Fox hunting
Fox hunting is a traditional activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds"), follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.[1]
This article is about the traditional equestrian sport of hunting foxes. For other uses, see Fox hunt (disambiguation).
Fox hunting with hounds, as a formalised activity, originated in England 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 came into force.[2] A ban on hunting in Scotland had been passed in 2002, but it continues to be within the law in Northern Ireland and several other jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and the United States.[3][4]
The sport is controversial, particularly in the United Kingdom. Proponents of fox hunting view it as an important part of rural culture and useful for reasons of conservation and pest control,[5][6][7] while opponents argue it is cruel and unnecessary.[8]
Cubbing[edit]
In the autumn of each year, hunts accustom the young hounds, which by now are full-size, but not yet sexually mature, to hunt and kill foxes through the practice of cubbing (also called cub hunting, autumn hunting and entering).[14][86][49] Cubbing also aims to teach hounds to restrict their hunting to foxes, so that they do not hunt other species such as deer or hares.[1][87]
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 young hounds and some more experienced hounds, allowing them to find and kill foxes within the surrounded covert.[1] A young hound is considered to be entered into the pack once they have successfully joined in a hunt of this fashion. Since one of the objectives of fox hunting is to control fox populations, cubbing is a highly effective way of reaching this as more than one fox could be killed in a covert. Cubbing is also an effective way of dispersing fox populations. Young hounds which do not show sufficient aptitude may be killed by their owners or drafted to other packs, including minkhound packs.[88]
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.[89] Cub hunting is now illegal in Great Britain,[90]
although anti-hunt associations maintain that the practice continues.[91]