![Hunt Master exits Castle cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Hunt_Master_exits_Castle_cropped.JPG)
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a
red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
, by trained
foxhounds or other
scent hound
Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785
Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than ...
s. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds"), follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.
In Australia, the term also refers to the hunting of foxes with
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s, similar to
deer hunting.
Fox hunting with hounds, as a formalised activity, originated in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in the sixteenth century, in a form very similar to that practised until February 2005, when a law banning the activity in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
came into force.
A ban on hunting in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
had been passed in 2002, but it continues to be within the law in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
and several other areas, including
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.
The sport is controversial, particularly in the United Kingdom. Proponents of fox hunting view it as an important part of
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...
culture, and useful for reasons of
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
and
pest control
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range ...
,
while opponents argue that it is
cruel
Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve viol ...
and unnecessary.
History
The use of scenthounds to track
prey
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
dates back to
Assyria
Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n,
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c ...
n, and
ancient Egyptian times, and was known as
venery.
Europe
![Desportes fox](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Desportes_fox.jpg)
Many Greek- and Roman-influenced countries have long traditions of hunting with hounds. Hunting with
Agassaei hounds was popular in
Celtic Britain
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric I ...
, even before the
Romans arrived, introducing the Castorian and Fulpine hound breeds which they used to hunt.
Norman hunting traditions were brought to Britain when
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
arrived, along with the Gascon and
Talbot hounds.
Foxes were referred to as ''beasts of the chase'' by
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
times, along with the
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...
(
hart & hind),
marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
s, and
roes, but the earliest known attempt to hunt a fox with hounds was in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
, England, in 1534, where farmers began chasing foxes down with their dogs for the purpose of pest control.
[ The last ]wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
in England was killed in the early 16th century during the reign of Henry VII, leaving the English fox with no threat from larger predators. The first use of packs specifically trained to hunt foxes was in the late 1600s, with the oldest fox hunt being, probably, the Bilsdale in Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
.
By the end of the seventeenth century, deer hunting was in decline. The Inclosure Acts
The Inclosure Acts, which use an archaic spelling of the word now usually spelt "enclosure", cover enclosure of open fields and common land in England and Wales, creating legal property rights to land previously held in common. Between 1604 and ...
brought fences to separate formerly open land into many smaller fields, deer forests were being cut down, and arable land was increasing. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, people began to move out of the country and into towns and cities to find work. Roads, railway lines, and canals all split hunting countries,[ but at the same time they made hunting accessible to more people. ]Shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub- pr ...
s were improved during the nineteenth century and the shooting of gamebirds became more popular.[ Fox hunting developed further in the eighteenth century when ]Hugo Meynell
Hugo Meynell (June 1735 – 14 December 1808) was an English country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1762 and 1780. He is generally seen as the father of modern fox hunting, became Master of Fox Hounds for the ...
developed breeds of hound and horse to address the new geography of rural England.[
In Germany, hunting with hounds (which tended to be deer or boar hunting) was first banned on the initiative of ]Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
on 3 July 1934. In 1939, the ban was extended to cover Austria after Germany's annexation of the country. Bernd Ergert, the director of Germany's hunting museum in Munich, said of the ban, "The aristocrats were understandably furious, but they could do nothing about the ban given the totalitarian nature of the regime."
United States
According to the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, Englishman Robert Brooke was the first man to import hunting hounds to what is now the United States, bringing his pack of foxhounds to Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
in 1650, along with his horses. Also around this time, numbers of European red foxes were introduced into the Eastern seaboard of North America for hunting. The first organised hunt for the benefit of a group (rather than a single patron) was started by Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax in 1747. In the United States, George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
both kept packs of fox hounds before and after the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
Australia
In Australia, the European red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
was introduced solely for the purpose of fox hunting in 1855. Native animal populations have been very badly affected, with the extinction of at least 10 species attributed to the spread of foxes.[ Fox hunting with hounds is mainly practised in the east of Australia. In the state of Victoria there are thirteen hunts, with more than 1000 members between them.] Fox hunting with hounds results in around 650 foxes being killed annually in Victoria,[ compared with over 90,000 shot over a similar period in response to a State government bounty.
The ]Adelaide Hunt Club
The Adelaide Hunt Club is an Australian fox hunting club founded in the 1840s.
History
Originally called The Adelaide Hounds, the club was founded in Adelaide in the early 1840s.Adelaide Hunt Club. As early as 3 July 1841, the Governor of South A ...
traces its origins to 1840, just a few years after the colonization of South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
.
Current status
United Kingdom
Fox hunting is prohibited in Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
by the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002
The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in February 2002, making Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to ban traditional fox hunting and hare coursing.
Passage of the Act
The bill was int ...
and the Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; ...
(England and Wales), but remains legal in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
.
The passing of the Hunting Act was notable in that it was implemented through the use of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2(2) of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that the two Acts are to be construed as one.
...
, after the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
refused to pass the legislation, despite the Commons passing it by a majority of 356 to 166.
After the ban on fox hunting, hunts in Great Britain switched to legal alternatives, such as drag hunting and trail hunting
Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine (most commonly fox) is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers ...
. The Hunting Act 2004 also permits some previously unusual forms of hunting wild mammals with dogs to continue, such as "hunting... for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal".
Opponents of hunting, such as the League Against Cruel Sports, claim that some of these alternatives are a smokescreen for illegal hunting or a means of circumventing the ban. While supporters of fox hunting claim that the number of foxes killed has increased since the Hunting Act came into force, both by the hunts (through lawful methods) and landowners, and that hunts have reported an increase in membership.
Tony Blair wrote in '' A Journey'', his memoirs published in 2010, that the Hunting Act of 2004 is 'one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret'.
