Foxes, Hunting, and Hounds - Can anyone enlighten me?

[scolopax]

These woods are called Fox Covert because that is what they were initially planted for, as fox cover(t). Fox hunting was a huge passion of the wealthy landowning classes during the last two (three?) centuries, so they planted lots of smallish woodlands to provide habitat for the Fox. In fact if it was not for fox hunting alot of the good farming areas of England would be almost without any woodland at all. Fox coverts continued to be planted up until quite recently, I was visiting a farm in the territory of a well known Northamptonshire hunt a couple of winters ago and every second field had a two acre plantation in the corner, planted 10 years previously by the fox hunting mad landowner. This totalled maybe 15 small woods planted on productive farmland that would not be there if it was not for fox hunting. Likewise as sporting fashions changed game shooting took over the baton from fox hunting with regards to planting small woodlands, many of the new woods seen today have been planted with pheasant shooting in mind.

As for bagged foxes, it was never regarded as the done thing, a bagged fox released on unfamiliar territory was an easy kill and often provided no chase whatsoever. If they ever occured it was almost always without the hunts knowledge. This is because it was embarrassing to a landowner for the hunt to arrive and find nothing when they drew the coverts, this was almost always because the gamekeeper was killing the foxes to protect his gamebirds. Now to stop himself getting into trouble with his boss (i.e the landowner), the 'keeper would ensure that a fox was available on the day. He would obtain a live one and then release it (from a bag) just before the hunt turned up. Often if the hunt found out about this the 'keeper would be in even more trouble than if there were no foxes, as it was seen as very bad form to hunt a bagged fox.