalesplu

s10in

Scotland.Theyalldiff

erinsizeandeachhu

ntaseparateareain

acounty.Oneofthe

largest

andmostrecognised

packsinEnglandisc

alledtheDukeofBe

aufortswhichisbase

din

Gloucestershire.

TheHunting

Actcameintoforc

einFebruary2005

andsincethenhu

ntinginits

traditionalform,withtheuseofsc

enthoundstocha

seandkillafox,h

asbeenbanned.

Thereareotheranim

alswhicharehunted

butthisbookletfocusesonfoxhu

ntingandthe

issuesthatsurround

it.

Foxhuntingisas

ensitiveissue,abo

utwhichpeopleo

ftenhavestrongp

ositiveor

negativefeelings,

buthowmuchdo

peopleactuallykno

waboutwhathap

pens

outhunting?

An Introduction to Fox hunting


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UK

Ireland

USA

Canada

France

Australia

FOXHUNTING alsotakesplaceinothercountries...


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In the UK, the red

fox is common in

both countryside and

towns.

The red fox is a veryadaptable animal, feeding

on all sorts of food stuff from

fruit to small animals and

birds. Often foxes will eat

rotten meat, known as carrion.

They are ableto live in Arcticconditions as wellas near desertconditions.

Foxes can cause problems to farmers by taking lambs,

chickens and other livestock and therefore numbers haveto be controlled.

Fox numbers

have always been

controlled by man

but in the past were

also killed by larger

predators, such as

wolves that are now

extinct in the UK.

* All the differentspecies of animalsin the world havebeen given scientificnames that are thesame across differentcountries andlanguages to avoidconfusion.

foxfacts

Thereareseveraldifferentspecie

soffoxin

theworld.Thespeciesthatlivesin

theUnited

Kingdomisknownast

he redfoxandhasthe

scientificnameVulpesvulpes.*


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Whywildanimalsn

eedmanaging...

5.Becausewehavea

dutyofcareforthewelfare

ofwildanimals.

1.Toprotectotherspeciestha

tarevunerableto

predation.

2.Topreventoverpopulationbecausewhentherearetoomanyofanyonespeciesfoodandhabitatcanrunshort.

3.Toprotectfarmlivestockbydispersingand

reducinghighpopulationsofpredators.

4.Toprotectagainstthespreadofdiseaseswhichcanbreakoutwhentherearetoomanyofanyonespecies.

Theworldwenowliveinhasbeencreatedbyusandthe

populations ofsomespeciesofwild animals,includingthered

fox, needtobe managed:

Management or

pest control?The management ofwild animals is differentto pest control.Management aims tokeep a population healthyand at an acceptable

level. Pest control, onthe other hand, seeks toeradicate a population,regardless of whetherindividuals are sick, old orindeed healthy.


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Hunting with houndsas a method ofmanagement.

Ther has never been anyevidence that hunting isless humane thanotherways of killing foxes.

The act of hunting

is a combination of

recreation, wildlife

management and

pest control.

Other methods of control can be very efficient, but that

does not necessarily mean that they are always humane

or that they are removing the old, weak and sick animals.

We know whendomesticated animals arenot well because we are

close to them, but that is notthe case with animals livingin the wild.

At the end of a hunt, the quarryanimal either escapes or is

killed there is no wounding.

Hunting with hounds is notso much about the numberskilled, but the health andpopulation level of the

wild mammals left alive.

Hunts provide a service tofarmers and contribute toconservation by keepingwild animal populations

healthy and at anacceptable level.

Wild mammals donot feel fear in thesame way humansdo. Hunting is totallynatural to them.


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Adayshunting

whathappens?

The Huntsman will present the hounds with anarea for them to draw and will then allow them tospread out to search for the scent of the animalto be hunted, in this case the fox.

Hounds have an excellent sense of smell

which is far better than that of humans.

It is a natural instinct for them to sniff the

ground to pick up a scent, just as wolves

do in the wild.

The Field will follow at a reasonable distanceaway from the hounds to give them room to

work. The scent of the fox is picked up by thehounds and they will speak producing a yelpingsound once they are following it; the chase.

After a chase, the fox will either be killed

outright or will escape unhurt.

Since the introduction of The Hunting Act in

February 2005 it is now illegal for a dog to chasea fox, apart from in certain circumstances, soinstead of following the scent of a live fox a trailis laid before the meet so the hounds follow anartificial scent. Foxes can also still be controlledusing exemptions within the Act.

Fox hunting happens in many different forms

but traditional mounted hunts meet in the

morning between 10.30 11am two, three

or four days a week depending on the size of

their country.


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The meet istheplace where hounds,thehunt

mastersandfollowers/supporterswill gather and

this normallycenters around apoint in a village

suchasthepub, the village green, ahouse

or alocal landmark.Themeet

isasocialoccasion

andgives

everyoneachanceto

chat

anddiscusscondition

s

fortheday.

Thehuntsmanwillblowthehornwhichsignalstheendofthemeet,andwillleadhoundsawaytodrawthefirstcovert.

The

mountedhuntfollower

s

(thefield)willfol

lowatasuitable

distancebehind

ledby

theFieldmaster.


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The Master(s) is in overall controlof the hunt and his or her word is final.The Master will decide where andwhen hounds will meet, what coverts

are to be drawn and when houndswill go home. This role is often dividedbetween several Joint Masters.

The Huntsman uses a horn bywhich to control the hounds andsend messages to the Hunt Staffand the field. He will make surethat hounds work together as a

pack by encouraging them with aseries of signals.