United States
In America, fox hunting is also called "fox chasing", as it is the practice of many hunts not to actually kill the fox (the red fox is not regarded as a significant pest).[ Some hunts may go without catching a fox for several seasons, despite chasing two or more foxes in a single day's hunting.][ Foxes are not pursued once they have "gone to ground" (hide in a hole). American fox hunters undertake stewardship of the land, and endeavour to maintain fox populations and habitats as much as possible.][ In many areas of the eastern United States, the coyote, a natural predator of the red and grey fox, is becoming more prevalent and threatens fox populations in a hunt's given territory. In some areas, coyote are considered fair game when hunting with foxhounds, even if they are not the intended species being hunted.
In 2013, the ]Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America
The Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America, first established in 1907 as the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, and commonly abbreviated to MFHA, is an association promoting the activities and interests of fox hunting in the Un ...
listed 163 registered packs in the US and Canada. This number does not include the non-registered (also known as "farmer" or "outlaw") packs. Baily's Hunting Directory Lists 163 foxhound or draghound packs in the US and 11 in Canada In some arid parts of the Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
, where foxes in general are more difficult to locate, coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
s are hunted and, in some cases, bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the ...
s.
Other countries
The other main countries in which organized fox hunting with hounds is practised are Ireland (which has 41 registered packs), Australia, France (this hunting practice is also used for other animals such as deer, wild boar, fox, hare or rabbit), Canada and Italy. There is one pack of foxhounds in Portugal, and one in India. Although there are 32 packs for the hunting of foxes in France, hunting tends to take place mainly on a small scale and on foot, with mounted hunts tending to hunt red or roe deer, or wild boar.
In Portugal fox hunting is permitted (Decree-Law no. 202/2004) but there have been popular protests and initiatives to abolish it with a petition with more than 17,500 signatures. handed over to the Assembly of the Republic on 18 May 2017 and the parliamentary hearing in 2018.
In Canada, the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America lists seven registered hunt clubs in the province of Ontario, one in Quebec, and one in Nova Scotia. Ontario issues licenses to registered hunt clubs, authorizing its members to pursue, chase or search for fox, although the primary target of the hunts is coyotes.
Animals
Quarry animals
Red fox
The red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
(''Vulpes vulpes'') is the normal prey animal of a fox hunt in the US and Europe. A small omnivorous
An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...
predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...
, the fox lives in burrows called earths, and is predominantly active around twilight (making it a crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of dayli ...
animal). Adult foxes tend to range around an area of between square kilometres () in good terrain, although in poor terrain, their range can be as much as .[ The red fox can run at up to .][ The fox is also variously known as a ''Tod'' (old English word for fox), '']Reynard
Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, a ...
'' (the name of an anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
character in European literature from the twelfth century), or ''Charlie'' (named for the Whig politician Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled '' The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-ri ...
). American red foxes tend to be larger than European forms, but according to foxhunters' accounts, they have less cunning, vigour and endurance in the chase than European foxes.
Coyote, gray fox, and other quarry
Other species than the red fox may be the quarry for hounds in some areas. The choice of quarry depends on the region and numbers available.
The coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
(''Canis latrans'') is a significant quarry for many Hunts in North America, particularly in the west and southwest, where there are large open spaces. The coyote is an indigenous predator that did not range east of the Mississippi River until the latter half of the twentieth century. The coyote is faster than a fox, running at and also wider ranging, with a territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
of up to , so a much larger hunt territory is required to chase it. However, coyotes tend to be less challenging intellectually, as they offer a straight line hunt instead of the convoluted fox line. Coyotes can be challenging opponents for the dogs in physical confrontations, despite the size advantage of a large dog. Coyotes have larger canine teeth and are generally more practised in hostile encounters.
The grey fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), a distant relative of the European red fox, is also hunted in North America. It is an adept climber of trees, making it harder to hunt with hounds. The scent of the gray fox is not as strong as that of the red, therefore more time is needed for the hounds to take the scent. Unlike the red fox which, during the chase, will run far ahead from the pack, the gray fox will speed toward heavy brush, thus making it more difficult to pursue. Also unlike the red fox, which occurs more prominently in the northern United States, the more southern gray fox is rarely hunted on horseback, due to its densely covered habitat preferences.
Hunts in the southern United States sometimes pursue the bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the ...
(''Lynx rufus''). In countries such as India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, and in other areas formerly under British influence, such as Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, the golden jackal
The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...
(''Canis aureus'') is often the quarry. During the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, British sportsmen in India would hunt jackals on horseback with hounds as a substitute for the fox hunting of their native England. Unlike foxes, golden jackals were documented to be ferociously protective of their pack mates, and could seriously injure hounds. Jackals were not hunted often in this manner, as they were slower than foxes and could scarcely outrun greyhounds after 200 yards.
Animals of the hunt
Hounds and other dogs
Fox hunting is usually undertaken with a pack of scent hound
Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785
Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than ...
s,[ and, in most cases, these are specially bred '' foxhounds''.]
These dogs are trained to pursue the fox based on its scent. The two main types of foxhound are the English Foxhound and the American Foxhound
The American Foxhound is a breed of dog that is a cousin of the English Foxhound. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt foxes by scent.
History
In 1650, Robert Brooke sailed from England to Maryland with his pack of hunting dogs, which were ...
. It is possible to use a sight hound such as a Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
or lurcher
A lurcher is a cross-bred dog resulting from mating a Greyhound or other sighthound with a dog of another type, commonly a herding dog or a terrier. The lurcher was for hundreds of years strongly associated with poaching; in modern times it ...
to pursue foxes, though this practice is not common in organised hunting, and these dogs are more often used for coursing
Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, ...
animals such as hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...
s. There is also one pack of beagles in Virginia that hunt foxes. They are unique in that they are the only hunting beagle pack in the US to be followed on horseback. English Foxhounds are also used for hunting mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera '' Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": ...
