View source for Fox hunting

{{Short description|Traditional equestrian hunting activity}}
{{About|the equestrian sport of hunting foxes|other uses|Fox hunt (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Hunting with hounds|dog breeds used in hunting|Scenthound|and|Sighthound|the amateur radio activity|Amateur radio direction finding}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
[[File:Hunt Master exits Castle cropped.JPG|thumb|right|Master of foxhounds leads the field from [[Powderham Castle]] in Devon, England.]]
'''Fox hunting''' is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a [[red fox]], by trained [[foxhound]]s or other [[scent hound]]s. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds"), follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.<ref name="burns">{{cite web|date=9 June 2000|publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |title=The Final Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/mainsections/huntingreport.htm|access-date=10 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410213249/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/mainsections/huntingreport.htm|archive-date=10 April 2009}}</ref>

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.<ref name=BBCNov192004>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4020453.stm|title=Hunt ban forced through Commons|publisher=BBC News|date=19 November 2004|access-date=22 February 2008}}</ref> 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]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Griffin|first=Emma|title=Blood Sport|year=2007|publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref><ref name="BBC1">{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=Fox hunting worldwide|date=16 September 1999|access-date=5 October 2007|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/428122.stm}}</ref>

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 movement|conservation]] and [[pest control]],<ref name="MFH-social">{{cite web|year=2000|title=Social impact of fox hunting on rural communities|publisher=Masters of Fox Hounds Association|url=http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=58|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-date=21 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521080336/http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=58}}</ref><ref name=MFH-conservation>{{cite web|title=Creation and conservation of habitat by foxhunting|publisher=Masters of Fox Hounds Association|access-date=13 October 2007|url=http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=64&Itemid=56|archive-date=19 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219020605/http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=64&Itemid=56}}</ref><ref name=MFH-pest>{{cite web|title=The need for wildlife management|publisher=Masters of Fox Hounds Association|url=http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=54|access-date=7 October 2007|archive-date=21 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521082603/http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=54}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=All three citations cite an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of fox hound masters and fox hunters in general, which is about as biased of a source as you could get on a claim about why fox hunting shouldn't be illegal|date=June 2025}} while opponents argue it is [[cruelty to animals|cruel]] and unnecessary.<ref name=LACS-morality>{{cite web|title=The morality of hunting with dogs|url=http://www.league.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_271.pdf|publisher=Campaign to Protect Hunted Animals|access-date=13 October 2007}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Hunting#History}}
The use of scenthounds to track [[prey]] dates back to [[Assyria]]n, [[Babylonia]]n, and [[ancient Egypt]]ian times, and was known as [[wikt:venery|venery]].<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 February 2005 |title=Ten things you didn't know about hunting with hounds|last=Aslam|first=Dilpazier|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/feb/18/hunting.immigrationpolicy2|access-date=3 November 2007 | location=London}}</ref>

===Europe===
[[File:Desportes fox.jpg|thumb|right|''The Fox Hunt'', [[Alexandre-François Desportes]], France, 1720]]

Many Greek- and Roman-influenced countries have long traditions of hunting with hounds. Hunting with {{ill|Agassaei|wd=Q136174423|s=1|v=sup}} hounds was popular in [[Celtic Britain]], even before the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] arrived, introducing the Castorian and Fulpine hound breeds which they used to hunt.<ref name=guardian1>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 February 2005 |title=Ten things you didn't know about hunting with hounds | last = Aslam | first =D| url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/feb/18/hunting.immigrationpolicy2|access-date=3 November 2007 | location=London}}</ref> [[Normans|Norman]] hunting traditions were brought to Britain when [[William the Conqueror]] arrived, along with the Gascon and [[Talbot (dog)|Talbot]] hounds.

Foxes were referred to as ''beasts of the chase'' by [[medieval hunting|medieval]] times, along with the [[red deer]] ([[hart (deer)|hart]] & hind), [[marten]]s, and [[Roe Deer|roe]]s,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=St John's College, Oxford|title=Forest and Chases in England and Wales c. 1000 to c. 1850|url=http://info.sjc.ox.ac.uk/forests/glossary.htm|access-date=16 February 2008}}</ref> but the earliest known attempt to hunt a fox with hounds was in [[Norfolk]], England, in 1534, where farmers began chasing foxes down with their dogs for the purpose of pest control.<ref name=guardian1/> The last [[wolf]] in England was killed in the late 15th century during the reign of [[Henry VII of England|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]].<ref>[[Jane Ridley]], ''Fox Hunting: a history'' (HarperCollins, October 1990)</ref>

By the end of the seventeenth century, deer hunting was in decline. The [[inclosure act]]s brought fences to separate formerly open land into many smaller fields, deer forests were being cut down, and arable land was increasing.<ref name = "Birley">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVQiOYkBvV8C&q=%22Inclosure+Acts+%22+deer+hunting&pg=PA130|publisher=Manchester University Press|title=Sport and the Making of Britain|author=Birley, D.|year=1993|access-date=14 February 2008|pages=130–132|isbn=978-0-7190-3759-7}}</ref> With the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution]], 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,<ref name=Carr/> but at the same time they made hunting accessible to more people. [[Shotgun]]s were improved during the nineteenth century and the shooting of gamebirds became more popular.<ref name=Birley/> Fox hunting developed further in the eighteenth century when [[Hugo Meynell]] developed breeds of hound and horse to address the new geography of rural England.<ref name=Birley/>

In Germany, hunting with hounds (which tended to be deer or boar hunting) was first banned on the initiative of [[Hermann Göring]] on 3 July 1934.<ref name="verboten">{{cite news|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1407954/Thanks-to-Hitler-hunting-with-hounds-is-still-verboten.html|title=Thanks to Hitler, hunting with hounds is still verboten|access-date=19 May 2010|date=22 September 2002 | location=London | first1=David | last1=Harrison | first2=Tony | last2=Paterson}}</ref> 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."<ref name="verboten" />

===United States===

According to the [[Masters of Foxhounds Association of America]], Englishman [[Robert Brooke, Sr.|Robert Brooke]] was the first man to import hunting hounds to what is now the United States, bringing his pack of foxhounds to [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]] in 1650, along with his horses.<ref name="usmfha1" /> Also around this time, numbers of European red foxes were introduced into the Eastern seaboard of North America for hunting.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=3797296|doi=10.2307/3797296|author=Presnall, C.C.|title=The Present Status of Exotic Mammals in the United States |year=1958|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|pages=45–50|volume=22|issue=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1376267|author=Churcher, C.S.|year=1959|title=The Specific Status of the New World Red Fox|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume =40|issue=4|pages=513–520|doi=10.2307/1376267}}</ref> The first organised hunt for the benefit of a group (rather than a single patron) was started by [[Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron|Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax]] in 1747.<ref name="usmfha1">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfha.com/abfo.htm#his|year=2008|title=History of American Foxhunting|publisher=[[Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America]]|access-date=10 February 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080603045754/http://www.mfha.com/abfo.htm#his |archive-date = 3 June 2008}}</ref> In the United States, [[George Washington]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]] both kept packs of foxhounds before and after the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Explore DC|title=Profile – George Washington|year=2001|url=http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?id=69|access-date=14 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005040742/http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?id=69|archive-date=5 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Freedom Fields Farm|title=A short history of foxhunting in Virginia|access-date=14 November 2007|url=http://www.freedomfields.net/foxhunting_info.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140404064216/http://www.freedomfields.net/foxhunting_info.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=4 April 2014}}</ref>

