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Fox hunting is a form of hunting for fox using a pack of scent hounds of the Foxhound or Harrier breeds. The pack is often followed by riders on horses. It is a bloodsport, and is controversial and has been outlawed in some countries. Deemed by some to be a recreational sport or a method of controlling vermin, it is perceived by others to be cruel. Some anti-hunt activists are known as hunt saboteurs because of their use of direct action to stop hunting.
The animals
Foxhounds are specially bred and trained for the purpose of fox hunting. In the course of a hunt, hounds are directed (or "cast") towards areas (known as "coverts") deemed likely to contain foxes. If the foxhound pack manages to pick up the scent of a fox, they will follow it and the horses and riders will follow the hounds by the most direct route possible. The horses may jump over any obstacles in their way. Indeed this is the origin of the term National Hunt for horseracing over jumps. The hunt continues either until the fox evades the hounds, goes to ground, or is overtaken and killed by the hounds. In America fox numbers are low, so American fox hunters do not set out with the intention of killing their quarry and kills are rare. In the United Kingdom, however, the fox is legally considered to be vermin, and a fox that goes to ground may be dug out of its hole and shot at the request of the landowner or tenant.
The people
Hunts are generally governed by one or more Masters, who typically take much of the financial responsibility for the overall management of the hunt. Hunts typically employ a huntsman who is responsible (in conjunction with assistants, known as "whippers-in") for directing the hounds in the course of a hunt. Some parliamentary systems (including the Westminster system and the US Congress) has adopted the term "whip" to describe a member of parliament nominated by his or her party to enforce party discipline and ensure the attendance of other members at important votes.
Mounted hunt followers typically wear traditional hunting costumes. The scarlet coats often worn by huntsmen, masters, whippers-in and other officials are sometimes called "Pinks". Various theories about the derivation of this term have been advanced, ranging from the colour of a weathered scarlet coat to the name of a purportedly famous tailor. These theories are discussed in detail on the Horse Country article in the external links section. The act of blooding began with King James I. This was a ceremony in which huntsmaster smeared the blood of the quarry onto the cheeks of a newly initiated hunt follower.
History
The earliest known attempt to hunt a fox with hounds was in Norfolk, England, in 1534, where farmers began chasing down foxes with their dogs. For the elite of society it was traditional to hunt deer, and it was deemed beneath their dignity to hunt vermin until around the 1830s and the onset of the Industrial Revolution. People began to move out of the country and into towns and cities to find work. Roads, rail and canals split hunting country. It became more convenient to hunt foxes rather than deer as hunting deer requires great areas of open land. By the late 19th century foxhunting was so popular that foxes almost became extinct. To enable fox hunting to continue foxes were imported from France.
Although viewed as a typically traditional rural British activity, hunting with hounds takes place all over the world. Hunts in the United States, Canada, Ireland and India are legacies of the British Empire. The USA has more than 150 fox hunts, regulated by the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America.
Many other countries have their own long tradition of hunting foxes with hounds. France and Italy for example, have thriving fox hunts.
In Switzerland and Germany, where fox hunting was once popular, the activity has been outlawed. In these countries hunt supporters have to some extent adopted drag hunting as their sport where a scented bag is dragged over the course.
Animal rights activists have long been incensed by the perceived cruelty of the activity.
When fox hunting in the United States, the fox is rarely caught. In fact, much effort goes into training the foxes so that they do not get caught. In the summer of the year, the hunt take the young hounds out "cubbing". They teach the puppies to hunt while they are teaching the young foxes to give chase. In Britain "cubbing" consists of interesting the young hounds in hunting by setting them upon fox cubs, which are easier to catch and kill than adults.
UK attempts to ban hunting
The Labour Party manifesto of 1997 contained a pledge to hold a free vote on whether fox hunting should be banned by law. The pledge was honoured through the government granting time to a private member's bill banning fox hunting that was introduced by Michael Foster, MP for Worcester. The bill was supported by a majority of members of the House of Commons, but was not granted sufficient time to complete all its Commons stages. (Later the Prime Minister, Tony Blair would claim that the measure had been blocked by opposition in the House of Lords but the Bill never entered the Lords.)
In 1999 Home Secretary Jack Straw arranged for a six-month government Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales, with the remit "to inform the debate". Chaired by Lord Burns, the Committee presented its Final Report to Parliament in June 2000.
The 2001 manifesto again contained a promise to have a Commons vote on the issue. As any complete ban was certain to fail, this led for calls for the government to introduce its own bill and use the Parliament Act to force through the legislation if necessary.
In February of 2002 the devolved Scottish Parliament voted by 83 to 36 to ban hunting with hounds. MSPs decided not to give compensation to those whose livelihoods or businesses might suffer as a result of the ban. An article in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1300189,00.html) on 9 September 2004 reports that of the 10 Scottish hunts, 9 have survived the ban, as it is still possible to use hounds to flush foxes to guns. As a result, the total number of foxes killed by hunts has doubled because even the healthy foxes rarely escape.
In July 2003, after many years of controversy, the United Kingdom parliament voted in favour of legislation to completely ban fox hunting, after the government withdrew its compromise motion which recommended regulation rather than an outright ban. This bill ran out of time when passing through the House of Lords but was reintroduced and passed in September 2004. The government of Britain have announced that they will use the Parliament Act (if necessary) to force the bill into law this time and hunting with hounds in England and Wales will cease in 2006.
Since 1998 the Countryside Alliance has campaigned vigorously to prevent outlawing of hunting. There have been a series of declarations by various groups of hunting activists that they will still go hunting in defiance of the law.
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