.
Hunts may also use terrier
Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...
s to flush or kill foxes that are hiding underground,[ as they are small enough to pursue the fox through narrow earth passages.
This is not practised in the United States, as once the fox has gone to ground and is accounted for by the hounds, it is left alone.
]
Horses
The horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s, called "field hunter
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a gra ...
s" or ''hunters,'' ridden by members of the field, are a prominent feature of many hunts, although others are conducted on foot (and those hunts with a field of mounted riders will also have foot followers). Horses on hunts can range from specially bred and trained field hunter
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a gra ...
s to casual hunt attendees riding a wide variety of horse and pony
A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
types. Draft and Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
crosses are commonly used as hunters, although purebred
Purebreds are " cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the ...
Thoroughbreds and horses of many different breeds
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance ( phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
are also used.
Some hunts with unique territories favour certain traits in field hunters; for example, when hunting coyote in the western US, a faster horse with more stamina is required to keep up, as coyotes are faster than foxes and inhabit larger territories. Hunters must be well-mannered, have the athletic ability to clear large obstacles such as wide ditches, tall fences, and rock walls, and have the stamina to keep up with the hounds. In English foxhunting, the horses are often a cross of half or a quarter Irish Draught and the remainder English thoroughbred.
Dependent on terrain, and to accommodate different levels of ability, hunts generally have alternative routes that do not involve jumping. The field may be divided into two groups, with one group, the ''First Field,'' that takes a more direct but demanding route that involves jumps over obstacles while another group, the ''Second Field'' (also called ''Hilltoppers'' or ''Gaters''), takes longer but less challenging routes that utilise gates or other types of access on the flat.[
]
Birds of prey
In the United Kingdom, since the introduction of the hunting ban, a number of hunts have employed falconers to bring birds of prey to the hunt, due to the exemption in the Hunting Act
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the Ac ...
for falconry. Many experts, such as the Hawk Board, deny that any bird of prey can reasonably be used in the British countryside to kill a fox which has been flushed by (and is being chased by) a pack of hounds.
Procedure
Main hunting season
The main hunting season usually begins in early November, in the northern hemisphere,[ and in May in the southern hemisphere.
A hunts begin when the hounds are put, or ''cast'', into a patch of woods or brush where foxes are known to lay up during daylight hours; known as a ''covert'' (pronounced cover). If the pack manages to pick up the scent of a fox, they will track it for as long as they are able. Scenting can be affected by temperature, humidity, and other factors.
The hounds pursue the trail of the fox and the riders follow, by the most direct route possible. This may involve very athletic skill on the part of horse and rider, and fox hunting is the origin of some traditional equestrian sports including ]steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
and point to point racing.
The hunt continues until either the fox ''goes to ground'' (evades the hounds and takes refuge in a burrow or den) or is overtaken and usually killed by the hounds.
Social rituals are important to hunts, although many have fallen into disuse. One of the most notable was the act of ''blooding.'' In this ceremony, the master or huntsman would smear the blood of the fox onto the cheeks or forehead of a newly initiated
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...
hunt follower, often a young child. Another practice of some hunts was to cut off the tail (''brush''), the feet (''pads'') and the head (''mask'') as trophies, with the carcass then thrown to the hounds.[ Both of these practices were widely abandoned during the nineteenth century, although isolated cases may still have occurred to the modern day.][
]
Cubbing
In the autumn of each year, hunts teach the young hounds, which by now are full-size although not yet sexually mature, to hunt and kill foxes through the practice of ''cubbing'' (also called ''cub hunting'' or ''autumn hunting'').Raymond Carr
Sir Albert Raymond Maillard Carr (11 April 1919 – 19 April 2015) was an English historian specialising in the history of Spain, Latin America, and Sweden. From 1968 to 1987, he was Warden of St Antony's College, Oxford.
Early life
Carr ...
, ''English Fox Hunting: A History'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976)[ Cubbing also aims to teach hounds to restrict their hunting to foxes.]
The activity sometimes incorporates the practice of ''holding up''; where hunt supporters, riders and foot followers, surround a covert and drive back foxes attempting to escape, before then ''drawing'' the covert with the puppies and some more experienced hounds, allowing them to find and kill foxes within the surrounded wood. A young hound is considered to be "entered" into the pack once he or she has successfully joined in a hunt in this fashion.
Weak foxhounds, and those that do not show sufficient aptitude, may be destroyed or drafted to other packs, including minkhound packs. In the US, it is sometimes the practice to have some fox cubs chased but allowed to escape in order for them to learn evasion techniques and so that they can be tracked again in the future.
The Burns Inquiry, established in 1999, reported that an estimated 10,000 fox cubs were killed annually during the cub hunting season in Great Britain. Cub hunting is now illegal in Great Britain, although anti-hunt associations maintain the practice is still widespread.
Alternatives to hunting live prey
Following the ban on fox hunting in Great Britain, hunts switched to legal alternatives in order to preserve their traditional practices, although many had previously claimed this would be impossible and that their hound packs would have to be destroyed.
Most hunts turned, primarily, to trail hunting, which anti-hunt organisations claim is just a smokescreen for illegal hunting. Some anti-hunting campaigners have urged hunts to switch to the established sport of drag hunting instead, as this involves significantly less risk of wild animals being accidentally caught and killed.
Trail hunting
A controversial alternative to hunting animals with hounds. A trail of animal urine (most commonly fox) is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers; on foot, horseback, or both. Because the trail is laid using animal urine, and in areas where such animals naturally occur, hounds often pick up the scent of live animals; sometimes resulting in them being caught and killed.