===Australia===
In Australia, the European [[red fox]] was introduced solely for the purpose of fox hunting in 1855.<ref name=ACF1>{{cite web|publisher=Australian Conservation Foundation |title=Australia's Noah's Ark springs a leak |last=Eastham |first=Jaime |url=http://www.acfonline.org.au/news.asp?news_id=345&c=10032 |access-date=10 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604204347/http://www.acfonline.org.au/news.asp?news_id=345&c=10032 |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref> Native animal populations have been very badly affected, with the extinction of at least 10 species attributed to the spread of foxes.<ref name=ACF1/> Fox hunting with hounds is mainly practised in the east of Australia.  In the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] there are thirteen hunts, with more than 1000 members between them.<ref name=theage>{{cite news|work=The Age|title=It's the thrill not the kill, they say|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Its-the-thrill-not-the-kill-they-say/2005/03/19/1111086058304.html?from=moreStories|date=20 March 2005|access-date=2 November 2007 | location=Melbourne}}</ref> Fox hunting with hounds results in around 650 foxes being killed annually in Victoria,<ref name=theage/> compared with over 90,000 shot over a similar period in response to a State government bounty.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Age|title=Bounty fails to win ground war against foxes|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/04/1051987602914.html|date=5 May 2003|access-date=2 November 2007 | location=Melbourne}}</ref>
The [[Adelaide Hunt Club]] traces its origins to 1840, just a few years after the colonization of [[South Australia]].

==Current status==
{{see also|Fox hunting legislation|List of foxhound packs of the United Kingdom}}

===United Kingdom===
[[File:Daniel Gardner Sir William.jpg|thumb|The Rev. William Heathcote (1772–1802), on horseback (son of the 3rd Baronet); Sir William Heathcote of [[Hursley]], 3rd Baronet (1746–1819), holding his horse and whip; and Major Vincent Hawkins Gilbert, M.F.H., holding a fox's head. The Heathcote's family seat was [[Hursley House]]. [[Daniel Gardner]] portrayed the three gentlemen on the hunt in 1790.]]

Fox hunting is prohibited in Great Britain by the [[Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002]] and the [[Hunting Act 2004]] (England and Wales), passed under the ministry of [[Tony Blair]], but remains legal in [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hain lambasted over website backing hunting|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2360161.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070404204148/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2360161.ece|archive-date=4 April 2007|last=Hookham|first=Mark|date=15 March 2007|access-date=22 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Northern Ireland bans hare coursing, and fox hunting could be next|date=24 June 2010|access-date=29 March 2011|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland-bans-hare-coursing-and-fox-hunting-could-be-next-14852888.html}}</ref> 
The [[Coming into force|passing]] of the Hunting Act was notable in that it was implemented through the use of the [[Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949]], after the [[House of Lords]] refused to pass the legislation, despite [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|the Commons]] passing it by a majority of 356 to 166.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=CNN|title=Protesters storm UK parliament|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/15/fox.protest/|access-date=27 October 2008|date=16 September 2004|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041118064259/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/15/fox.protest/ |archive-date = 18 November 2004}}</ref>

After the ban on fox hunting, hunts in Great Britain switched to legal alternatives, such as [[drag hunting]] and [[trail hunting]].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web| url=https://thehuntingoffice.org.uk/what-is-trail-hunting|title=What is trail hunting?|website=thehuntingoffice|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=12 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712141512/https://thehuntingoffice.org.uk/what-is-trail-hunting|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.huntingact.org/hunting/trail-laying|title=Trail Laying|website=huntingact.co.uk|date=25 August 2016 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> 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".<ref>Stephen Moss, ''[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/hunting.ethicalliving The banned rode on: Eighteen months ago hunting was banned. Or was it?]'' from ''[[The Guardian]]'' dated 7 November 2006, at guardian.co.uk, accessed 29 April 2013</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-11-24/what-is-trail-hunting-and-is-it-legal|title=What is trail hunting and is it legal?|website=itv.com|date=24 November 2020 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> Hunting support group [[Countryside Alliance]] said in 2006 that there was anecdotal evidence that the number of foxes killed by hunts (unintentionally) and farmers had increased since the Hunting Act came into force, both by the hunts (through lawful methods) and landowners, and that more people were hunting with hounds (although killing foxes had become illegal).<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4724028.stm|title='More foxes dead' since hunt ban|date=17 February 2006|access-date=13 October 2007}}</ref>

Tony Blair wrote in ''[[A Journey (memoir)|A Journey]]'', his memoirs published in 2010, that the Hunting Act of 2004 is 'one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/blair-regrets-hunting-ban-21293|title=Blair regrets hunting ban|date=1 September 2010|website=Country Life|access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref>

===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).<ref name=usmfha1/> Some hunts may go without catching a fox for several seasons, despite chasing two or more foxes in a single day's hunting.<ref name=Smart/> Foxes are not pursued once they have "gone to ground" (hidden in a hole). American fox hunters undertake stewardship of the land, and endeavour to maintain fox populations and habitats as much as possible.<ref name=Smart/> 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]] listed 163 registered packs in the US and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfha.com/memb.htm |publisher=Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America |title=Geographical listing of hunts |year=2013 |access-date=5 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714232532/http://www.mfha.com/memb.htm |archive-date=14 July 2009 }}</ref> This number does not include non-registered (also known as "farmer" or "outlaw") packs.<ref name=Smart>{{cite book|last=Smart |first=Bruce |title=A community of the horse |chapter=9 |chapter-url=http://www.acommunityofthehorse.com/images/pdfs/ChapIX.pdf |year=2004 |access-date=9 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823130127/http://www.acommunityofthehorse.com/images/pdfs/ChapIX.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2006 }}</ref> Baily's Hunting Directory Lists 163 foxhound or draghound packs in the US and 11 in Canada<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bailyshuntingdirectory.com/directory/|title=Directory of Hunts|publisher=Baily's Hunting Directory|access-date=5 April 2013}}</ref> In some arid parts of the [[Western United States]], where foxes in general are more difficult to locate, [[coyote]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arapahoehunt.com/history.asp |title=Arapahoe Hunt Club History |publisher=Arapahoe Hunt Club |access-date=12 February 2008 |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208202017/http://www.arapahoehunt.com/history.asp |archive-date=8 February 2008 }}</ref> are hunted and, in some cases, [[bobcat]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.chronofhorse.com/index.php?cat=123009040576283|title=Recognized Hunts|magazine=Chronicle of the Horse|access-date=12 February 2008}}</ref>

===Other countries===
[[File:Hunting in the USSR (3530725667).jpg|thumb|upright|Lithograph. Tourism travel poster issued 1922–1959 (approximate)]]
The other main countries in which organized fox hunting with hounds is practised are Ireland (which has 42 registered packs),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imfha.ie/|title=The Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association|publisher=The Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association| access-date=15 November 2025}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Venerie">{{cite web|date=9 June 2000|publisher=Venerie|title=Venerie-the Organisation representing hunting with hounds in France |url=http://www.venerie.org/}}</ref>

