ANIMAL WELFARE INFORMATION SERVICE
COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO HUNTING WITH DOGS
SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE
Contents
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I am pleased to submit the following evidence on behalf of the Animal Welfare Information Service and the Animal Cruelty Investigation Group. These groups have some 2000 supporters.
Personal Experience
I have been observing, monitoring and infiltrating all forms of hunting with hounds, and hare coursing, in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland since 1971.
I have direct experience of foxhunting, hare hunting with hounds (beagles, bassets and harriers), staghunting, buckhunting (now ended), carted deerhunting (in the Republic of Ireland), minkhunting and otterhunting (now ended). I have direct experience of open hare coursing (the only type allowed in the United Kingdom) and of open and park hare coursing in the Republic of Ireland.
I have followed foxhounds on foot, by bicycle, on a motorbike, by vehicle, in the terrierman’s Landrover and I have even ridden to hounds.
In my view it is impossible to appreciate the full cruelty inherent in such bloodsports until you have seen a fox dug out of the ground and killed, a stag at bay, and, at close quarters, the coursed hare caught and killed. Such sights are best witnessed by pretending to be a supporter of such pastimes, hence the large amount of "undercover" work that I have carried out.
Evidence
I am pleased to offer this in accordance with your proposed sub-headings:-
FACTS ABOUT HUNTING WITH DOGS
The hunting of fox, deer, hare and mink with packs of hounds is an unnatural pastime. As with all recreational hunting with dogs it is cruel by design and cruel by calculation. With the exception of coursing greyhounds the hounds used are bred not for the speed that might produce a quick kill but rather for the stamina that guarantees the lengthy chase that the supporters seek.
Foxhunting.
The fox is not a natural prey species. It is a predator not a prey. Some foxhunting supporters claim that the fox was predated upon by the wolf and that the hunting dog has merely supplanted the wolf in this natural order. In my opinion, as a zoologist, it was a matter of competition between the wolf and the fox with the two predators occasionally scrapping over available food. The notion of packs of wolves hunting the lone fox in some kind of precursor to the modern hunt is pure fantasy.
There is evidence that the hunted fox suffers the same kind of biological stresses as have been demonstrated to occur in the hunted deer. Indeed, as the fox is not naturally adapted as a prey species, as the deer is, it may be the case that it suffers more. I have on several occasions seen exhausted foxes running before the hounds. It is not a pretty sight.
Time and again when out with hunts I have been told by riders and car followers that they do not want to see the kill. I do not doubt their sincerity but they must know that for as long as their hounds are trained to hunt the fox, kills will occur.
I have found a few people at every hunt who do delight in seeing the kill. These are the people who rush to get to the site of a dig-out. Most foxes that are killed by foxhunts are dug out of the ground after the fox, exhausted by the chase, has sought sanctuary below ground. There are no "instant kills" in digging out. Often there are lengthy battles below ground between the hunt terriers and the fox. The terriers frequently emerge from the holes visibly injured. The injuries they inflict on the foxes are seldom seen, but they are there. This is clearly unnecessary suffering.
Staghunting.
The impact of staghunting
has the maximum detrimental affect on the herd.
In Autumn staghunting the best of the males are selected and killed. This is
the very opposite of best practice in natural selection.
The stags are hunted through the rigours of the rut. This is particularly cruel.
The hinds are hunted when pregnant. They can be hunted when running with their
yearling calf. I have been with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds when they
killed just such a hind and calf.
The end of a red deer hunt, whether stag or hind, involves particularly severe
cruelty. It can take some considerable time for a person with a gun to reach
the scene and put the deer out of their misery. It can take more than one shot
to achieve this.
Of particular concern is the level of what might be termed "freelance hunting"
that occurs with hounds breaking away from the main pack to pursue their own
selected deer. Who knows what happens when they pursue hinds and calves?
Harehunting.
In my experience no-one
hunts hares either with packs of dogs or with coursing dogs with a view to reducing
their numbers as pests. Hares are hunted for fun.
The stress that is put on hares by being hunted by dogs that are bred to beat
her for stamina rather than speed is considerable.
Coursing people boast of measures that they take to encourage hares for their
sport but there is evidence that in some areas it is not enough. Hares are still
moved for coursing. The stress of such moving, and also the prior catching of
the hare of course, usually in nets, is considerable.
In contrast with the claims made by coursing enthusiasts to "preserve" hares
in their areas I am not aware of any claims for similar action by those who
hunt hares with packs of dogs.
Hares can survive perfectly well without either coursing or hunting. I live
in the very heart of the country, in deepest rural Suffolk, near the Norfolk
border. The local harrier pack has no meets in our village. No coursing club
meets nearby. Yet we have plenty of hares. It is down to the attitude of the
landowners and farmers and it truly is an outrageous slur on their integrity
for the hunting fraternity to claim, as they do, that the larger UK wild mammals
are only tolerated because of someone else’s delight in hunting them.
Minkhunting.
The prime aim for this
activity appears to be that for hunting fanatics it fills in the gap between
the ending of one hunting season in the spring and the start of the next in
the late summer.
When otter hunting was taken from them they switched to hunting mink in most
areas but where there were few mink they hunted the coypu as an alternative.
One suspects that if there were no mink or coypu they would hunt water voles
or rats.
Minkhunting has some particularly cruel attributes aside from the usual rigours
of the chase. There is the digging out that can take a considerable time. There
is also the question of how to dislodge the mink that have taken to the trees.
Mink are an introduced species that were brought here by the fur trade. They
are not even the European mink, instead they are the North American version.