Drag hunting
An established sport which dates back to the 19th century. Hounds follow an artificial scent, usually aniseed, laid along a set route which is already known to the huntsmen.[Nicholas Goddard and John Martin]
"Drag hunting"
''Encyclopedia of traditional British rural sports'', Tony Collins, John Martin and Wray Vamplew (eds), Routledge, Abingdon, 2005, , p104. A drag hunt course is set in a similar manner to a cross country course, following a route over jumps and obstacles. Because it is predetermined, the route can be tailored to keep hounds away from sensitive areas known to be populated by animals which could be confused for prey.
Hound trailing
Similar to drag hunting, but in the form of a race; usually of around in length.[ Unlike other forms of hunting, the hounds are not followed by humans.
]
Clean boot hunting
Clean boot hunting uses packs of bloodhound
The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ...
s to follow the natural trail of a human's scent.[
]
People
Hunt staff and officials
As a social ritual, participants in a fox hunt fill specific roles, the most prominent of which is the master, who often number more than one and then are called masters or joint masters. These individuals typically take much of the financial responsibility for the overall management of the sporting activities of the hunt, and the care and breeding of the hunt's fox hounds, as well as control and direction of its paid staff.
* The Master of Foxhounds (who use the post-nominal (and may also be called) MFH) or Joint Master of Foxhounds operates the sporting activities of the hunt, maintains the kennels, works with (and sometimes is) the huntsman, and spends the money raised by the hunt club. (Often the master or joint masters are the largest of financial contributors to the hunt.) The master will have the final say over all matters in the field.
* Honorary secretaries are volunteers (usually one or two) who look after the administration of the hunt.[
* The Treasurer collects the cap (money) from guest riders and manages the hunt finances.][
* A kennelman looks after hounds in kennels, assuring that all tasks are completed when pack and staff return from hunting.
* The huntsman, who may be a professional, is responsible for directing the hounds. The Huntsman usually carries a horn to communicate to the hounds, followers and whippers in.][ Some huntsmen also fill the role of kennelman (and are therefore known as the kennel huntsman). In some hunts the master is also the huntsman.
* Whippers-in (or "Whips") are assistants to the huntsman. Their main job is to keep the pack all together, especially to prevent the hounds from straying or 'riotting', which term refers to the hunting of animals other than the hunted fox or trail line. To help them to control the pack, they carry hunting ]whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
s (and in the United States they sometimes also carry .22 revolvers loaded with snake shot or blanks.)[ The role of ''whipper-in'' in hunts has inspired parliamentary systems (including the Westminster System and the ]US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
) to use ''whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
'' for a member who enforces party discipline and ensures the attendance of other members at important votes.
*Terrier man— Carries out fox control. Most hunts where the object is to kill the fox will employ a terrier man, whose job it is to control the terriers which may be used underground to corner or flush the fox. Often voluntary terrier men will follow the hunt as well. In the UK and Ireland, they often ride quadbike
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is strad ...
s with their terriers in boxes on their bikes.
In addition to members of the hunt staff, a committee may run the ''Hunt Supporters Club'' to organise fundraising and social events and in the United States many hunts are incorporated and have parallel lines of leadership.
The United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States each have a ''Masters of Foxhounds Association'' (MFHA) which consists of current and past masters of foxhounds. This is the governing body for all foxhound packs and deals with disputes about boundaries between hunts, as well as regulating the activity.
Attire
Mounted hunt followers typically wear traditional hunting attire. A prominent feature of hunts operating during the formal hunt season (usually November to March in the northern hemisphere) is hunt members wearing 'colours'. This attire usually consists of the traditional red coats worn by huntsmen, masters, former masters, whippers-in (regardless of sex), other hunt staff members and male members who have been invited by masters to wear colours and hunt buttons as a mark of appreciation for their involvement in the organization and running of the hunt.
Since the Hunting Act in England and Wales, only Masters and Hunt Servants tend to wear red coats or the hunt livery whilst out hunting. Gentleman subscribers tend to wear black coats, with or without hunt buttons. In some countries, women generally wear coloured collars on their black or navy coats. These help them stand out from the rest of the field.
The traditional red coats are often misleadingly called "pinks". Various theories about the derivation of this term have been given, ranging from the colour of a weathered scarlet coat to the name of a purportedly famous tailor.
Some hunts, including most harrier and beagle packs, wear green rather than red jackets, and some hunts wear other colours such as mustard. The colour of breeches vary from hunt to hunt and are generally of one colour, though two or three colours throughout the year may be permitted. Boots are generally English dress boots (no laces). For the men they are black with brown leather tops (called tan tops), and for the women, black with a patent black leather top of similar proportion to the men.[ Additionally, the number of buttons is significant. The Master wears a scarlet coat with four brass buttons while the huntsman and other professional staff wear five. Amateur whippers-in also wear four buttons.
Another differentiation in dress between the amateur and professional staff is found in the ribbons at the back of the hunt cap. The professional staff wear their hat ribbons down, while amateur staff and members of the field wear their ribbons up.
Those members not entitled to wear colours, dress in a black hunt coat and unadorned black buttons for both men and women, generally with pale breeches. Boots are all English dress boots and have no other distinctive look.][ Some hunts also further restrict the wear of formal attire to weekends and holidays and wear ratcatcher ( tweed jacket and tan breeches), at all other times.
Other members of the mounted field follow strict rules of clothing ]etiquette
Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
. For example, for some hunts, those under eighteen (or sixteen in some cases) will wear ratcatcher all season. Those over eighteen (or in the case of some hunts, all followers regardless of age) will wear ratcatcher during autumn hunting from late August until the Opening Meet, normally around 1 November. From the Opening Meet they will switch to formal hunting attire where entitled members will wear scarlet and the rest black or navy.