In Portugal fox hunting is permitted (Decree-Law no. 202/2004) but there have been popular protests<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.publico.pt/2017/03/03/sociedade/noticia/cidadaos-organizam-manifestacao-a-pedir-fim-de-caca-a-raposa-pratica-cruel-e-barbara-1763966|title=Cidadãos organizam manifestação a pedir fim de caça à raposa, "prática cruel e bárbara"|website=PÚBLICO|date=3 March 2017 |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref> and initiatives to abolish it. A petition<ref>{{cite web|url=http://peticaopublica.com/pview.aspx?pi=PT84351|website=Petição Pública|title=Pelo Fim da Caça à Raposa em Portugal }}</ref> was handed over to the Assembly of the Republic<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parlamento.pt/ActividadeParlamentar/Paginas/DetalhePeticao.aspx?BID=13005 |title=Petição No. 324/XIII/2|website=Parlamento |language=pt}}</ref> on 18 May 2017 and the parliamentary hearing held in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parlamento.pt/ActividadeParlamentar/Paginas/DetalheAudicao.aspx?bid=107725|website=Parlamento|title=Audição Parlamentar No. 59-CAM-XIII |language=pt}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mfha.com/hunt-map/ |publisher=Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America |title=Hunt Map |year=2022 |access-date=18 November 2022 }}</ref> Ontario issues licenses to registered hunt clubs, authorizing its members to pursue, chase or search for fox,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/980665 |publisher=Ontario.ca |title=Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 |access-date=18 November 2022 }}</ref> although the primary target of the hunts is coyotes.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Joe |date= 11 December 2018 |title=Horses, hounds and coyotes — Meet Canada's only woman employed as a huntsman |url=https://financialpost.com/financial-post-magazine/horses-hounds-coyotes-meet-canadas-only-woman-employed-as-a-huntsman  |work=Financial Post Magazine |access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref>

== Quarry animals ==

=== Red fox ===
[[File:Rød ræv (Vulpes vulpes).jpg|thumb|right|The [[red fox]] is the main quarry of European and North American fox hunts.]]
The [[red fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the normal prey animal of a fox hunt in the US and Europe. A small [[omnivore|omnivorous]] [[predator]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.derbyfoxes.org/diet.htm | title=Diet | year=2006 | work=Derbyshire Fox Rescue | access-date=9 September 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829092033/http://www.derbyfoxes.org/diet.htm | archive-date=29 August 2007 }}</ref> the fox lives in burrows called earths,<ref>{{cite web|title=Peatland Wildlife – The Fox|publisher=Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service|year=2004|url=http://www.peatlandsni.gov.uk/wildlife/mammals/redfox.htm|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805124711/http://www.peatlandsni.gov.uk/wildlife/mammals/redfox.htm|archive-date=5 August 2012}}</ref> and is predominantly active around twilight (making it a [[crepuscular]] animal).<ref name=umad>{{cite web|publisher=University of Michigan – Animal Diversity Web|last=Fox|first=David|title=Vulpes vulpes (red fox)|access-date=13 October 2007|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Vulpes_vulpes.html}}</ref> Adult foxes tend to range around an area of between {{convert|5|and|15|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=in}} in good terrain, although in poor terrain, their range can be as much as {{convert|20|km2|sqmi|abbr=in|frac=4}}.<ref name=umad/> The red fox can run at up to {{convert|48|km/h|mph||abbr=on}}.<ref name=umad/> The fox is also variously known as a ''Tod'' (old English word for fox),<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Behind the name|year=2007|title=Todd|url=http://www.behindthename.com/name/todd|access-date=14 October 2007}}</ref> ''[[Reynard]]'' (the name of an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] character in European literature from the twelfth century),<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Reynard the Fox |volume=21 |page=226}}</ref> or ''Charlie'' (named for the [[British Whig Party|Whig]] politician [[Charles James Fox]]).<ref name="BBC2">{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=Three centuries of hunting foxes|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/422753.stm|access-date=13 October 2007|date=16 September 1999}}</ref> 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.<ref>''Sketches in Natural History: History of the Mammalia''.
By Charles Knight Published by C. Cox, 1849</ref>

=== Coyote, grey fox, and other quarry ===
[[File:Jackalhunt.jpg|thumb|left|''Hunting Jackals'' by [[Samuel Howitt]], illustrating a group of [[golden jackal]]s rushing to the defence of a fallen pack-mate]]
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.<ref name="usmfha1" />
The [[coyote]] (''Canis latrans'') is a significant quarry for many Hunts in North America, particularly in the west and southwest, where there are large open spaces.<ref name="usmfha1"/> The coyote is an indigenous predator that did not range east of the Mississippi River until the latter half of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Status and management of coyote depredations in the Eastern United States|journal=US Department of Agriculture|last=Houben|first=JM|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=icwdmsheepgoat|year=2004|access-date=13 October 2007}}</ref> The coyote is faster than a fox, running at {{convert|65|km/h|mph||abbr=on}} and also wider ranging, with a [[territory (animal)|territory]] of up to {{convert|283|km2|sqmi|abbr=in}},<ref>{{cite web|publisher=University of Michigan – Animal Diversity Web|title=Canis latrans (coyote)|last=Tokar|first=Eric|access-date=13 October 2007|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_latrans.html}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|author= Coppinger, Ray|title=Dogs: a Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution|url= https://archive.org/details/dogsstartlingnew00raym|url-access= registration| year=2001|page=[https://archive.org/details/dogsstartlingnew00raym/page/352 352]|publisher= Scribner|location= New York|isbn=978-0-684-85530-1}}</ref>

The [[gray fox|grey fox]] (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), a distant relative of the European red fox, is also hunted in North America.<ref name="usmfha1" /> It is an adept climber of trees, making it harder to hunt with hounds.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=University of Michigan – Animal Diversity Web|last=Jansa|first=Sharon|title=Urocyon cirereoargentus (gray fox)|access-date=13 October 2007|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Urocyon_cinereoargenteus.html}}</ref> 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]] (''Lynx rufus'').<ref name="usmfha1" /> In countries such as [[India]], and in other areas formerly under British influence, such as [[Iraq]], the [[golden jackal]] (''Canis aureus'') is often the quarry.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Horse and Hound|title=Hurworth hound bound for India|work=Horse & Hound |url=http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/competitionnews/392/49235.html|date=24 May 2004|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104234723/http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/competitionnews/392/49235.html|archive-date=4 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Unusual features of RAF Habbaniya (Iraq)|url=http://www.habbaniya.org/Features.html|publisher=RAF Habbaniya Association|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902002738/http://habbaniya.org/Features.html|archive-date=2 September 2007}}</ref> During the [[British Raj]], 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.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofr00blai/page/n5/mode/2up ''An Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports: Or a Complete Account, Historical, Practical, and Descriptive, of Hunting, Shooting, Fishing, Racing, and Other Field Sports and Athletic Amusements of the Present Day, Delabere Pritchett Blaine''] by Delabere Pritchett Blaine, published by Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1840</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/dogsjackalswolve00mivauoft/page/n5/mode/2up ''A monograph of the canidae''] by St. George Mivart, F.R.S, published by Alere Flammam. 1890</ref> Jackals were not hunted often in this manner, as they were slower than foxes and could scarcely outrun greyhounds after {{convert|200|yd|m|abbr=out|disp=or}}.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ridingdrivingkin00dale The Sports Library, ''Riding, Driving and Kindred Sports''] by [[T. F. Dale]], published by T.F. Unwin, 1899</ref>

== 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 some hunt supporters had previously claimed this would be impossible and that hound packs would have to be destroyed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/03/20/nhunt120.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020405082509/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F03%2F20%2Fnhunt120.xml|archive-date=5 April 2002|newspaper=The Telegraph|title=Peer warns of a war with countryside|date=19 March 2002|author=Kallenbach, M|access-date=10 April 2008|location=London}}</ref>

