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By: Chelsea Zblewski Fox hunting is the act of tracking and killing foxes, typically red foxes. It is a common tradition in many countries, such as, Canada, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. This type of hunting is prominent in the upper-class community. The foxes are hunted as a form of pest control, population control, and as tradition. History of Hunting Fox hunting has been around since the 15th century. The use of dogs to aid in the tracking of the foxes was introduced in 1534 in England, before then there were no dogs used. Humans started hunting foxes because they were seen as pest or vermin. Foxes irritated local farmers by wounding and killing their livestock, like chicken and sheep. The fox hunting tradition became widely popular in the 18th century when the deer populations began to decrease due to hunting. It then turned into more of a sport than pest control. Large areas of open land were required to track deer, with the population decline it was easier to find and hunt foxes and hares which became the prey of choice in the seventeenth century. During the 19th century Hugo Meynell, the father of the modern English chase, developed the hunt to be an upper-class pastime. It continues this way even today. A Traditional HuntA typical hunt, nowadays, starts off with a pack of trained foxhound. Dogs are used in the hunt to track and typically kill the foxes. Horses are used as means of transportation of the human hunters. The hound dogs pick up the scent of the fox and lead the hunters who are typically on horses to the fox. When the pack and hunters meet up with the fox, the fox will either flee into their den or enviably get killed by the dogs. The way fox hunts end varies by location. In certain areas of England, if the fox flees into their den the hunters will send terriers into the entrance to kill the fox within their home. There are 21,000-25,000 foxes killed annually in England and Wales. With hunting contributing to 5% of all fox deaths in those countries. The dead foxes are typically kept as trophies or fed to the hounds. No-Kill HuntingSome hunters will use guns to kill the fox but it is rare. Although the objective of most fox hunts is to kill the fox, some hunts do not involve any killing. In a drag hunt, hounds chase the scent of a fox on a trail prepared before the hunt. Drag hunts don’t involve the use of a live fox just aniseed oils and animal meats or urine. In the United States a hunt ends successfully when the fox goes into their den, resulting in very few fox deaths. As of March, 2002, the Masters of Foxhounds Association reported that there were 171 organized hunt clubs in North America, with many being along the east coast of the countries (Environmental Encyclopedia, 4th ed). Many of the hunting packs in the United States will ultimately chase coyotes instead of foxes due to the limited amount of foxes in the area. Fox: The Pest or Pest Controller There is much controversy on the act of fox hunting. One reason provided in support of fox hunting is that it controls the fox populations and rids the world of pest. This may not be entirely true. Only 1% of sheep deaths have direct link to foxes, sheep mostly die from poor farming practices, diseases, and bad weather. Foxes do kill chicken but their deaths can be more effectively resolved with electric fences. Foxes also kill rabbits naturally which in turn has been scientifically proven to save British crop farmers around 7 million dollars a year. In fact, according a questionnaire 220 farmers in the UK filled out, two thirds of the farmers do not think that foxes are a pest at all. The hunters believe they are killing the weak and old foxes which leads to more high selected for individuals, there is no scientific proof of this. An Activist ViewMany animal activists however believe that fox hunting is cruel and unnecessary. Activists believe the chase causes unnecessary stress and fear on the foxes. Many of the foxes don’t die right away when the hounds catch the fox. Autopsies reveal hunted foxes are not killed quickly, but endure numerous bites and tears to their flanks and hindquarters, causing enormous suffering before death. A study done by Oxford University found that foxes typically die within seventeen minutes after being caught. The activists are also against the fact that the hunters will put down on average 3,000 dogs annually, all because the dogs hunting careers have end. There have also be claims of fox cubs being used as live bait to train the hounds to track and kill; this is considered “cubbing”. There were 16 fox cubs found by the League in 2015. They were found in a barn located in Yorkshire and were linked to the Belvoir Hunt. There was also a claim of a cub being put in a barn that had many hound in it and later a hunter was seen carrying a dead fox cub out of the same barn. Banning on Fox Hunting This controversy has led to the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, which is a ban on fox hunting and hare coursing in Scotland (Environmental Encyclopedia, 4th ed). Many other countries have been working on possible bans on fox hunting. Final ThoughtsFox hunting is still considered a “traditional” form of hunting. The views of fox hunting have changed over the years and it has lost its popularity, with more than eight out of ten people who are opposed to fox hunting. Some argue that fox hunting should continue because it’s a grand old British tradition. However, many other traditional hunting forms like bear baiting and bull baiting were very popular many years ago, and today it is abolished. With the new bans in place and talk of many more it is thought that soon the fox hunting tradition could to be one for the books. References Foundation, Internet Memory. "Defra - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs." [ARCHIVED CONTENT] UK Government Web Archive – The National Archives. The National Archives, 17 May 2000 "Foxhunting: Will the Ban on Hunting Affect Fox Numbers?" The Fox Website | Foxhunting | Effects of the Hunting Ban. University of Bristol, 2007 "Fox Hunting." Www.league.org.uk. The League, n.d. Harris, Sarah. "Investigation Launched After Footage Shows 'Fox Cubs Being Put Into Hounds' Kennels'." Investigation Launched After Footage Shows 'Fox Cubs Being Put Into Hounds' Kennels'. Huffington Post UK, 23 June 2016 Hasting, Anne M. "Fox Hunting: History and Change in a Mountain Sport." Appalachian Journal Fall 25.1 (1997): 30-46 Press, Associated. "The Hunt That Still Thrills: 160 Foxhunting Clubs Still Exist in US and Canada - Although Many Have to Chase Coyotes Rather than Red Foxes." Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 30 Mar. 2015. "UK | Is Fox Hunting Cruel?" BBC News. BBC, 16 Sept. 1999. UK." BBC News. BBC, 16 Sept. 1999. Chelsea Zblewski is currently working on a bachelor degree in zoology, a statistics minor, and a GIS certificate. She grew up in Northern Wisconsin deep in the woods, were she there fell in love with animals. She loves spending time outside and when indoors you’ll find her with her cat Morris watching Netflix. Comments are closed.
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