Some mink escaped from the mink farms and some were deliberately released by
the farmers themselves following economic collapses. The main contribution of
hunting in my experience has been to spread the mink the length and breadth
of our waterways. Not all the mink that are found and hunted are killed. This
is an inevitable result of the haphazard nature of hunting and it may also be
by design. When they have killed a few they leave the others to survive as they
put it to me "because we will be coming back to this meet later in the season
and we want to have something to hunt." The mink they have left are usually
a considerable distance away from where they started hence the spreading effect
of the hunt.
Minkhunting also poses a real threat to survival prospects for the otter. In
my experience minkhunts operate with their terriers running loose with the hounds.
Then any nook or cranny that the terriers take an interest in is dug out by
the terriermen. Inevitably such disturbance must pose a threat to the otter
RURAL ECONOMY
It is not hunting with dogs as such that is opposed but rather the hunting with dogs of live quarry. Where the input to the rural economy is concerned what the hounds are actually chasing is an irrelevance.
Removing the animal victim from the scene would in no way detract from the finery of the spectacle. Hunting dogs can be trained to hunt any scent. Most hunt followers have no idea what their hounds are hunting and would obtain equal fun if the hounds were hunting an artificial scent, as in draghunting.
Draghunting, if properly promoted, would provide as many if not more employment opportunities in rural areas. There would be the same need for hounds and horses. The horses still require saddles and shoes. Because the lines would be laid to take the hounds only where they are welcomed there would be none of the mayhem and havoc associated with animal hunting. No slaughter of pets and livestock, no dangerous crossing of roads and railway lines. All that would be missing would be the kill, which most hunt supporters claim never to enjoy anyway.
The historical precedents are that all changes in the countryside, particularly in the areas of bloodsports, have been opposed. Where change has been forced by Parliament the outcomes have never been as dire as predicted.
The shooting of live pigeons released from traps was abolished in 1921. Clay pigeon shooting, a humane alternative, now thrives with consequent benefits to the rural economy. [see "AWIS guide 1", Abolition of Cruel Sports, early attempts.]
The "sport" of hunting of otters with packs of hounds was ended by Parliament. Otters are now making a comeback and it is likely that interest in the species, access to see them through the likes of designated trails, and rural centres purpose built for the well-being of the species has just as great, if not more, input into the rural economy as the persecution of otters by otterhunting ever did.
One key question concerns the paying for permission to ride over farm land. I am not aware of any pack that hunts the live quarry that currently does so. When I was learning to ride we were able to hack out over farmers fields because the riding stable had paid (with some of our fees) for permission to do so. If I want to take my children to Carrow Road to watch Norwich City play football on a Saturday afternoon I have to pay to sit on a seat. If, as an alternative sport, I choose to sit on a saddle and ride over farmers fields in pursuit of the humane quarry is it not extraordinary that I don’t have to pay the farmers for riding over their land. With a bit of enthusiasm and the creation of rural rides to simulate the old-fashioned and cruel animal hunting, and jumps to cater for all abilities, humane hunting could be developed into a real earner in the countryside.
At the time of the debates can you imagine how the concept of shooting clay pigeons as an alternative to the live variety was derided? But look at how clay pigeon shooting has boomed. There is no reason why the pursuit of the humane scent should not do likewise.
AGRICULTURE AND PEST CONTROL
When considering the impact of foxhunting on agriculture several factors have to be taken into account. These are:- The degree to which the fox population has been raised by hunting activities in the area (artificial earths, feeding etc.). The numbers of foxes killed by the hunts. The extent to which those foxes killed could have had an impact on real agricultural pests. The damage caused to farming interests by the hunting activities ( this includes damage to crops and farm hardware such as gates and the disturbance of stock)
As previously stated I have met very few hunters whose prime motive for going out on the day was to kill the quarry. The only people who are are the terriermen who delight in digging out fox and mink and those others whose main aim is to be in at the catch-up of the hunted deer.
Such people could conceivably claim an interest in the control of a "pest" but for the majority, hunting and coursing, is done for the fun of the chase.
However for all associated with hunting, because they have to justify to their consciences the cruelty they know to be inherent in their pastime and because they have to justify the damage to the land they ride over and the inconvenience to those who live and endeavour to work in the area whilst they indulge their pastime they raise the spectre of "pest control".
Foxhunting is a game that should not be confused with fox control. Foxhunters are keen to side-track the hunting debate into the cul-de-sac of "How would you control foxes without hunting?" This is meaningless as hunting does not control foxes. Where farmers perceive a need to control foxes they do so using a variety of means other than hunting with dogs. The majority of these methods involve considerably less cruelty.
Since foxhunting began foxhunters have endeavoured to protect and encourage foxes. They view them as mere toys that can provide amusement by running before their hounds. Many hunts build artificial earths (underground homes) for foxes to breed in. Some put out food (such as dead lambs and chickens) and water for foxes. In England the Thurlow hunt has at least 31 artificial earths. One of the largest artificial earths I know of lies in the area of the Blencathra foxhounds in the English Lake District a prime area for sheep rearing. Poorly designed artificial earths are known to increase the incidence of mange in foxes.
Livestock losses are all too easily blamed on the fox whereas the true culprits are commonly simple inadequate husbandry, or dogs. By predating on real pests such as rabbits, rats and voles the fox is beneficial to most forms of farming. As with all predators the fox population is naturally self-regulating with territory size dependant on food supply. Vulnerable livestock, such as free range hens, need to be protected (not only from foxes) by adequate fencing. Foxes that scavenge already dead lambs should not be blamed for killing those lambs.