Most hunts turned, primarily, to trail hunting,<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/> which anti-hunt organisations claim is just a smokescreen for illegal hunting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-11-24/what-is-trail-hunting-and-is-it-legal|title=What is trail hunting and is it legal?|website=www.itv.com|date=24 November 2020 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.henrysalt.co.uk/bs_drag_hunts.htm|author=Salt, H.|title=Drag Hunting Verses Stag Hunting|year=1915|work=Killing for Sport|access-date=11 February 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080305211816/http://www.henrysalt.co.uk/bs_drag_hunts.htm |archive-date = 5 March 2008}}</ref><ref name="CA submission"/><ref name="New Forest Drag">{{cite web|title=Drag Hunting|publisher=New Forest Drag Hunt|url=http://www.nfdh.org.uk/draghunting.html|access-date=11 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030409101154/http://www.nfdh.org.uk/draghunting.html|archive-date=9 April 2003}}</ref>

===Trail hunting===
{{Main|Trail hunting}}
A controversial<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/country-and-farming/call-to-ban-controversial-trail-hunting-on-north-northamptonshire-council-land-3473676|title=Call to ban controversial trail hunting on North Northamptonshire Council land|website=northantstelegraph.co.uk|access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> alternative to hunting animals with hounds. A trail of animal urine (most commonly [[Red fox|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.league.org.uk/media/filer_public/af/0a/af0ae437-6b89-4ee7-9e13-880294ea5515/the_impact_of_hunting_with_dogs_on_wildlife_and_conservation.pdf|title=The impact of hunting with dogs on wildlife and conservation|website=www.league.org.uk|access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref>

===Drag hunting===
{{Main|Drag hunting}}
An established sport which dates back to the 19th century. Hounds follow an artificial scent, usually [[anise]]ed, laid along a set route which is already known to the huntsmen.<ref name=Goddard>Nicholas Goddard and John Martin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NWu6sLJn7-kC&dq=hound+trailing&pg=PA104 "Drag hunting"], ''Encyclopedia of traditional British rural sports'', Tony Collins, John Martin and Wray Vamplew (eds), Routledge, Abingdon, 2005, {{ISBN|0-415-35224-X}}, p104.</ref> A drag hunt course is set in a similar manner to a [[Cross-country equestrianism|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.<ref name="NE Cheshire Drag">{{cite web|title=What is drag hunting?|year=2008|publisher=North East Cheshire Drag Hunt|url=http://www.necdh.co.uk/WhatIsDragHunting.htm|access-date=11 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110041921/http://www.necdh.co.uk/WhatIsDragHunting.htm|archive-date=10 January 2008}}</ref>

===Hound trailing===
{{Main|Hound trailing}}
Similar to drag hunting, but in the form of a race; usually of around {{convert|10|mi|km|round=5|abbr=in|order=flip}} in length.<ref name=Goddard/> Unlike other forms of hunting, the hounds are not followed by humans.

===Clean boot hunting===
{{Main|Hunting the clean boot}}
Clean boot hunting uses packs of [[bloodhound]]s to follow the natural trail of a human's scent.<ref name=Goddard/>

== Animals of the hunt ==

=== Hounds and other dogs ===
[[File:English Foxhound portrait.jpg|thumb|left|An [[English foxhound]]]]

Fox hunting is usually undertaken with a pack of [[scent hound]]s,<ref name=burns/> and, in most cases, these are specially bred ''[[foxhound]]s''.<ref name=AKC>{{cite web|publisher=American Kennel Club|title=English Foxhound History|url=http://www.akc.org/breeds/english_foxhound/history.cfm|access-date=15 October 2007}}</ref>
These dogs are trained to pursue the fox based on its [[scent]]. The two main types of foxhound are the [[English Foxhound]]<ref>{{cite web|publisher=American Kennel Club|title=English Foxhound Breed Standard|url=http://www.akc.org/breeds/english_foxhound/|access-date=15 October 2007|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012223227/http://www.akc.org/breeds/english_foxhound/}}</ref> and the [[American Foxhound]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=American Kennel Club|title=American Foxhound Breed Standard|url=http://www.akc.org/breeds/american_foxhound/|access-date=15 October 2007|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012222919/http://www.akc.org/breeds/american_foxhound/}}</ref> It is possible to use a [[sight hound]] such as a [[Greyhound]] or [[lurcher]] to pursue foxes,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=American Kennel Club|title=Greyhound History|url=http://www.akc.org/breeds/greyhound/history.cfm|access-date=15 October 2007}}</ref> though this practice is not common in organised hunting, and these dogs are more often used for [[coursing]] animals such as [[hare]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=End of the road for illegal hare coursing|publisher=BBC Inside Out|date=24 January 2005|access-date=15 October 2007|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/east/series7/hare_coursing.shtml}}</ref> There is also one pack of [[beagle]]s 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 Foxhound]]s are also used for hunting [[mink]].

Hunts may also use [[working terrier|terrier]]s to flush or kill foxes that are hiding underground,<ref name=burns/> 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 ===
{{main|Field hunter}}
[[File:Mixed field.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|A mixed field of horses at a hunt, including children on ponies<!--Powderham Castle does seem over-represented in these images-->]]
The [[horse]]s, called "[[field hunter]]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]]s to casual hunt attendees riding a wide variety of horse and [[pony]] types.  [[Draft horse|Draft]] and [[Thoroughbred]] crosses are commonly used as hunters, although [[purebred]] Thoroughbreds and horses of many different [[list of horse breeds|breeds]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Waitemata Hunt|title=Hunt Etiquette|url=http://members.tripod.com/horse_hunting/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/hunt_etiquette.pdf|date=October 2008|access-date=29 December 2010}}</ref>

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<ref name=Independence>{{cite web|title=Information and Guidelines for Foxhunters in the Field|publisher=Independence Foxhounds|year=2007|url=http://www.independencefoxhounds.com/protocol.html|access-date=18 January 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080308004907/http://www.independencefoxhounds.com/protocol.html |archive-date = 8 March 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Independence/><ref>{{cite web|title=Hunting Hounds and Polo Ponies |year=1998 |publisher=JoCo History |url=http://www.jocohistory.net/culture/11no3hunting.asp |access-date=18 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025165931/http://www.jocohistory.net/culture/11no3hunting.asp |archive-date=25 October 2007 }}</ref>

=== Birds of prey ===

In Great Britain, since the introduction of the hunting ban, a number of hunts have employed [[falconry|falconers]] to bring [[Bird of prey|birds of prey]] to the hunt, due to the exemption in the [[Hunting Act]] for falconry.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|title=The banned rode on|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/hunting.ethicalliving|last=Moss|first=Stephen|access-date=5 October 2007|date=7 November 2006 | location=London}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=McLeod, I.|year=2005|title=Birds of prey and the Hunting Act 2004|journal=Justice of the Peace |volume=169|pages=774–775}}</ref>

== Procedure ==
[[File:BedaleHunt2005.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Bedale]] Hunt, Yorkshire, drawing a wood in February 2005]]

=== Main hunting season ===
[[File:Chasse a courre.jpg|thumb|right|A French staghound pack: moving off]]
The main hunting season usually begins in early November, in the northern hemisphere,<ref name=Carr/> and in May in the southern hemisphere.