The highest honour is to be awarded the hunt button by the Hunt Master. This sometimes means one can then wear scarlet if male, or the hunt collar if female (colour varies from hunt to hunt) and buttons with the hunt crest on them. For non-mounted packs or non-mounted members where formal hunt uniform is not worn, the buttons are sometimes worn on a waistcoat. All members of the mounted field should carry a hunting whip (it should not be called a crop). These have a horn handle at the top and a long leather lash (2–3 yards) ending in a piece of coloured cord. Generally all hunting whips are brown, except those of Hunt Servants, whose whips are white.
Controversy
The nature of fox hunting, including the killing of the quarry animal, the pursuit's strong associations with tradition and social class
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...
, and its practice for sport have made it a source of great controversy within the United Kingdom. In December 1999, the then Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...
, Jack Straw MP, announced the establishment of a Government inquiry (the Burns Inquiry) into hunting with dogs, to be chaired by the retired senior civil servant Lord Burns. The inquiry was to examine the practical aspects of different types of hunting with dogs and its impact, how any ban might be implemented and the consequences of any such ban.
Amongst its findings, the Burns Inquiry committee analysed opposition to hunting in the UK and reported that:
There are those who have a moral objection to hunting and who are fundamentally opposed to the idea of people gaining pleasure from what they regard as the causing of unnecessary suffering. There are also those who perceive hunting as representing a divisive social class system. Others, as we note below, resent the hunt trespassing on their land, especially when they have been told they are not welcome. They worry about the welfare of the pets and animals and the difficulty of moving around the roads where they live on hunt days. Finally there are those who are concerned about damage to the countryside and other animals, particularly badgers and otters.
Anti-hunting
Opposition to hunting is espoused by people or groups who object to the practice of hunting, often seeking anti-hunting legislation and sometimes taking on acts of civil disobedience, such as hunt sabotage. Anti-hunting laws, such as the Englis ...
activists who choose to take action in opposing fox hunting can do so through lawful means, such as campaigning for fox hunting legislation and monitoring hunts for cruelty. Some use unlawful means. Main anti-hunting campaign organisations include the RSPCA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...
and the League Against Cruel Sports. In 2001, the RSPCA took high court action to prevent pro-hunt activists joining in large numbers to change the society's policy in opposing hunting.
Outside of campaigning, some activists choose to engage in direct intervention such as sabotage of the hunt. Hunt sabotage is unlawful in a majority of the United States, and some tactics used in it (such as trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, woundi ...
and criminal damage) are offences there and in other countries.
Fox hunting with hounds has been happening in Europe since at least the sixteenth century, and strong traditions have built up around the activity, as have related businesses, rural activities, and hierarchies. For this reason, there are large numbers of people who support fox hunting and this can be for a variety of reasons.
Pest control
The fox is referred to as vermin
Vermin ( colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterp ...
in some countries. Some farmers fear the loss of their smaller livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...
, while others consider them an ally in controlling rabbits, voles, and other rodents, which eat crops. A key reason for dislike of the fox by pastoral farmers is their tendency to commit acts of surplus killing toward animals such as chickens, since having killed many they eat only one. Some anti-hunt campaigners maintain that provided it is not disturbed, the fox will remove all of the chickens it kills and conceal them in a safer place.
Opponents of fox hunting claim that the activity is not necessary for fox control, arguing that the fox is not a pest species despite its classification and that hunting does not and cannot make a real difference to fox populations. They compare the number of foxes killed in the hunt to the many more killed on the roads. They also argue that wildlife management
Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best availabl ...
goals of the hunt can be met more effectively by other methods such as '' lamping'' (dazzling a fox with a bright light, then shooting by a competent shooter using an appropriate weapon and load).
There is scientific evidence that fox hunting has no effect on fox populations, at least in Britain, thereby calling into question the idea it is a successful method of culling. In 2001 there was a 1-year nationwide ban on fox-hunting because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follo ...
. It was found this ban on hunting had no measurable impact on fox numbers in randomly selected areas. Prior to the fox hunting ban in the UK, hounds contributed to the deaths of 6.3% of the 400,000 foxes killed annually.
The hunts claim to provide and maintain a good habitat for foxes and other game, and, in the US, have fostered conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
legislation and put land into conservation easements. Anti-hunting campaigners cite the widespread existence of artificial earths and the historic practice by hunts of introducing foxes, as indicating that hunts do not believe foxes to be pests.
It is also argued that hunting with dogs has the advantage of weeding out old, sick, and weak animals because the strongest and healthiest foxes are those most likely to escape. Therefore, unlike other methods of controlling the fox population, it is argued that hunting with dogs resembles natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...
. The counter-argument is given that hunting cannot kill old foxes because foxes have a natural death rate of 65% per annum.
In Australia, where foxes have played a major role in the decline in the number of species of wild animals, the Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage
The Department of the Environment and Heritage was an Australian government department that existed between October 1998 and December 2007.
Scope
Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could ...
concluded that "hunting does not seem to have had a significant or lasting impact on fox numbers." Instead, control of foxes relies heavily on shooting, poisoning and fencing.
Economics
As well as the economic defence of fox hunting that it is necessary to control the population of foxes, lest they cause economic cost to the farmers, it is also argued that fox hunting is a significant economic activity in its own right, providing recreation and jobs for those involved in the hunt and supporting it. The Burns Inquiry identified that between 6,000 and 8,000 full-time jobs depend on hunting in the UK, of which about 700 result from direct hunt employment and 1,500 to 3,000 result from direct employment on hunting-related activities.[
Since the ban in the UK, there has been no evidence of significant job losses, and hunts have continued to operate along limited lines, either trail hunting, or claiming to use exemptions in the legislation.
