an introduction to fox hunting
TRANSCRIPT
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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