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

[Little Mele]

Where I live the local hunt are now out in force, forever in the fields and forests with terrier men and the gamekeeper.

There's good evidence that foxes are being dug out, but not as far as I know being chased by the hunt, although the hunt are stood about as the men get the fox out.

The fox is not killed by gunshot and it looks like it is taken away.

Why would they do that?

Why do the hunt stand around whilst the fox is being dug out?

I don't know much about fox hunting, although I know it's illegal to hunt a wild mammal with dogs.

I personally haven't seen the hunt chase a fox but have seen the fox earths which have been dug out and seen the horses and hounds stood around the area as if waiting for something.

I want to understand more, can anyone educate me further on this?

[salukiwhippet]

Foxes can be dug out using terriers under certain conditions:

The terrier must not be 'hard'

Only one terrier may be to ground at a time

It must wear a locator

The fox must be dispatched humanely. (usually shot at the end of the tunnel, often with a .22 or moderated pistol so you wouldn't hear the shot unless you were right by the hole)

The digging must be done to protect game birds for shooting (So I can dig them to protect my reared pheasants (which we intend to shoot), but not the grey partridge which have bred on the estate for the first time in 15 years (which anyone seen raising a gun to will have a proverbial rocket up their proverbial bum!) - well thought out, that!

It's known as the Gamekeeper's exemption.

Hope that helps.

James

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by salukiwhippet

The digging must be done to protect game birds for shooting (So I can dig them to protect my reared pheasants (which we intend to shoot)

So why can't you leave it to the fox to get a meal, if you only want to shoot the pheasant anyway?

[salukiwhippet]

Kind of off topic Jason. I didn't say i did dig foxes, I was merely stating what the hunting act allows.

James

[Jason Green]

Conceded, of course - not really a serious comment. The scene you set just reminded me of a Harry Hill-style sketch; you go to all the trouble of protecting the pheasants, the relief of them then being safe - only to then shoot them!

Right then, as you were...

[Little Mele]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, I understand the Hunting Act, and the use of terriers, etc. I have now had chance to speak to someone over the weekend who tells me that foxes are sometimes "bagged", ie dug out alive, taken away and kept until the day of the hunt and then released. It's known as "bagging a fox" apparently.

Also some foxes are kept for breeding in captivity and then released for the "sport", which makes a mockery of the Hunting Act.

On Sunday I found a young cub which had either starved or frozen to death where he slept. It's a hard life in the wild !!

[Fauna]

Also some foxes are kept for breeding in captivity and then released for the "sport", which makes a mockery of the Hunting Act.

Have you any info on this (proof ?), would like to learn more. Can't see why there is a need for this, plenty of fox about. But you do live and learn...

Was bagging the fox an old practise, does it really still go on...i know little about the hunt practices outside of my area of Wales. I do know this "bagging" used to go on. Welsh foxes where once transported to other parts of the country where numbers where low...

Regards Chris...

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Little Mele

Also some foxes are kept for breeding in captivity and then released for the "sport", which makes a mockery of the Hunting Act.

And the egregious argument that hunting is an efficient way of controlling fox populations, that the 'pro' lobby use!

Jim

[Little Mele]

Hunters ‘feeding foxes up to kill’, claim anti-hunt campaigners | This is Dorset

The League Against Cruel Sports know a great deal about the breeding of foxes to hunt and use covert cameras to capture the "proof"

[Meta menardi]

I believe that bagged foxes were known as "Leadenhall foxes", I think Leadenhall market sold misc livestock. Don't know where I got that from, possibly Surtees.

I find it quite revealing that, looking over the OS maps for round here (Ryedale), loads of woods are labelled as "fox covert". I am sure this is not the only place that has this. OS data comes from many sources, where had they get this from? I must look at the latest version to see if this is still recorded.