A hunt begins 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. If the hounds lose the scent, a ''check'' occurs.
<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Robards
 |first1               = Hugh J.
 |date                 = 16 April 2011
 |title                = Foxhunting: How to Watch and Listen
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=ytSForcmcmgC
 |series               = Foxhunters' Library
 |publication-place    = Lanham, Maryland
 |publisher            = Derrydale Press
 |pages                 = 21, 137
 |isbn                 = 978-1-58667-121-1
 |access-date          = 31 July 2023
 |quote                = On approaching the road, the hounds ''check'' (lose the scent), then ''cast'' (deploy) themselves over. [...] '''check''' [-] when hounds lose the line of the fox
}} 
</ref>

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 has given birth to some traditional equestrian sports including [[steeplechase (horse racing)|steeplechase]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title= Steeplechase|encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica Online|year=2008|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9069520/steeplechase|access-date=10 February 2008}}</ref> and [[Point to point (steeplechase)|point-to-point racing]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A History of Point to Point|publisher=Irish Point to Point|year=2003|url=http://www.p2p.ie/content.php?key=History|access-date=6 November 2011|archive-date=18 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118024214/http://www.p2p.ie/content.php?key=History|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 (hunting)|''blooding'']]. In this ceremony, the master or huntsman would smear the blood of the fox onto the cheeks or forehead of a newly [[initiation|initiated]] hunt-follower, often a young child.<ref name=customs>{{cite web|publisher= Icons – A portrait of Britain|title= Customs of Hunting|url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fox-hunting-and-the-ban/features/customs-of-hunting-finished|year=2006|access-date=13 November 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071120043234/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fox-hunting-and-the-ban/features/customs-of-hunting-finished|archive-date= 20 November 2007}}</ref> Another practice of some hunts was to cut off the fox's tail (''brush''), the feet (''pads'') and the head (''mask'') as trophies, with the carcass then thrown to the hounds.<ref name=customs/> Both of these practices were widely abandoned during the nineteenth century, although isolated cases may still have occurred to the modern day.<ref name=customs/>

== Cubbing ==
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'').<ref name=Carr>[[Raymond Carr]], ''English Fox Hunting: A History'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976)</ref><ref name="Misstear">{{cite news|title= Incidents of illegal fox cubbing reported to RSPCA officers|date= 26 March 2013|author= Misstear, R. |access-date= 23 June 2016|url= http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/incidents-illegal-fox-cubbing-reported-2017327|work= Walesonline}}</ref><ref name=umad/> 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.<ref name="burns"/><ref name="Thomas">{{cite web|title= A veterinary opinion on hunting with hounds, Submission to the Burns Inquiry|url= http://www.vet-wildlifemanagement.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=32|author1= Thomas, L.H.|author2= Allen, W.R.|year= 2000|access-date= 20 November 2007|publisher= Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management}}</ref>

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.<ref name="burns" /> A young hound is considered to be ''entered'' into the pack once they have successfully joined in a hunt of this fashion. Young hounds which do not show sufficient aptitude may be killed by their owners or drafted to other packs, including [[mink hunting|minkhound]] packs.<ref name="Fanshawe">{{cite web|title= Future of hound breeds under threat from hunting bill|year=2003|last=Fanshawe|url= http://www.mfha.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=9|publisher=Masters of Fox Hounds Association|access-date= 11 February 2008}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-19 |title= What Is Cubbing?|url=https://www.thecanary.co/discovery/analysis-discovery/2018/08/19/the-most-grotesque-part-of-hunting-season-begins-fox-cubs-are-torn-apart-for-sport/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website= The Canary |language=en-GB}}</ref> Cub hunting is now illegal in Great Britain,<ref>
{{cite web
| url          = https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/incidents-illegal-fox-cubbing-reported-2017327
| title        = Incidents
| last         = Misstear
| first        = Rachael
| date         = 26 March 2013
| website      = WalesOnline
| access-date  = 7 January 2023
| quote        = RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben said [...] 'The practice is entirely illegal under the [[Hunting Act 2004]].'
}}
</ref>
although anti-hunt associations maintain that the practice continues.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=What is cubbing? |url=https://www.keeptheban.uk/faqs/what-is-cubbing |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=Keep The Ban |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819102933/https://www.keeptheban.uk/faqs/what-is-cubbing }}</ref>{{request quotation|date=January 2023}}

== People ==
===Hunt staff and officials===
[[File:Edgar Lubbock Vanity Fair 4 January 1906.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Caricature of [[Edgar Lubbock]] (1847–1907): "The Master of the [[Blankney Hunt|Blankney]]".<br />Published in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine 1868–1914)|Vanity Fair]]'' (1906)]]
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, along with the care and breeding of the hunt's foxhounds 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<ref>{{cite book|title=This country life:old houses|last=Rusk|first=Eliza|year=2016|page=45|isbn=978-1-5305-9754-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/thiscountrylifeo0000rusk/page/44/mode/2up?q=MFH}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The complete idiot's guide to Horseback Riding|last=Jahiel|first=Jessica|page=178|year=2000|url=https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu0000jahi/page/178/mode/2up?q=MFH}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Who's Who|year=1983|page=35|isbn=978-0-7136-2280-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoannualbio0000unse_g2g3/page/n37/mode/2up?q=MFH}}</ref>) 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.<ref name=staff>{{cite web|title=Organization in the field|publisher=Miami Valley Hunt|url=http://mvhunt.net/foxhunting.htm|access-date=13 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731200432/http://mvhunt.net/foxhunting.htm|archive-date=31 July 2008}}</ref>
* '''Honorary secretaries''' are volunteers (usually one or two) who look after the administration of the hunt.<ref name=staff/>
* '''The Treasurer''' collects the '''cap''' (money) from guest riders and manages the hunt's finances.<ref name=staff/>
* A '''kennelman''' looks after hounds in kennels, assuring that all tasks are completed when pack and staff return from hunting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fresco.ie/imfha/conduct2.htm |title=Code of conduct |publisher=Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association |access-date=11 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921171642/http://fresco.ie/imfha/conduct2.htm |archive-date=21 September 2008 }}</ref>
* '''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.<ref name=staff/> 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]]s (and in the United States they sometimes also carry .22 revolvers loaded with [[snake shot]] or blanks.)<ref name=staff/> The role of ''whipper-in'' in hunts has inspired parliamentary systems (including the [[Westminster System]] and the [[United States Congress|US Congress]]) to use ''[[whip (politics)|whip]]'' for a member who enforces party discipline and ensures the attendance of other members at important votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/principal/whips.cfm |publisher=UK Parliament |title=About Parliament – Whips |access-date=17 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005024452/http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/principal/whips.cfm |archive-date=5 October 2008 }}</ref>
*'''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 [[working terrier|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]]s with their terriers in boxes on their bikes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diggingout.org/hunt_terriermen.html|publisher=Campaign for the Abolition of Terrier Work|title=Hunt terriermen|access-date=11 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512003440/http://www.diggingout.org/hunt_terriermen.html|archive-date=12 May 2008}}</ref>

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 ===
[[File:Hubertusjagt-2004.jpg|thumb|left|Members of the field following a Danish drag hunt]]

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.