I believe that where it is necessary to cull the red deer population it can be done humanely by techniques of using contraceptive implants such as are practised in America. The Exmoor deer population is currently imbalanced with an excess of hinds this needs to be addressed in a considerably more humane and professional way than simply chasing after them with a pack of dogs where the fine old mature stags are far easier to catch than the hinds. In most of the UK deer are controlled by shooting which is more humane than hunting with dogs. I have seen the red deer on Exmoor on a myriad number of occasions and in my experience the opportunities for safe shots far outweigh those occasions when to take a shot might imperil the safety of other users of the moor.
The best way to control mink is in the first instance to stop breeding them en masse in fur farms. Secondly preventing the hounds from spreading them up and down our waterways would help. Thirdly the return of the otter would help. The otter is a predator that occupies a similar niche to the mink and does compete with the mink where they live in proximity. However as the otter is considerably larger than the mink it dominates in any direct conflict.
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE
It would be hard to overestimate the offence that is caused to people by the sight of wildlife being tormented with packs of dogs.
Walking in the countryside is one of the most popular of all hobbies. The attractions of the countryside are the flora and the fauna. Most people delight in catching a glimpse of a wild animal and the notion that the same creature should later be tormented and perhaps killed simply to provide amusement they find offensive.
It is by no means unusual for changes to the rules to occur within sport or for legal changes to be imposed from outside in order to make such activities more attractive, more acceptable to the public or simply safer. When I was a youngster I delighted in standing in the crowds to watch football matches. That pleasure has been denied to my children, save at the smaller Park games.
Cricket was changed to cater for the limited over games. There are constant changes imposed on boxing right from when gloves were first used, through reductions in the number of rounds in any fight, to the modern requirements for headguards in amateur boxing and stringent health checks in all forms.
Doubtless all such changes, whatever the sport, were opposed by purist factions from within. But the changes have been imposed and the sports have survived.
Where the "sport" involves by necessity the tormenting of animals that are after all unwilling participants in the game it is obvious that there would be public pressure from within the UK for change. The fundamental change required is the removal of the unwilling animal from the game. The culture of hunting opposes this but should their pastime be any more sacrosanct than the other genuine sports that have accepted changes?
People living in or visiting the countryside who have direct experience of the inconvenience and damage caused by the hunting of live quarry find the experience intensely annoying. They are not in the habit of parking their vehicles to delay others, they do not run their dogs over other peoples land, and they do not harass and chase pets or livestock with their dogs. So they do not appreciate such behaviour being inflicted on them.
Time and again the hunting of live quarry with dogs appears exempted from the normal laws that govern the rest of us. How often have we seen signs "Dogs to be kept on a lead"only for the hunt to ride by with 50 or more dogs roaming off the lead? Consider those unfortunate enough to have to try and negotiate a footpath on a wet winters day after the hunt have ridden over it? The hunting brigade are keen to demand over and over "Listen to us!" but they themselves appear singularly deaf to the wishes of others who live in and use the countryside. Time and again we hear the hunting brigade demand their freedoms, their rights, but they do little to afford such privileges to others.
In my experience the ability to hunt live quarry with hounds is of great importance to a very small number of people. Those who have the time to do it are usually fanatical about it. When I was infiltrating hunts undercover in the west country it was possible with a little planning and the willingness to drive considerable distances, to follow hounds six days a week. Many of the people I encountered regarded their hunting as the most important aspect of their lives, more important than anything, more important even than sex. For such people though what was important was that the hounds should run and they should be able to follow. What was actually hunted was of considerable less importance. It might be deer one day, fox the next, then mink, then hare. And if the hounds were actually rioting after rabbits it was no real problem. In my opinion for such people for their hounds to face the challenge of hunting a man laying the scent with cunning could and should be the ultimate challenge.
Our wildlife and countryside would be better off without the hounding of wildlife to death simply for fun, which is bullying of the worst kind. Teaching youngsters to use and abuse living creatures in this fashion sets a terrible example. Increasing evidence from around the world shows that there are real links between the abuse of animals and the abuse of humans, in particular of children.
It is sometimes claimed that animal hunting plays a key role for the farming community in the collection of "fallen livestock". Quite why this should be dependent on the hounds in question being used to hunt live quarry is unclear. Draghounds can be fed on fallen livestock and whilst it is claimed that current draghunting requires fewer hounds that would not be the case with the kind of refined draghunting designed to more closely simulate animal hunting that we envisage.
MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE
It is important to establish the clear separation that exists between the subject of this inquiry, the hunting of wildlife with dogs and hare coursing, and game shooting. In my experience the evidence is minimal that habitat is either preserved or planted anew in order to facilitate the hunting of wildlife with dogs.
The preservation and protection of our countryside is greatly needed but as a means of doing so hunting with dogs is an irrelevance. Some years ago hunting interests themselves conducted a survey asking landowners two questions. Why they protected existing woodlands and why they planted new woodlands. Given nine choices, "beauty in the landscape" was ranked most important and "fox covert" was ranked least important in each category.
I would ask the committee to consider two aspects about the fox. Firstly how long has the species existed on this planet? Secondly, over what massive area of the globe does the species range? To pretend that within a tiny fraction of its range (the UK) and after a tiny period of time in evolutionary terms (foxhunting in its current form has taken place in the UK for about 250 years) the fox is now dependent on hunting for its survival is clearly nonsense.
In the light of the widespread usage of artificial earths by hunts and the widespread feeding of foxes by hunt supporters the likelihood is that within the UK the fox population is unnaturally high, thanks to the hunting influence. In crude terms the hunts put more foxes into the countryside than they take out. But if, as is often the case, these are weak and mangy foxes that are dependent on the hand of man for their survival this is hardly for the benefit of the species.
There is evidence that in some areas foxhunting is being viewed in much the same light as pheasant shooting. Fox numbers are raised and then some are killed to provide amusement.
