foxhunting

foxhunting, the chase of a fox by horsemen with a pack of hounds. In England, the home of the sport, foxhunting dates from at least the 15th century. In its inception, it was probably an adjunct to stag and hare hunting, with the same hounds used to chase each quarry.

Modern foxhunting took shape in the 19th century shortly after Hugo Meynell, the father of the modern English chase, started hunting, and it soon developed into a national upper-class pastime; a character in Oscar Wilde’s play A Woman of No Importance calls it “the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.” The sport often followed wherever the British Empire took root. Traditional procedure is still observed and the proper kit (clothing) worn. A fox hunt is conducted by the master, and, in theory, all who take part in it do so at the master’s invitation, even when they pay for the privilege. The hounds, generally 20 to 30 couples (matched pairs), are controlled by the huntsman, who may be the master but is generally the senior paid servant of the hunt. Two or three whippers-in assist in reconnaissance and in keeping the hounds together as a pack. Master, huntsman, and whippers-in take precedence over all other riders to hounds. The huntsman controls hounds by voice, his or her calls being known as cheers, and by a horn—a copper tube about 8 inches (20 cm) long that produces two notes of great carrying and penetrating quality.

A day’s hunting begins with a meet, at which the followers join the hounds, acknowledge the master, and are frequently offered hospitality by one of their number who acts as host for the occasion. On the command of the master, hounds move off to draw (search) the covert, which may be a woodland, a patch of gorse, or a field in which it is suspected that a fox may be hiding. When the fox is found—the fact being signaled by the cry of hounds, notes of the horn, and the shout “Tally-ho”—the hunt begins and ordinarily proceeds to the stage at which the fox is viewed, a moment signaled by a high-pitched “Holloa.” Traditionally, if a kill follows, the brush (tail), mask (head), and pads (feet) of the fox may be given as trophies by the master to any followers whom he or she considers to deserve the honour. The body of the fox is then thrown to the hounds.

The foxhunting uniform is usually a scarlet (“pink”) coat with a white stock (cravat) and black velvet cap for the master, huntsman, and whippers-in. Followers of sufficient prestige are invited to wear scarlet, with the individual buttons of the hunt, and a top hat (the velvet cap being strictly the prerogative of those actively engaged in the control of hounds, though by modern usage women may also wear it). Other followers wear black coats, with top hats or bowlers. In the case of some ancestral hunts run by noble families, the uniform may be green, yellow, or gray instead of scarlet. The entourage of a hunt also includes grooms; second horsemen, who ride relief horses for the master, the master’s staff, and leading followers; and earth stoppers, who are supposed to close up all earths, or fox dens.

Before World War I, foxhunting reached a zenith of popularity as an English field sport. Horse and hound breeding had arrived at a highly developed state, and hunting itself was well organized and regulated by the Master of Foxhounds Association. The sport of foxhunting survived a number of difficulties in the 20th century, notably changes in patterns of rural landownership and land use as great landowners were replaced by numerous smallholders, proliferation of barbed-wire fences, hardships caused by World Wars I and II, and some popular opposition to the sport on anticruelty and other grounds. Hunting continued, however, in the second half of the 20th century in England, Wales, Ireland, and parts of Scotland from November, when the harvest was gathered, until April, when new crops began to grow. The sport was also practiced in similar season in some parts of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

In the early 21st century, however, efforts to end the sport intensified, and in 2002 Scotland banned foxhunting. Two years later the British House of Commons outlawed the killing of wild mammals in hound-led hunts in England and Wales, although the ban provided for certain exceptions. Despite a number of legal challenges, the law went into effect in early 2005. Hunts have continued to be held throughout England and Wales, sometimes with the hunters and hounds following a previously laid scent trail rather than a live fox (drag hunting). When a live fox is hunted, the law requires the animal, if it is killed, to be shot by the hunters rather than killed by the hounds.

Foxhunting takes place in many countries but often with slightly different traditions than those of the English hunt. In the United States and Canada, for example, the goal of hound-led hunts is typically not to kill the quarry; the emphasis is on the chase. In those countries, moreover, because of the shortage of foxes in some areas and an increasing number of coyotes—which are bigger, faster, and stronger than foxes—coyotes are often hunted instead.