Importantpeopleinthehuntingfield

The Field name given to all thefollowers on horses who are controlledby the Field Master. The Field Masterwill ride at the head of the field andall followers should keep behind him.He is responsible for making surethat the field does not get too closeto the hounds and that field crosscountry in a responsible manner.

Most HuntStaffwearred coats(traditionallycalled pinks)whenouthuntingwhichmakes themeasyto identify.

The Secretary is normally incharge of the Hunt paperworkin terms of subscriptions and

organising and promoting events.Usually your cap (amountcharged for the day) will betaken by the Hunt Secretary atthe meet and any problems withlandowners/broken hunt jumps willbe reported to the Secretary.

The Whipper-in there is oftenmore than one Whipper-in and theirmost important duty is to assist thehuntsman in controlling hounds. They

are often used to collect hounds upat the end of the day and to makesure that they are kept together asa pack whilst hunting the trail. Onlythe Huntsman will give orders to theWhippers-in.


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Cap Thedailycharg

efornon-subscrib

ers.

CastWhenhou

ndssearchforalostline.

CheckWhenth

ehoundslosethe

scent.

CoupleTwohound

s.

CountryThearea

withinwhichahu

ntoperateswith

thepermissionof

farmers.

CovertPronouncedcoveraw

oodorotherareaof

vegetationwherefox

es

traditionallywerefou

nd.

DrawTosend

houndsthrougha

coverttofind.

FoilAnysmell

ordisturbedgroundw

hichspoilsthescent

lineofthequarry.

LineThescen

tleftbythequarr

y.

SpeakHoundsdonotbark,they

speakorgivetongu

ewhentheyarehun

tingascent.

Some hunting terms


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TheHuntingAct

Onthe22ndSeptember

2002over400,000people

marchedthroughLondon

toshowtheirsupportfor

ruralissuesandinparticular

foxhuntingfollowing

theGovernmentsplantobringinatotalbanon

huntingwithdogs.TheC

ountrysideAlliance

LibertyandLivelihoodrur

alrightsmarchwas

describedasthebiggest

civillibertiesprotest

inmodernBritishhistory.

FollowingmanyyearsofdebatetheHunting

Act

finallycameintoforceon18

thFebruary2005.

TheHuntingActisaconfusin

gdocument

whichhasnotbannedallhunti

ngwith

dogs,buthaschangedthewa

y

inwhichhuntswork.

The Hunting Act came into forceon 18thFebruary 2005


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WhydidtheGovernmentbringitin?Somepeopledonotunderstandhowahuntworksandwhy

itisneeded

HuntingwaswronglythoughtofasaposhactivityandsomeMPs

sawbanningitaspartofaclasswarSomepeopleseehuntingasacruelsportSomepoliticiansthoughtthatahuntingbanwouldgetmoresupport

fortheirpoliticalpartyWhatare

theproblemswiththeAct?Itisconfusing,forexampleitislegaltohuntarabbitwith

dogsbutillegaltohuntahareItisdifficulttopoliceandwastesvaluablepoliceandcourttime

ItdoesnotprotectthefoxfromsufferingandundertheAct,

morefoxesareinfactbebeingkilledItmakesitdifficultforfarmerstoprotecttheirlivestock

Itisclasswarandcreatesadividebetweencountryand

citypeople

Itbansavaluablewildlifemanagementprocess

Following the passing ofThe Hunting Act manypeople thought that huntingwould stop altogether.However hunts have notfolded and are finding ways

to continue that are withinthe law.

People now know more

about hunting and have

realised that it plays an

important part in wildlife

management in rural

areas. This could explain

why, since the passing ofThe Hunting Act, hunts

have received a greater

amount of support.

Indeed, the first Boxing

Day after the Hunting

Act came in over 300,000

people went fox hunting.


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Quizsection

DID

YOUKNOW?

Ahoundstailiscalledastern

Hounds arecountedin couples, 50hounds arereally 25couple

YoucantellwhosomeoneiswhenoutHuntin

gbythenumber

ofbuttonsontheircoat5buttonsforahun

tsman,4buttons

foramasterand3buttonsforahuntmember

Outhuntinghorses that kickshouldweara redribbonontheir tail, and young horses a greenone

Huntfollowerswillgreeteachotherwithgoo

dmorningatthemeetand

saygoodnightwhentheyleave,evenifitis

2oclockintheafternoon!

Allhoundshaveanameandeveryoneofthemknowstheirname


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WORD SEARCH

S P O T M A K E R S

R E E S N A F F L E

E E A E R A S E O R

M A D S C E R T P X

R O S T O I I L E O

A P H O R N M W A RF I E L D A S H O L

E R D A D P I E A H

I A G B E A G L E I

P T E S S A B P U P

Season when hunting takes place

Farmers whose support is essentialto hunts

Horn carried by the huntsman tocontrol hounds

Meet the start of a hunt, usually 11am

Hedge field boundary and natural jump

Trail scent laid for hounds to followunder new law

Master person who runs the hunt

Basset, Beagle hare houndsField the hunt followers

Rat, Mice quarry

Whelp a new born puppy

Snaffle a hunting bit

Fox wild predator

Pad a fox or hound foot


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Photography credits:

Country Trail Images

Michael ThompsonTracy BroadbentAuror PhotographyHenry Whitbread

Countryside Alliance

The Old Town Hall

367 Kennington Road

London SE11 4PT

Tel: 020 7840 9200Fax: 020 7793 8484

Email: [email protected]: countryside-alliance.org.uk 2013 Countryside Alliance

an introduction to fox hunting

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