In the absence of this hunting influence, with the consequent demise of the artificial earth and fox feeding culture there is no doubt that the fox population would drop. We would have fewer foxes but if they were wild and more healthy it would clearly be to the benefit of the species.
I have met few farmers who are dependent on their local hunt for the control of foxes. Farmers always have shot foxes they regard as troublesome. They currently, even in regularly hunted areas, shoot foxes and they doubtless will continue to do so for as long as such shooting remains lawful.
The one question that we do have to tackle is the threat from the hunting fraternity. that if their fun is taken away our fun they will personally retaliate against the very species that conservationists seek to protect. How should we deal with this:-
Precedent.
The hunting fraternity advanced the same arguments when moves were afoot in Parliament to put an end to their otter hunting. The line was that only otter hunters protect otters and if you take away their sport then all hands will be turned against the species. Such a backlash may have happened on a small scale locally (but I am aware of no evidence for it) but what is beyond doubt is that the otter has survived and indeed is making a good comeback.
In the face of looming handgun legislation after the outrage at Dunblane the sporting media confidently predicted that the banning of handguns would be unenforceable as few would comply. They were wrong! The evidence is that the handing in of guns to the police has been very good. In other words whilst out of bravado people may claim that they will break the law if deprived of their fun the evidence is that they do not.
Legally.
Many of the ways usually suggested for a backlash against the quarry are illegal (for instance the gassing and poisoning of foxes). Hunting folk who, whatever the claims to the contrary, are often townsfolk on excursion into the countryside may try and exert retribution on their former quarry but it is the landowners and farmers in the area who will carry the legal consequences for such behaviour so I doubt they will tolerate it.
ANIMAL WELFARE
The cruelty that is inflicted on those animals that are caught is obvious and has been demonstrated on film.
I would ask the Inquiry to consider two further aspects. Firstly what happens to the animals that survive. We know from the Bateson report the severe stress that is imposed on the deer in the course of a hunt. What about those that survive. What is the impact on fox, hare, and mink that survive being hunted? Hunting literature, which in the main pre-dates the hunting of mink, indicates that for fox and hare the deleterious impact on those that survive can be considerable.
One animal welfare aspect concerns what will happen to the hounds and horses when the hunting fraternity are forced to switch to the pursuit of the humane quarry? The evidence of precedent is that all hounds currently hunting live quarry could be retrained to hunt an artificial scent incapable of suffering. Otterhounds were retrained to hunt mink. Minkhunts and draghunts already utilise many retrained foxhounds.
It has been claimed by some that when the hunting of live quarry is ended the horses that are currently used for it will be taken out and shot. I have spent many a year talking at length to people who ride to hounds and I would be astonished if more that a mere handful were truly of a mind to carry out this threat. The horses would clearly be used to follow the humane scent or in some other similar cross-country pursuit. Or they would be sold to someone of a mind to do so.
I am pleased to enclose the following supplementary evidence:-
Appendix that details the various different hunts that I have observed to gain my hunting experience. This does not detail the number of times I have been out with the same hunt which in some cases was a considerable number.
Copy of my book "Outfoxed" that was published in 1983.
Copy of my "A.W.I.S. Guide 1" that is a compilation of quotes, mainly but not entirely from the hunting media, that are relevant to this issue.
Copy of my literature review "The Persecution of Red deer on and around Exmoor and the Quantocks".
Copy of my literature review "Fun on the Fells" that details foxhunting in the Lakeland fells.
I am happy for any of the evidence contained in this submission to be made available.
Mike Huskisson
On behalf of the Animal Welfare Information Service
February 2000
HUNTS OBSERVED BY MIKE HUSKISSON
Foxhounds (England & Wales)
Ashford Valley
Banwen Miners
Duke of Beaufort’s
Belvoir (Duke of Rutland’s)
Berkeley (Earl of)
Old Berkshire
Bicester with Whaddon Chase
Blackmore and Sparkford Vale
Blankney
Border
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire Forest
Chiddingfold Leconfield and Cowdray
North Cotswold
Cottesmore
Croome and West Warwickshire
Mid Devon
South Dorset
Dulverton (West)
Eggesford
Enfield Chace
Essex
East Essex
Essex Farmers and Union
Essex and Suffolk
Fernie
Fitzwilliam (Milton)
Gelligaer
Hampshire "HH"
Heythrop
Isle of Wight
East Kent
West Kent
North Ledbury
Mendip Farmers
Monmouthshire
New Forest
West Norfolk
Oakley
Pembrokeshire
Pytchley
Quorn
Royal Artillery
North Shropshire
South Shropshire
West Somerset
Southdown and Eridge
Suffolk
Old Surrey and Burstow
Surrey Union
Tetcott
South Tetcott
Thurlow
Ullswater
Vale of Aylesbury
VWH
Warwickshire
Worcestershire
[58 packs in total]
County Galway ("The Blazers")
Kilkenny
Ormond
Waterford
Westmeath
[5 packs in total]
Harriers (England)
Cambridgeshire
Dunston
Easton
Waveney
[4 packs in total]
Beagles (England)
North Bucks
Christ Church And Farley Hill
Dummer
South Herts
New Forest
Pevensey Marsh
Stour Valley
Surrey And North Sussex
Trinity Foot
Warwickshire
Wye College
Wyre Forest
[12 packs in total]
Leadon Vale
[1 pack in total]
Minkhounds (England & Wales)
Border Counties Mink Hounds
Culmstock Hunt
Devon & Cornwall Mink Hunt
Fourshires Mink Hounds
Kent And Sussex Mink Hounds
Northamptonshire Mink Hounds
Three Counties Mink Hounds
[7 packs in total]
Staghounds (England)
Devon and Somerset
Quantock
Tiverton
[3 packs in total]
Staghounds (Ireland)
Ward Union
[1 pack in total]
Disbanded packs
Essex Union Foxhounds
Puckeridge & Thurlow
Southdown Foxhounds
Whaddon Chase Foxhounds
Bucks and Courtenay Tracy Otterhounds
Border Counties Otterhounds
Crowhurst Otterhounds
Eastern Counties Otterhounds
New Forest Buckhounds
[9 packs in total]
Hare Coursing Clubs (United Kingdom)
East of England
Isle of Ely
Kimberley & Wymondham
South of England and Newmarket
Swaffham
Yeovil & Sherborne
Waterloo Cup
[7 clubs in total]
Castletowngeoghegan
Clonmel and District (Open)
County Cavan & District
Irish Cup (Clounanna)
National Meeting (Clonmel)
Trim
[6 clubs in total]
TOTALS
94 Different hound packs in the
UK
6 Different hound packs in the Republic of Ireland
7 Different coursing clubs in the UK
6 Different coursing clubs in the Republic of Ireland
Mike Huskisson
February 2000
FUN ON THE FELLS
In the Patterdale area of the Lake District in the 18th century the bailiff kept dogs for the control of "vermin". For this service he levied a charge on the tenants. When he refused to keep the dogs church funds were used to pay a bounty for the killing of "vermin". Through the 19th century the native Lakeland "greyhound" fox rapidly declined in numbers. Ironically as the fox population declined so the popularity of hunting the creature rose. Sporting interests began to offer bounties. In 1875 one notable Nimrodian gave 10s for every fox killed in his parish.