[[File:FoxHuntingCoat Male Red 4Buttons (English).svg|thumb|upright|Red fox hunting coat with 4 gold buttons and square skirt, as worn in England by Masters of Foxhounds and hunt staff. Masters who serve as their own huntsman ("hunt their own hounds"), known as "Amateur Masters", and professional huntsmen, wear five buttons with square corners on the skirt. Members of the field who have been "awarded colours" (permitted to wear a red coat and hunt buttons) wear three buttons (and in old tradition with rounded corners on the coat skirt).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.horsecountrylife.com/catalog/buttons.html|title=Horse Country Life – Questions about Foxhunting Attire, Books, Etiquette, Antiques|website=horsecountrylife.com}}</ref>]]
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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reeds|first=Jim|url=http://www.horse-country.com/jriders/pink.html|publisher=horse-country.com|title=The Legend of Tailor Pink|date=7 December 2003|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010033555/http://www.horse-country.com/jriders/pink.html|archive-date=10 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Icons – A portrait of Britain|title=Hunting Fashion|url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fox-hunting-and-the-ban/features/hunting-fashion|date=July 2006|access-date=14 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118171211/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fox-hunting-and-the-ban/features/hunting-fashion|archive-date=18 November 2007}}</ref>

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.<ref name=attire>{{cite web|publisher=Beech Grove Hunt|url=http://www.beechgrovehunt.com/etiquette.shtml|title=Dress Code|access-date=14 November 2007|url-status=usurped|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071104000503/http://www.beechgrovehunt.com/etiquette.shtml |archive-date = 4 November 2007}}</ref> [[Riding boot]]s 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.<ref name=attire/> 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 [[equestrian helmet|hunt cap]]. The professional staff wear their hat ribbons down, while amateur staff and members of the field wear their ribbons up.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dress Code|publisher=RMA Sandhurst Draghunt|year=2008|url=http://www.sandhurstdraghunt.co.uk/dress.html|access-date=22 December 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080314000035/http://www.sandhurstdraghunt.co.uk/dress.html |archive-date = 14 March 2008}}</ref>

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.<ref name=attire/> Some hunts also further restrict the wear of formal attire to weekends and holidays and wear [[ratcatcher (attire)|ratcatcher]] ([[Tweed (cloth)|tweed]] jacket and tan breeches), at all other times.

Other members of the mounted field follow strict rules of clothing [[etiquette]]. 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 ({{convert|2|-|3|yd|m|round=0.5|abbr=out|disp=or}}) 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]], and its practice for sport have made it a source of great controversy within the United Kingdom. In December 1999, the then [[Home Secretary]], [[Jack Straw|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 [[Terence Burns, Baron Burns|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/mainsections/committeedetails/aboutus.htm|title=Background to the Inquiry|author=Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs|year=1999|access-date=12 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407134938/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/mainsections/committeedetails/aboutus.htm|archive-date=7 April 2009}}</ref>

Amongst its findings, the Burns Inquiry committee analysed opposition to hunting in the UK and reported that:
<blockquote>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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/mainsections/huntingreport.htm|date=2000-06-09|title=Final Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales, para 4.12|access-date=2008-02-09|publisher=Defra|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410213249/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/mainsections/huntingreport.htm|archive-date=2009-04-10}}</ref></blockquote>

In a later debate in the House of Lords, the inquiry chairman, [[Terence Burns, Baron Burns|Lord Burns]], also stated that "Naturally, people ask whether we were implying that hunting is cruel... The short answer to that question is no. There was not sufficient verifiable evidence or data safely to reach views about cruelty. It is a complex area."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200001/ldhansrd/vo010312/text/10312-06.htm#10312-06_para26|title=Lords Hansard|date=12 March 2001 |access-date=29 February 2008 |publisher=House of Lords|author=Burns, T.}}</ref>

[[Anti-hunting]] activists who choose to take action in opposing fox hunting can do so through lawful means, such as campaigning for [[fox hunting legislation]] and [[Hunt Monitors|monitoring hunts]] for cruelty. Some use unlawful means.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1704|publisher=League Against Cruel Sports|title=Hunt Crimewatch|access-date=12 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205234021/http://www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1704|archive-date=5 February 2008}}</ref> Main anti-hunting campaign organisations include the [[Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals|RSPCA]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=19 June 2001|title=RSPCA wins right to block hunt lobby|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1319660/RSPCA-wins-right-to-block-hunt-lobby.html|access-date=27 October 2008 | location=London}}</ref>

Outside of campaigning, some activists choose to engage in [[Direct action|direct intervention]] such as [[hunt sabotage|sabotage of the hunt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hsa.enviroweb.org/tactics/tactbook/tactics.html|publisher=Hunt Saboteurs Association|title=HSA hunt tactics book|access-date=12 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304215707/http://hsa.enviroweb.org/tactics/tactbook/tactics.html|archive-date=4 March 2008}}</ref> Hunt sabotage is unlawful in a majority of the United States, and some tactics used in it (such as [[trespass]] and criminal damage) are offences there and in other countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huntsab.org/hunter_harassment_laws.htm|title=Hunter Harassment Laws|publisher=American Hunt Saboteurs Association|access-date=12 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315020942/http://www.huntsab.org/hunter_harassment_laws.htm|archive-date=15 March 2008}}</ref>

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 [[Social hierarchy|hierarchies]]. For this reason, there are large numbers of people who support fox hunting and this can be for a variety of reasons.<ref name = "MFH-social"/>

=== Pest control ===
The fox is referred to as [[vermin]] in some countries. Some farmers fear the loss of their smaller [[livestock]],<ref name="CA submission">{{cite web|author=Countryside Alliance|title=Submission to the Burns Inquiry|year=2000|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/alliance.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/alliance.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|publisher=Defra|access-date=14 November 2007}}</ref> while others consider them an ally in controlling rabbits, voles, and other rodents, which eat crops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/drryder.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/drryder.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|author= Ryder, R.|year=2000|publisher=Defra|title=Submission to the Burns Inquiry|access-date=11 February 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kruuk|first=H|title=Surplus killing by carnivores|year=1972|journal=Journal of Zoology, London|volume=166|issue=2|pages=435–50|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Baldwin|first=Marc|title=Red Fox Vulpes vulpes:Food & Feeding|publisher=Wildlife Online|date=29 April 2007|access-date=22 February 2008|url=http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/red_fox.html#feeding}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=National Fox Welfare Society|title=Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) General description|url=http://www.nfws.org.uk/fox_info.html|access-date=13 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608135436/http://www.nfws.org.uk/fox_info.html|archive-date=8 June 2008}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=International Fund for Animal Welfare |url=http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=158534 |title=New research explodes myth that hunting with gun-packs controlled foxes in Wales |year=2006 |access-date=11 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620022132/http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=158534 |archive-date=20 June 2008 }}</ref> They compare the number of foxes killed in the hunt to the many more killed on the roads. They also argue that [[wildlife management]] goals of the hunt can be met more effectively by other methods such as ''[[spotlighting|lamping]]'' (dazzling a fox with a bright light, then shooting by a competent shooter using an appropriate weapon and load).<ref>{{cite web|author=((Deadline 2000))|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/deadline20002.htm#research|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/deadline20002.htm#research|archive-date=23 January 2013|website=The National Archives|year=2000|title=Submission to Burns Inquiry|access-date=12 February 2008|publisher=Defra}}</ref>

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]].  It was found this ban on hunting had no measurable impact on fox numbers in randomly selected areas.<ref name="Baker">{{cite journal |author=Baker, P.J. |author2=Harris, S. |author3=Webbon, C.C.|year=2002|title=Ecology: Effect of British hunting ban on fox numbers|journal=Nature|volume=419|issue=6902|page=34|doi=10.1038/419034a|pmid=12214224|bibcode=2002Natur.419...34B|s2cid=4392265|doi-access=free}}</ref> Prior to the fox hunting ban in the UK, hounds contributed to the deaths of 6.3% of the 400,000 foxes killed annually.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Leader-Williams, N. |author2=Oldfield, T.E. |author3=Smith, R.J. |author4=Walpole, M.J. |year=2002|title=Science, conservation and fox-hunting|journal=Nature|volume=419|issue=6910|page=878|doi=10.1038/419878a|pmid=12410283|bibcode=2002Natur.419..878L|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The hunts claim to provide and maintain a good habitat for foxes and other game,<ref name="CA submission"/> and, in the US, have fostered [[conservation movement|conservation]] 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.<ref name = "League submission">{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/league.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/league.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|author=League Against Cruel Sports|title=Submission to Burns Inquiry|year=2000|access-date=11 February 2008|publisher=Defra}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="CA submission"/> The counter-argument is given that hunting cannot kill old foxes because foxes have a natural death rate of 65% per annum.<ref name = "League submission"/>