]
Animal welfare and animal rights
Many animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...
groups, campaigners and activists believe that fox hunting is unfair and cruel to animals.[ They argue that the chase itself causes fear and distress and that the fox is not always killed instantly as is claimed. ]Animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
campaigners also object to hunting (including fox hunting), on the grounds that animals should enjoy some basic rights (such as the right to freedom from exploitation and the right to life).
In the United States and Canada, pursuing quarry for the purpose of killing is strictly forbidden by the Masters of Foxhounds Association. According to article 2 of the organisation's code:
The sport of fox hunting as it is practised in North America places emphasis on the chase and not the kill. It is inevitable, however, that hounds will at times catch their game. Death is instantaneous. A pack of hounds will account for their quarry by running it to ground, treeing it, or bringing it to bay in some fashion. The Masters of Foxhounds Association has laid down detailed rules to govern the behaviour of Masters of Foxhounds and their packs of hounds.
There are times when a fox that is injured or sick is caught by the pursuing hounds, but hunts say that the occurrence of an actual kill of this is exceptionally rare.
Supporters of hunting maintain that when foxes or other prey (such as coyotes in the western USA) are hunted, the quarry are either killed relatively quickly (instantly or in a matter of seconds) or escapes uninjured. Similarly, they say that the animal rarely endures hours of torment and pursuit by hounds, and research by Oxford University shows that the fox is normally killed after an average of 17 minutes of chase. They further argue that, while hunting with hounds may cause suffering, controlling fox numbers by other means is even more cruel. Depending on the skill of the shooter, the type of firearm used, the availability of good shooting positions and luck, shooting foxes can cause either an instant kill, or lengthy periods of agony for wounded animals which can die of the trauma within hours, or of secondary infection over a period of days or weeks. Research from wildlife hospitals, however, indicates that it is not uncommon for foxes with minor shot wounds to survive. Hunt supporters further say that it is a matter of humanity to kill foxes rather than allow them to suffer malnourishment and mange
Mange is a type of skin disease caused by parasitic mites. Because various species of mites also infect plants, birds and reptiles, the term "mange", or colloquially "the mange", suggesting poor condition of the skin and fur due to the infectio ...
.
Other methods include the use of snares, trapping and poisoning, all of which also cause considerable distress to the animals concerned, and may affect other species. This was considered in the Burns Inquiry (paras 6.60–11), whose tentative conclusion was that lamping using rifle
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
s fitted with telescopic sight
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a '' reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate ...
s, if carried out properly and in appropriate circumstances, had fewer adverse welfare implications than hunting.[ The committee believed that lamping was not possible without vehicular access, and hence said that the welfare of foxes in upland areas could be affected adversely by a ban on hunting with hounds, unless dogs could be used to flush foxes from cover (as is permitted in the ]Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; ...
).
Some opponents of hunting criticise the fact that the animal suffering in fox hunting takes place for sport, citing either that this makes such suffering unnecessary and therefore cruel, or else that killing or causing suffering for sport is immoral. The Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...
, in considering the British Hunting Act, determined that the legislative aim of the Hunting Act was "a composite one of preventing or reducing unnecessary suffering to wild mammals, overlaid by a moral viewpoint that causing suffering to animals for sport is unethical."
Anti-hunting
Opposition to hunting is espoused by people or groups who object to the practice of hunting, often seeking anti-hunting legislation and sometimes taking on acts of civil disobedience, such as hunt sabotage. Anti-hunting laws, such as the Englis ...
campaigners also criticised UK hunts of which the Burns Inquiry estimated that foxhound packs put down around 3,000 hounds, and the hare hunts killed around 900 hounds per year, in each case after the hounds' working life had come to an end.[
In June 2016, three people associated with the South Herefordshire Hunt (UK) were arrested on suspicion of causing suffering to animals in response to claims that live fox cubs were used to train hounds to hunt and kill. The organisation Hunt Investigation Team supported by the League Against Cruel Sports, gained video footage of an individual carrying a fox cub into a large kennel where the hounds can clearly be heard baying. A dead fox was later found in a rubbish bin. The individuals arrested were suspended from Hunt membership.] In August, two more people were arrested in connection with the investigation.
Civil liberties
It is argued by some hunt supporters that no law should curtail the right of a person to do as they wish, so long as it does not harm others. Philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Roger Scruton has said, "To criminalise this activity would be to introduce legislation as illiberal as the laws which once deprived Jews and Catholics of political rights, or the laws which outlawed homosexuality". In contrast, liberal philosopher, John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
wrote, "The reasons for legal intervention in favour of children apply not less strongly to the case of those unfortunate slaves and victims of the most brutal parts of mankind—the lower animals." The UK's most senior court, the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
, has decided that a ban on hunting, in the form of the Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; ...
, does not contravene the European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...
, as did the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
.
Trespass
In its submission to the Burns Inquiry, the League Against Cruel Sports presented evidence of over 1,000 cases of trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, woundi ...
by hunts. These included trespass on railway lines and into private gardens.[ Trespass can occur as the hounds cannot recognise human-created boundaries they are not allowed to cross, and may therefore follow their quarry wherever it goes unless successfully called off. However, in the United Kingdom, trespass is a largely civil matter when performed accidentally.
Nonetheless, in the UK, the criminal offence of 'aggravated trespass' was introduced in 1994 specifically to address the problems caused to fox hunts and other field sports by hunt saboteurs.][ Hunt saboteurs trespass on private land to monitor or disrupt the hunt, as this is where the hunting activity takes place.][ For this reason, the hunt saboteur ''tactics manual'' presents detailed information on legal issues affecting this activity, especially the Criminal Justice Act. Some hunt monitors also choose to trespass whilst they observe the hunts in progress.]