Faced with increasing scarcity of Lakeland foxes the hunting enthusiasts began to import the southern species into the district. The native Lakeland fox became extinct some time soon after 1916. From then on Fell foxhunting became a revered "sport" for which a thriving fox population was essential. Several measures were put in hand to help the introduced fox population boom. Sheep carrion was left scattered over the fellsides as food. Artificial earths were constructed to encourage foxes to breed. One of the largest artificial earth complexes that exists anywhere in the UK was created in Blencathra hunt country round about 1960. Means of killing foxes other than by use of hounds were frowned upon.
The Lakeland fox population has also risen rapidly commensurate with the rise in sheep numbers on the Fells. The natural carrion resulting from a high sheep population is more than enough to feed the fox population without the latter having to resort to killing lambs.
Fell foxhunting is now a "sport" that imposes a cruel and wholly unnecessary burden on the fox population. It poses a threat to sheep farming interests directly through attack by hounds and indirectly by the spread of disease. It causes inconvenience and danger to others who use the Fells for work or leisure. It should be replaced by the humane alternative of hound trailing which for many years existed side by side with the hunting of the fox.
INTRODUCTION.
For those who delight in the spectacle of setting one species of animal on another, fox hunting as practised in the Fells appears to offer much in the way of amusement. That Fell foxhunting is an amusement, a "sport" just as any other hunting there is no doubt. On February 20th 1987, in the TV programme "Face the Public", Chris Ogilvie, huntsman of the Coniston Foxhounds was asked about his foxhunting activities. He stated "I don't hunt foxes to control them and neither does any hunting person...." At this the programmes host interjected with a series of short questions.
Host : "So what do you hunt them for?"
Chris Ogilvie : "We hunt them for sport."
Host : ".....for enjoyment?"
Chris Ogilvie : "Yes."
Host : "For pleasure?"
Chris Ogilvie : "Yes......for pleasure."
(HOWL 36 [The magazine of the Hunt Saboteurs Association], Summer 1987, page 13)
The emphasis on Fell foxhunting being a "sport" is frequently found in the literature. Waddy Wadsworth in "Vive La Chasse" (1989) tells us "The scenery is magnificent, foxes are plentiful, the sport is good, and the company, most entertaining." (VLC page 51). Clearly the abundance of foxes and the quality of the sport is something to be noted as on the following page Waddy reminds his readers : "Foxes are plentiful and sport is usually first class." (VLC page 52). Waddy estimates the support for the six Fell packs at some 10,000. It is only in comparatively recent times that the fox has become plentiful in the Lake District. Skelton in his "Reminiscences of Joe Bowman" published in 1921 quotes an earlier author Clarke writing about the Lakes in the 18th century : "Foxes we have not many, owing to the pains the shepherds take to destroy them." (RJB page 39).
It appears that the native Lakeland fox, a large silver grey, 'greyhound' type was exterminated in the early years of this century by bloodsports enthusiasts. Skelton alludes to this in the following report : "February, 1916, produced a 20lb. fox of silver grey at Nethermost Pike, a species nearly extinct nowadays." (RJB page 77) The old native species was replaced by introductions from the lowlands.
Some of the locals soon saw that killing foxes need not only be a task, it could be pleasurable as well.
EARLY FOX CONTROL MEASURES.
In the 18th century there was the custom known as "Forester's Corn" by which the bailiff kept dogs for the hunting and destroying of foxes and other "vermin" in the Patterdale neighbourhood and for this he received 40 quarts of oats from every tenement.
After a while the bailiff refused to keep the dogs any longer whereupon the tenants refused to pay the corn. The agent for the Lord of the Manor tried to collect the corn. Some tenants paid up but others refused on the grounds that the corn was merely hire paid to the bailiff for the destruction of "vermin". With no dogs being kept the "vermin" allegedly multiplied as did reports of lamb-worrying. Two solutions to the problem were put forward at a vestry meeting. The first was to take legal action to force the lord to keep the dogs he was supposed to, the second to raise money to hire a man to destroy the "vermin". Before this was accomplished the churchwarden paid out of his funds a bounty on the head of dead "vermin" at the following rates:
For killing a fox : 10 groats
For killing a fox's cub : 3 groats
For killing an eagle : 3 groats
For killing a martern : 3 groats
For killing a wild cat : 2 groats
For killing a raven : 1 groat
In some parishes the sum for killing a fox was a noble or 20 groats.