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]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/european-red-fox.html|year=2004|title=European Red Fox Fact Sheet|publisher=Environment Department, Australian Government|access-date=19 April 2010}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name=burns/>

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion/Simon-Hart-Hounding-out-a.3619917.jp|author=Simon Hart|title=Hounding out a law that's failed in every way|date=26 December 2007|access-date=11 February 2008|newspaper=The Yorkshire Post}}</ref>

===Animal welfare and animal rights===
Many [[animal welfare]] groups, campaigners and [[activists]] believe that fox hunting is unfair and cruel to animals.<ref name=bbccruel/> They argue that the chase itself causes fear and distress and that the fox is not always killed instantly as is claimed. [[Animal rights]] 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).<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Uncaged|title=The universal declaration of animal rights|year=2006|url=http://www.uncaged.co.uk/declarat.htm|access-date=3 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102075149/http://www.uncaged.co.uk/declarat.htm|archive-date=2 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)|title=General FAQs|url=http://www.peta.org/about/faq.asp|access-date=3 November 2007}}</ref>

In the United States and Canada, pursuing quarry for the purpose of killing is strictly forbidden by the Masters of Foxhounds Association.<ref name="usmfha1"/> According to article 2 of the organisation's code:
<blockquote>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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfha.com/code.htm|title=MFHA Code of Hunting Practices|year=2000|publisher=Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America|access-date=2008-02-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080315131747/http://www.mfha.com/code.htm |archive-date = 15 March 2008}}</ref></blockquote>
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.<ref name="usmfha1"/>

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&nbsp;minutes of chase.<ref name=bbccruel>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=Is fox hunting cruel?|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/418681.stm|date=16 September 1999|access-date=3 November 2007}}</ref> 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.&nbsp;<ref>{{cite web |author=Baker, P. |author2=Harris, S. |author3=White, P. |publisher=International Fund for Animal Welfare |title=After the hunt, the future of foxes in Britain |url=http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/dimages/custom/After%20the%20Hunt%20(Web%20final%20Feb).pdf |access-date=25 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127073352/http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/dimages/custom/After%20the%20Hunt%20%28Web%20final%20Feb%29.pdf |archive-date=27 November 2007 }}</ref> Hunt supporters further say that it is a matter of humanity to kill foxes rather than allow them to suffer malnourishment and [[mange]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/hunts/fourburrow.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/hunts/fourburrow.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|author=Four Burrows Hunt|title=Submission to Burns Inquiry|year=2000|access-date=12 February 2008|publisher=Defra}}</ref>

Other methods include the use of [[Snare trap|snares]], [[Animal trapping|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 [[spotlighting|lamping]] using [[rifle]]s fitted with [[telescopic sight]]s, if carried out properly and in appropriate circumstances, had fewer adverse welfare implications than hunting.<ref name=burns/> 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]]).

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.league.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_336.pdf|year=2006|author=Linzey, A.|publisher=Christian Socialist Movement|title=Fox Hunting|access-date=11 February 2008}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]], 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."<ref name=CourtAppeal>{{cite web|url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2006/817.html|title=R. (oao The Countryside Alliance; oao Derwin and others) v. Her Majesty's Attorney General and Secretary of State of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|date=23 June 2006|publisher=EWCA|access-date=11 February 2008}}</ref>

[[Anti-hunting]] 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.<ref name=burns/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/hounds.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/hounds.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|author=Fanshawe, B.|title=Details of number of hounds involved in hunting, Campaign for Hunting submission to Burns Inquiry|date=17 May 2000|publisher=Defra|access-date=18 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/amhbmbhanccalc.htm|publisher=Defra|year=2000|access-date=10 April 2008|title=The Hare Hunting Associations, submission to Burns Inquiry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824020711/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence2/amhbmbhanccalc.htm|archive-date=24 August 2008}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Huffington2016">{{cite news|work=Huffington Post UK|title=Investigation launched after footage shows 'Fox Cubs Being Put into Hounds' Kennels'|author=Harris, S.|date=23 June 2016|access-date=23 June 2016|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/investigation-launched-after-footage-shows-fox-cubs-being-put-into-hounds-kennels/ar-AAhwEso?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=SL5MDHP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812001402/http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/investigation-launched-after-footage-shows-fox-cubs-being-put-into-hounds-kennels/ar-AAhwEso?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=SL5MDHP|archive-date=12 August 2016}}</ref> In August, two more people were arrested in connection with the investigation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Further arrests in South Herefordshire Hunt animal cruelty probe|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-37099283|access-date=17 September 2016|publisher=BBC News|date=17 August 2016}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="CA submission"/> [[Philosopher]] [[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".<ref name=scruton>{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/scruton.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/scruton.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|title=Fox Hunting: The Modern Case. Written submission to the Burns Inquiry|last=Scruton|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Scruton|year=2000|access-date=18 November 2007|publisher=Defra}}</ref> In contrast, liberal philosopher, [[John Stuart Mill]] 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."<ref>{{cite book|title=The history of economic thought|author1=Medema, S.G.  |author2=Samuels, W.J.|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|access-date=18 November 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4PslOtUYstsC&q=%22the+reasons+for+legal+intervention+in+favour+of+children%22&pg=PA360|isbn=978-0-415-20551-1}}</ref> The UK's most senior court, the [[Judicial functions of the House of Lords|House of Lords]], has decided that a ban on hunting, in the form of the [[Hunting Act 2004]], does not contravene the [[European Convention on Human Rights]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldjudgmt/jd071128/countr-1.htm|title=House of Lords judgement on Hunting Act ECHR challenge|date=28 November 2007|access-date=29 November 2007|publisher=House of Lords|archive-date=7 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207193055/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldjudgmt/jd071128/countr-1.htm}}</ref> as did the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=859952&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649|title=HECtHR judgment in case Friend and Countryside Alliance and Others v. UK|date=24 November 2009|access-date=11 January 2010|publisher=ECtHR}}</ref>

=== Trespass ===
In its submission to the [[Burns Inquiry]], the [[League Against Cruel Sports]] presented evidence of over 1,000 cases of [[trespass]] by hunts. These included trespass on railway lines and into private gardens.<ref name=burns/> 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 [[William Capel (cricketer)#Landmark foxhunting court case|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 sabotage|hunt saboteur]]s.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Free Beagles |url=http://freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-21.html |title=Legal advice for activists |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029052548/http://freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-21.html |archive-date=29 October 2012 }}</ref><ref name=stokes/> Hunt saboteurs trespass on private land to monitor or disrupt the hunt, as this is where the hunting activity takes place.<ref name=stokes/> For this reason, the hunt saboteur ''tactics manual'' presents detailed information on legal issues affecting this activity, especially the Criminal Justice Act.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Hunt Saboteurs Association |title=Legal advice on Public Order and trespass |url=http://hsa.enviroweb.org/tactics/tactbook/legal.html |access-date=3 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124125412/http://hsa.enviroweb.org/tactics/tactbook/legal.html |archive-date=24 November 2007 }}</ref> Some [[Hunt Monitors|hunt monitors]] also choose to trespass whilst they observe the hunts in progress.<ref name=stokes>{{cite web |author=Stokes, Elizabeth|title=Hunting and Hunt Saboteurs: A Censure Study |website=University of East London |year=1996|url=http://www.uel.ac.uk/lss/staff/elizabethstokes/elizabethstokes/|access-date=20 December 2011|archive-date=13 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413173710/http://www.uel.ac.uk/lss/staff/elizabethstokes/elizabethstokes/}}</ref>