The construction of the law means that hunt saboteurs' behaviour may result in charges of criminal aggravated trespass, rather than the less severe offence of civil trespass. Since the introduction of legislation to restrict hunting with hounds, there has been a level of confusion over the legal status of hunt monitors or saboteurs when trespassing, as if they disrupt the hunt whilst it is not committing an illegal act (as all the hunts claim to be hunting within the law) then they commit an offence; however, if the hunt was conducting an illegal act then the criminal offence of trespass may not have been committed.[
]
Social life and class issues in Britain
In Britain, and especially in England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
, supporters of fox hunting regard it as a distinctive part of British culture
British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empire ...
generally, the basis of traditional crafts and a key part of social life in rural areas, an activity and spectacle enjoyed not only by the riders but also by others such as the ''unmounted pack'' which may follow along on foot, bicycle or 4x4 vehicles. They see the social aspects of hunting as reflecting the demographics of the area; the Home Counties
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included ...
packs, for example, are very different from those in North Wales and Cumbria, where the hunts are very much the activity of farmers and the working class. The Banwen Miners Hunt is such a working class club, founded in a small Welsh mining village, although its membership now is by no means limited to miners, with a more ''cosmopolitan'' make-up.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, in his play '' A Woman of No Importance'' (1893), once famously described "the English country gentleman galloping after a fox" as "the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable." Even before the time of Wilde, much of the criticism of fox hunting was couched in terms of social class
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...
. The argument was that while more "working class" blood sports
A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities char ...
such as cock fighting and badger baiting were long ago outlawed, fox hunting persists, although this argument can be countered with the fact that hare coursing, a more "working-class" sport, was outlawed at the same time as fox hunting with hounds in England and Wales. The philosopher Roger Scruton has said that the analogy with cockfighting and badger baiting is unfair, because these sports were more cruel and did not involve any element of pest control.[
A series of "Mr. Briggs" cartoons by John Leech appeared in the magazine '']Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pu ...
'' during the 1850s which illustrated class issues. More recently the British anarchist group Class War has argued explicitly for disruption of fox hunts on class warfare grounds and even published a book ''The Rich at Play'' examining the subject. Other groups with similar aims, such as "Revolutions per minute" have also published papers which disparage fox hunting on the basis of the social class of its participants.
Opinion polls in the United Kingdom have shown that the population is equally divided as to whether or not the views of hunt objectors are based primarily on class grounds. Some people have pointed to evidence of class bias in the voting patterns in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
during the voting on the hunting bill between 2000 and 2001, with traditionally working-class Labour members voting the legislation through against the votes of normally middle- and upper-class Conservative members.
In popular culture
Fox hunting has inspired artists in several fields to create works which involve the sport. Examples of notable works which involve characters' becoming involved with a hunt or being hunted are listed below.
Films, television, and literature
* Victorian novelist R. S. Surtees
Robert Smith Surtees (17 May 180516 March 1864) was an English editor, novelist and sporting writer, widely known as R. S. Surtees. He was the second son of Anthony Surtees of Hamsterley Hall, a member of an old County Durham family. He is re ...
wrote several popular humorous novels about fox hunting, of which the best known are ''Handley Cross'' and ''Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour''.
* Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
, who was addicted to hunting, felt himself "deprived of a legitimate joy" when he could not introduce a hunting scene into one of his novels.
*The foxhunt is a prominent feature of the movie '' The List of Adrian Messenger'' (1963).
* In '' Omen III: The Final Conflict'' (1981), there is a fox hunting including a "blooding" by Antichrist
In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...
Damien Thorn Sam Neill
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
.
* Rita Mae Brown
Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is an American feminist writer, best known for her coming-of-age autobiographical novel, ''Rubyfruit Jungle''. Brown was active in a number of civil rights campaigns and criticized the marginalization of le ...
's series of fox-hunting mysteries starring "Sister" Jane Arnold, starting with ''Outfoxed'' (2000). In real life, Brown is the master of the Oak Ridge Fox Hunt Club.
* Colin Dann's illustrated novel, '' The Animals of Farthing Wood'' (1979), originated a multimedia franchise comprising the original children's book, a prequel book, six sequel books, and an animated ''Animals of Farthing Wood'' television series based on the books, which tell the story of a group of woodland animals whose home has been paved over by developers, their journey to the White Deer Park nature reserve, where they will be safe, their Oath, promising to protect one another and overcome their natural instincts until they reach their destination, and their adventures once they've reached White Deer Park. Their challenges include hunters and poachers.
* Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's story, " How the Brigadier Slew the Fox", in which the French officer Brigadier Gerard joins an English fox hunt but commits the unpardonable sin of slaying the fox with his sabre. Conan Doyle also wrote a non-series story about a fox hunt, "The King of the Foxes
"The King of the Foxes" is a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in the United Kingdom in July 1898 in The Windsor Magazine, and in the United States in August 1898 in Ainslee's Magazine. While it is not a Sherlock Holmes story, ...
''."
* Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
wrote " Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man" (Faber and Faber, 1928), a semi-autobiographical account of growing up as minor gentry in rural England prior to the First World War. The main character George Sherston ends up as an infantry officer on the Western Front, which becomes the basis for the sequel, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (Faber and Faber, 1930).
* A fox hunt is prominently featured in the first act of the Jerry Herman
Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre.
One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...
musical '' Mame'', premiering on Broadway in 1966.
* Fox hunting begins the plot of the Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.[ ...]
short "Foxy by Proxy
''Foxy by Proxy'' is a 1952 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on February 23, 1952, and features Bugs Bunny and Willoughby the Dog, in the latter's last appearance. Mel Blanc voices Bugs Bunny, while an uncr ...
".