The parishioners also procured the swiftest foxhounds and hired "skilful sportsmen" with guns "and every other engine of destruction". Skelton details the outcome : "Whitsun-week, 1759, was fixed for the attack, and within the first week 12 foxes were destroyed. The campaign yielded 15 foxes, seven badgers, 12 wild cats, nine marts (clean marts), and a prodigious number of foul marts, eagles, ravens, gleads, etc." (RJB page 109).
Parochial records show that the payment from church funds for the slaughter of foxes and other animals viewed as pests continued for many years. In Joe Bowmans' early days it amounted to 5s. for every fox head, 2s 6d. for a mart and so on. The sums varied from district to district. Two years after the formation of the Ullswater pack, in the spring of 1875, Skelton refers to the Ullswater hounds being located at Mr Thos. Parker's, Stang End, "a thoroughly liberal Nimrodian who gave 10s for every fox killed in the parish." (RJB page 19) 10 shillings in 1875 was an enormous sum of money.
Clearly such a bounty scheme was open to abuse in several ways. The importation of foxes could produce money as well as "sport" and the procuring of a live fox at the end of a hunt was well worthwhile. As Skelton tells his readers : "Joe remembers how on one occasion when a fox was caught in Riggindale, one of the hunters proposed, "Let's tak it wick across t'beck we'll git anudther hoaf-croon for it." This was agreed to and the fox was taken "wick" over the beck into Mardale parish and killed behind the "Dun Bull." The extra half-crown was paid, and the occurrence celebrated in the usual convivial way. This payment of "blood money" led to the old custom of "drinking the fox's head." (RJB page 108)
Not surprisingly the sequence by which the Lord of the Manor gave up keeping dogs and thereby obliged the tenants to make their own arrangements could be interpreted by some historians as benevolence on the part of the Lord. JNP Watson in his autobiography "Blue & Scarlet" published in 1990 quotes Hutchinson writing on the inhabitants of Loweswater in his "History of Cumberland" published in 1794 : "The people live in harmony and they express contentment. The peasantry have one enjoyment here, which is prohibited to most men of their class. Through the liberality of their lords a hound is kept in nearly every house. Two or three qualified inhabitants take licence to kill game and command the pack. As soon as harvest is in, an honest cobbler shifts his garb and becomes huntsman, and every second or third morning collects the dogs and calls the sportsmen to the field; the cottagers climb the mountainside where they can view the chase, and without much exertion enjoy the pleasure of the hunt; after which they retire with cheerful minds and invigorated constitutions to their peaceful homes." (BS page 158)
These circumstances led to the formation of the trencher-fed packs that were the forerunners of the present packs. (A trencher-fed pack is not looked after as a pack, rather the hounds are looked after by individuals and only collected together as a pack on hunting days.) With a bounty to be had and "sport" to be had it was hardly surprising that the pastime proved popular.
At the turn of this century there were five packs of foxhounds operating in the Lake District. The Mellbrake, Blencathra, Eskdale, Ullswater and the Coniston.
Foxes have become increasingly plentiful in the Lake District over the last 120 years or so. This perhaps reflects changes in the local farming practices and the increasing institutionalisation of foxhunting as a pastime. In terms of numbers of active supporters the hunts have decreased in popularity but the perception of them as a local 'sport' has taken hold. Richard Clapham writing in the Fox-hunting volume of the Lonsdale Library (1930) comments "In the old days eight or nine brace of foxes was about the total for the season's hunting, whereas now thirty brace is nearer the mark. Foxes were few and far between and, when found, ran much farther than most of them do now. They were bigger and greyer specimens too." (LL page 275)
NUMBERS AND QUALITY OF LAKELAND FOXES.
Some ten years earlier Richard Clapham had noted the demise of the traditional Lakeland fox as a result of importations of lowland foxes by hunting enthusiasts. In his book "Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells" published in 1920 he lamented : "In John Peel's time the fell country fox was a distinct variety. Long in the leg, with a grizzle-grey jacket covering a wiry frame, the appellation "greyhound" fitted him exactly. As such he was then known, and the extraordinary long runs which he often provided fully upheld his reputation as a traveller. In habits, too, he was different from the present-day representatives of the vulpine race. Wild and shy, he avoided the haunts of men, and was seldom found lying up anywhere near human habitations. He and his kind were few in number, compared with the ample stock today, and in consequence each individual fox travelled a wider beat, and knew more country. It, therefore, naturally followed that hounds often ran fast and far when piloted by one of these old fashioned "greyhound" customers.
By degrees, owing to the importation of foxes for restocking certain districts adjoining the fells, the true hill fox became infused with this new blood. The new-comers were a smaller and redder variety, and although to-day hounds often account for foxes with greyish jackets, the supply as a whole differs little in appearance from the foxes which are brought to hand in the shires." (FLF pages 23-24)
Four years later in "Sport on Fell, Beck, & Tarn" (1924) Richard Clapham restated his views over the apparent deterioration in the quality of the Lakeland fox. "In the old days there were some very big foxes on the fells, but now the breed has somewhat deteriorated owing to an admixture of outside blood, introduced by foxes imported to countries bordering the fells." (SFBT page 24) Unfortunately in neither book does he expound on just who "imported" these foxes or why.