The construction of the law means that hunt saboteurs' behaviour may result in charges of criminal aggravated trespass,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Crown Prosecution Service|title=Trespass and Nuisance on Land: Legal Guidance|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/trespass_and_nuisance_on_land/#Aggravated_Trespass_Charging|access-date=11 September 2010|archive-date=22 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122114101/http://cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/trespass_and_nuisance_on_land/#Aggravated_Trespass_Charging|url-status=dead}}</ref> rather than the less severe offence of [[Civil law (common law)|civil trespass]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Countryside Alliance and the Council of Hunting Associations|title=Hunting without Harassment|year=2006|url=http://heythrophunt.com/picts/huntinghandbook.pdf|access-date=20 December 2011|publisher=Countryside Alliance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131104120/http://heythrophunt.com/picts/huntinghandbook.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> Since the introduction of legislation to restrict hunting with hounds, there has been a level of confusion over the legal status of [[Hunt Monitors|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.<ref name=stokes/>

=== Social life and class issues in Britain ===
[[File:JohnLeechBriggsPleasuresHunt.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Punch (magazine)|''Punch'' magazine]]'s "Mr. Briggs" cartoons illustrated issues over fox hunting during the 1850s.]]
In Britain, and especially in [[England and Wales]], supporters of fox hunting regard it as a distinctive part of [[British culture]] 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 4×4 vehicles.<ref name="MFH-social"/> They see the social aspects of hunting as reflecting the demographics of the area; the [[Home Counties]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banwenminershunt.co.uk/page2.htm|title=Banwen Miners Hunt History|publisher=The Banwen Miners Hunt|access-date=20 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122013357/http://www.banwenminershunt.co.uk/page2.htm|archive-date=22 January 2012}}</ref>

[[Oscar Wilde]], 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."<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Bibliomania|title=Oscar Wilde|url=http://www.bibliomania.com/0/2/57/frameset.html|access-date=16 November 2007}}</ref> Even before the time of Wilde, much of the criticism of fox hunting was couched in terms of [[social class]]. The argument was that while more "working class" [[blood sport (hunting)|blood sports]] such as [[Cockfight|cock fighting]] and [[badger baiting]] were long ago outlawed,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Icons- a portrait of England|title=Banned Blood Sports|url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fox-hunting-and-the-ban/features/banned-blood-sports|year=2006|access-date=3 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120043216/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fox-hunting-and-the-ban/features/banned-blood-sports|archive-date=20 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jackson |first=Steve |publisher=Badger Pages |title=Badger Baiting |url=http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/eurasian-badger-11.html |year=2006 |access-date=5 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016051115/http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/eurasian-badger-11.html |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=scruton/>

A series of "Mr. Briggs" cartoons by [[John Leech (caricaturist)|John Leech]] appeared in the magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' during the 1850s which illustrated class issues.<ref name=class1>{{cite web|url=http://john-leech-archive.org.uk/keyword/hunting.htm|title=John Leech Hunting archive|publisher=Andrew Cates|access-date=11 February 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref name=class2>{{cite web|publisher=London Class War|title=Class War Merchandise|url=http://lemming.mahost.org/classwar/merchandise.htm|access-date=3 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920121124/http://lemming.mahost.org/classwar/merchandise.htm|archive-date=20 September 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Red Star Research/Revolutions per minute|year=2002|title=The Rich at Play|url=http://www.red-star-research.org.uk/rap/rapframe.html|access-date=14 November 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070915170129/http://www.red-star-research.org.uk/rap/rapframe.html |archive-date = 15 September 2007}}</ref>

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.<ref name=tele1>{{cite news|newspaper=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1999/07/27/nhunt127.html |title=New poll shows public not prepared to outlaw hunting |last=Clover |first=Charles |date=27 July 1999 |access-date=11 February 2008 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103121423/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=%2Farchive%2F1999%2F07%2F27%2Fnhunt127.html |archive-date=3 November 2007 }}</ref> Some people have pointed to evidence of class bias in the voting patterns in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] 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.<ref name="Orendi">{{cite thesis |last=Orendi |first=Dagmar |title=The Debate About Fox Hunting: A Social and Political Analysis |publisher=[[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt Universität zu Berlin]] |type=Master's |year=2004 |access-date=13 October 2007 |url=http://www2.hu-berlin.de/gbz/downloads/pdf/DagmarOrendi_MasterThesis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318202521/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/gbz/downloads/pdf/DagmarOrendi_MasterThesis.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2009 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Beagling]]
* [[Trail hunting]]
* [[Coon hunting]]
* [[Otter hunting]]
* [[Drag hunting]]
* [[Duck netting]]
* [[Fox tossing]]
* [[Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Hunting the clean boot]]
* [[List of foxhound packs of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Mink hunting]]
* [[Scent hound]]
* [[Wolf hunting]]
* [[Montería (hunt)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Davies, Ross E. (editor). ''Regulation and Imagination: Legal and Literary Perspectives on Fox-hunting'' (Green Bag Press 2021).
* Trench, Charles Chenevix. [https://archive.org/details/sim_history-today_1973-08_23_8/page/572/mode/1up?q=%22nineteenth+century+hunting%22 "Nineteenth-Century Hunting"]. ''History Today'' (Aug 1973), Vol. 23 Issue 8, pp 572–580 online.

== External links ==
{{commons category|Foxhunting}}
{{Americana Poster|Fox-hunting}}
;General
;News media
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/hunting_debate_/default.stm The Hunting Debate] from [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/hunt/ Special Report: Hunting] from ''[[The Guardian]]''
;Hunting and pro-hunting organisations
* [http://www.mfha.co.uk/ Masters of Foxhounds Association] (UK)
* [http://www.mfha.com/ Masters of Foxhounds Association of America] (USA and Canada)
* [http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/ca/campaigns-hunting Countryside Alliance – Campaign for Hunting] (UK)
* [http://www.themiddlewaygroup.org.uk/ The Parliamentary Middle Way Group] (UK)
* [http://www.vet-wildlifemanagement.org.uk/ Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212093342/http://www.vet-wildlifemanagement.org.uk/ |date=12 February 2005 }}
;Anti-hunting organisations
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081220093511/http://hsa.enviroweb.org/ Hunt Saboteurs Association] (UK)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080118153819/http://www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1511 League Against Cruel Sports – Hunting with Dogs] (UK)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160102103841/http://banhunting.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA%2FRSPCARedirect&pg=otherissues&marker=1&articleId=1142240334111 RSPCA – Ban Hunting] (UK)
;Government reports
* [http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/countryside/hunting/ Hunting with Dogs] (UK).

{{Equestrian Sports}}
{{Hunting topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox Hunting}}
[[Category:Fox hunting| ]]

[[Category:Hunting with hounds]]
[[Category:Rural society in the United Kingdom]]
[[de:Parforcejagd]]