* Daniel P. Mannix
Daniel Pratt Mannix IV (October 27, 1911 – January 29, 1997) was an American writer, journalist, photographer, sideshow performer, stage magician, animal trainer, and filmmaker. His best-known works are the 1958 book ''Those About to Die'', which ...
's novel, ''The Fox and the Hound
''The Fox and the Hound'' is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. The 24th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the st ...
'' (1967), which follows the story of a half-Bloodhound
The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ''l ...
dog named Copper and a red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
named Tod . This story was subsequently used by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
to create the animated feature-length film ''The Fox and the Hound
''The Fox and the Hound'' is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. The 24th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the st ...
'' (1981), although the film differs from the novel in that Copper and Tod befriend each other and survive as friends.
* David Rook
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
's novel ''The Ballad of the Belstone Fox'' (1970) on a similar theme, was made into a 1973 James Hill film ''The Belstone Fox
''The Belstone Fox'' is a 1973 British film directed by James Hill, and based on David Rook's 1970 novel, ''The Ballad of the Belstone Fox''.
Plot
The Belstone Fox is the nickname given to Tag, a fox cub rescued from the woods and adopted by hu ...
'', in which a baby fox, "Tag", is brought up as a pet in an English fox-hunting household and adopted by their hound "Merlin".
* Poet Laureate John Masefield
John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...
wrote "Reynard the Fox", a poem about a fox hunt in rural England in which the title character escapes.
* The film ''Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'' includes an animated fox hunt.
Music
Several musical artists have made references to fox hunting:
* Both Ray Noble
Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...
and George Formby
George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...
recorded "Tan Tan Tivvy Tally Ho!", a comic song about fox hunting, in 1932 and 1938, respectively.
* More recently Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B.
Dizze ...
used the concept of a fox-hunt for his "Sirens
Siren or sirens may refer to:
Common meanings
* Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies
* Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology
Places
* Siren (town), Wisconsin
* Siren, Wisco ...
" music video, showing a stylised urban hunt.
* Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
's song, "The End of the Game", references a pair of foxes during a hunt.
* Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's song " I Know Places" uses fox hunting as a metaphor for the paparazzi
Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
.
* Frank Turner
Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primar ...
Covered Chris T-T
Chris T-T (born Christopher Thorpe-Tracey, 16 September 1974) is a retired English singer-songwriter based in Brighton. In a 20-year career he released 10 studio albums, two live collections and a number of collaborations. He is also a speaker, ...
's Song "when the huntsman comes a marching" which criticises foxhunters due to social class and the cruelty of foxhunting
See also
* Beagling
Beagling is the hunting mainly of hares and also rabbits, by beagles by scent. A beagle pack (10 or more hounds) is usually followed on foot, but in a few cases mounted. Beagling is often enjoyed by 'retired' fox hunters who have either sustained ...
* Trail hunting
Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine (most commonly fox) is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers ...
* Drag hunting
Drag hunting or draghunting is a form of equestrian sport, where mounted riders hunt the trail of an artificially laid scent with hounds.
Description
Drag hunting is conducted in a similar manner to fox hunting, with a field of mounted riders foll ...
* Duck netting
Duck netting is a non-competitive sport that, in modern times, is generally limited to play by the members of the Imperial House of Japan and their guests. It is believed to be peculiar to Japan in general, and to the Imperial Household specifical ...
* Fox tossing
Fox tossing (german: Fuchsprellen) was a competitive blood sport popular in parts of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It involved throwing live foxes and other animals high into the air. It was practiced by members of the aristocracy in an e ...
* Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the term hunting with no qualification generally refers to hunting with hounds, e.g. normally fox hunting, stag (deer) hunting, beagling, or minkhunting, whereas shooting is the shooting of game birds. What is called deer ...
* Hunting the clean boot Hunting the clean boot is a term that has been used in Britain to refer to the use of packs of bloodhounds to follow a natural human scent trail.
The 'clean boot' refers to the absence of either an artificial scent such as aniseed, as used in drag ...
* List of foxhound packs of the United Kingdom
The following is a list of foxhound packs in the United Kingdom, which are recognised by the Masters of Foxhounds Association. Fox hunting is prohibited in Great Britain by the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Hunting Act ...
* Mink hunting Mink hunting is a country sport involving the hunting of American mink with scent hounds along the waterways which make up their habitat, in a manner similar to fox hunting.[Scent hound
Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785
Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than ...]
* Wolf hunting
Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting gray wolves ''(Canis lupus)'' or other species of wolves. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hun ...
* Montería (hunt)
A montería (, ), is an ancient type of driven hunt endemic to Spain. It involves the tracking, chase and killing of big-game, typically red deer, wild boar, fallow deer and mouflon. A number of "rehalas" (packs of hounds) along with their res ...
References
Further reading
* Davies, Ross E. (editor). ''Regulation and Imagination: Legal and Literary Perspectives on Fox-hunting'' (Green Bag Press 2021).
* Trench, Charles Chenevix
"Nineteenth-Century Hunting"
''History Today'' (Aug 1973), Vol. 23 Issue 8, pp 572–580 online.
External links
;General
*
;News media
The Hunting Debate
from BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
Special Report: Hunting
from ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
;Hunting and pro-hunting organisations
Masters of Foxhounds Association
(UK)
Masters of Foxhounds Association of America
(USA and Canada)
Countryside Alliance – Campaign for Hunting
(UK)
The Parliamentary Middle Way Group
(UK)
Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management
;Anti-hunting organisations
Hunt Saboteurs Association
(UK)
League Against Cruel Sports – Hunting with Dogs
(UK)
RSPCA – Ban Hunting
(UK)
;Government reports
Hunting with Dogs
(UK).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox Hunting
Rural society in the United Kingdom
Hunting with hounds
de:Parforcejagd