The importation of foxes by hunting enthusiasts brought with it the introduction of disease. A point noted by Richard Clapham in his 1920 publication : "That dread scourge, mange, seldom makes its appearance on the fells, and was unheard of until the importation of foxes from outside introduced it. There is no more horrid sight than a badly manged fox, hairless, and foul with disease." (FLF page 37)
That there might have been a need to import foxes for sport is evidence by some of the reports in "Baily's Hunting Directory" at the turn of the century. In the review of the previous season contained in the volume for 1902-1903 the Coniston Hunt laments (page 5) "Foxes are scarce in places." In their description of their country later in the volume (page 64) we learn that "The Coniston have for neighbours : on the North the Blencathra; on the West the Eskdale; and on the East the Ullswater. On the South the country is not hunted, and there is no boundary to the Coniston on that side. The hounds used to hunt a long way down and have only ceased to do so owing to the dearth of foxes." By the time of the Coniston entry in "Baily's Hunting Directory" for 1909-1910 the "dearth of foxes" must have been rectified. It is no longer referred to and instead we learn that for the Coniston (page 48) "on the S. the country is hunted as far as Kendal and Cartmel Fell."
As well as importing foxes the native animals could also be encouraged to thrive by the creation of nice cosy artificial earths. This practice, whilst very common amongst lowland hunts (supporters of the Thurlow foxhounds operating near Newmarket have created at least 31 artificial earths), is not so well documented in the Fells. However there is evidence that artificial earths are used in the Fells. In fact one of the largest believed to exist in the UK is located in Blencathra hunt country at Millbeck, not far from the hunt kennels. This is the quaintly named "Porter's Parlour". Hounds magazine for November 1993 in an article "Spring Hunting In The Cumbrian Fells" reported a Wednesday meet for the Blencathra from Lonsdale Crag in the course of which a fox was marked to ground in "Porter's Parlour". The author then elaborates:
"Now I would have attempted the short climb to where they were digging, but a very interesting Mr John Gregg came and spoke to me and told me the history of "Porters Parlour". It is the largest man-made borran ever known, built about 30 years ago by Ronnie Porter."
League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) investigators visited this site in the autumn of 1996 and again in the spring of 1997. Much of the artificial earth complex has been wrecked by forestry operations but enough remains to provide a veritable safe haven for foxes. Located in a hillside overlooking a small stream the maze of tunnels and chambers extends over an area of some 150 yards by 50yards. There are tunnels carefully constructed using the stones from fallen walls. There are glazed pipes and brick-built chambers. An immense amount of time and money must have been consumed in creating this breeding facility for foxes. It is strange that it should have been created in Blencathra Hunt country as there never appears to have been a shortage of foxes in the locality. The same volumes of "Baily's Hunting Directory" in which the Coniston complain of a "dearth of foxes" have the Blencathra reporting (page 49) "Foxes are wild and numerous."
There is no doubt that artificial earths are built to raise the fox population. The late Duke of Beaufort was clear about this in his book "Fox-hunting" published in 1980 : "In countries where earths are scarce it is sometimes found necessary to make artificial earths, to provide somewhere for local foxes to have their cubs : in other words for breeding purposes." (FH page 141)
There is also some evidence in the literature of foxes also being reared for release by hunting enthusiasts. Richard Clapham in "Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells" (1920) described an encounter with seven foxes : "I once spent several days watching and photographing seven young foxes~six dogs and a vixen~which were being reared to maturity in a kennel." (FLF page 40) After describing the behaviour of these young foxes he adds : "As these cubs were to be eventually turned down, they were in no way petted, and never became really tame. The wilder they are before being given their liberty the better, from a hunting point of view." (FLF pages 41-42) The practice of rearing foxes cannot have been uncommon for the Lakeland hunting enthusiast. Richard Clapham on the same page as above elaborates : "I once paid a visit to four well-grown cubs in a roomy dog kennel, which was divided down the centre by iron railings. The lower half of this partition was covered with wire netting, and the cubs when at play used to fly up the wire and squeeze themselves through the bars above. They would repeat the exercise again and again, appearing to thoroughly enjoy it." (FLF pages 42-43)
NUMBERS OF FOXES KILLED BY HUNTS.
It is clear from hunting records that the Fell packs killed few foxes during the last century, more at the beginning of this century, hit a peak in the 1920s and have maintained similar levels to the present day. In his book "Sport on Fell, Beck and Tarn" Richard Clapham gives his source of information regarding the annual fox tallies "Joe Bowman, the famous huntsman of the Ullswater, has often told the writer that when he first began to carry the horn with that pack in the 'seventies, seven brace of foxes was considered a good total for the season. Times have changed since then, however, for last season (1922-23) the Ullswater accounted for forty brace, thus establishing a record." (SFBT page 25) The reference to the "'seventies" is of course to the 1870's.
Joe Bowmans biggest bag appears to have been the 1903 season when he killed 118 foxes, including 48 cubs. This was regarded as such an extraordinary figure that it provoked a local Kendal journalist, a keen sportsman himself, to suggest in the county paper that he must have been importing foxes from Germany! (RJB page 90)
In the "Review of the Fox-hunting Season" in "Baily's Hunting Directory 1902-1903" the Coniston reported (page 5) hunting 41 days from which they "Found 26 foxes, killed 10, holed 6, and 1 banked in dangerous crag." In the volume of "Baily's" for the following year the Blencathra reported (page 2) killing 67 foxes. The hunt author added (page 3) "It has been the worst season the Hon. Secretary has known for foxes stealing and killing lambs in Wythburn, Borrowdale, Newlands and several other parts of our hunting country. Foxes are very plentiful. A mangy fox has never been seen in this district, except one, and no doubt it had come from the south."
Whilst the Blencathra were killing 67 foxes that season their neighbours the Coniston were having a tough time of it. They hunted on 37 days and reported (page 6) "Killed perhaps half a dozen foxes; the end of some runs doubtful. A bad scenting season, with very few decent days. Foxes were difficult to find, but scent being so bad some may have been missed. No mange so far as is known. The worst season ever known."
In the seasons review in the following year ("Baily’s Hunting Directory 1904-1905") the Blencathra hunted 92 days and killed 82 foxes (page 2). It was described as a good scenting season with foxes "moderately plentiful" and "no mange". For their neighbours the Coniston that season was totally different. "Hounds were able to hunt on very few days as storms on high fells were almost continuous. Hunting was stopped about two days out of three by gales, frost or fog. Very few foxes were killed; the end of many runs was uncertain.......Foxes are plentiful in some parts of the country; in others scarce. Mange has lately made its appearance here. The mangy foxes seen did not look like foxes bred in this country. The worst season the Master can recollect. The hardship on the fells was no trifle, and very few people cared to go out with hounds." (Baily’s 1904-1905 page6)
A year later in the season reviewed in "Baily's Hunting Directory 1905-1906" the Blencathra killed 65 "full grown foxes" (page 2) and were still able to report "Foxes are plentiful." The Coniston though were still dogged by a shortage of quarry. "The supply of foxes is rather short. Mange has not been heard of this year." (page 5)
By 1920 Richard Clapham in "Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells" was attributing an annual tally of between 30 and 50 foxes per pack which could be exceeded such as the 1918-19 season when the Ullswater killed 70 foxes (FLF page 76). By the time of a review of the 1926-1927 season published in "The Hunting Diary 1927-28" little had changed for the Blencathra from 1905. They killed 62 foxes and marked 10 to ground. However for the Coniston there had been a dramatic change. "Both sport and scent were very good, and it was one of the best seasons in the history of the hunt, which was established 102 years ago. To the concluding day, May 12, hounds had killed 25 brace of foxes [i.e. 50 foxes]. The best run was had on March 21 from Easdale, in Grasmere, to Wasdale head, lasting seven hours and covering the roughest country in the Lake District, including Bowfell, Scawfell and Great Gable, and killing in Wastwater Lake at 8p.m." (pages 157-158)
SHEEP KILLED BY HOUNDS.
This is the unspoken topic amongst foxhunting enthusiasts in the Lake District but there are references to it in the literature. In his classic work published in 1920 Richard Clapham writes : "There is one temptation to which fell hounds are more liable to fall than low-country hounds, i.e. sheep worrying. It may be a wild, windy day, and hounds are on a catchy scent, and eager to be pushing on. No one is near them, and perhaps a young hound happens to view a solitary Herdwick sheep scurrying off. He gives chase, pulls down the sheep, and his example may be followed by several others. When this happens the huntsman is reluctantly forced to put down the culprits, no matter how short of hounds he may be at the time.
Although, luckily, such a contretemps as the above seldom happens, it is always liable to happen with certain young hounds. Death is the only cure for a hound which takes a liking to mutton on the hoof, for he can never be thoroughly trusted afterwards." (FLF pages 59-60)
Skelton refers to sheep killing by the Ullswater pack : "In 1908 there was almost an epidemic of sheep-worrying amongst hounds. How it started is not known, but the Ullswater hounds were smitten like the rest. There was nothing for it but to pocket sentiment, deal out the most drastic treatment, and destroy the guilty (and, which is often but too true, some of the innocent). One of the quietist hounds amongst sheep that ever ranged a mountain breast, Towler, a worthy descendant of Old Towler and almost as clever, was embroiled in the excitement, and was one of the ill-fated nine to pay the extreme penalty for indiscretion." (RJB page 101)
OTHER HARM TO SHEEP BY HOUNDS.
Hounds also harm sheep by spreading disease. Hounds are fed on uncooked meat and offal from farm casualties ingest Taenia Hydatigena tape-worms and then defecate the tape-worm eggs back onto pasture while out hunting. Sheep and lambs in particular ingest the eggs while grazing and become infected with the tape-worm which damages the animals' livers and causes cysts.
Investigations by veterinarians published in the Veterinary Record have revealed that in one single abattoir, lambs' livers were so badly damaged by tape-worms that the majority were rejected for human consumption~representing in that single abattoir an annual loss of £25,000 at 1984 prices.
Another investigation published in the Veterinary Record, May 24th 1986, concluded:
"Taenia Hydatigena causes very high rates of liver condemnation and it is probable that, nationally, it is now the major cause of lesions and losses in lambs' livers."
The Meat and Livestock Commission, quoted in Hansard March 3rd 1992, page 187, states: "About a fifth of lambs slaughtered in Great Britain are infected with cysts. This loss is caused solely by tape-worms in dogs and is avoidable......"
........"Never feed raw meat, offal or sheep heads; feed only cooked meat.....Working dogs and hounds are the main reservoir of dog tapeworms affecting sheep; foxes and pet dogs much less so."
FUN IN THE OLD DAYS.
It is clear from the literature that Fell hunting in the old days was an occasion for riotous fun. Skelton recounts how Joe Bowman has promised to do his best to procure a live fox as a pet for a supporter. Following an Easter Monday meet at Howtown the hounds drove their fox to earth in Swarthfell. After considerable working the fox was drawn alive and Joe acquired a sack for it. Sadly when the fox was dropped in it escaped through a hole in the bottom! The hounds were released again and the fox killed some 50 minutes later on Swarthfell. (RJB page 118) Skelton goes on to recount an earlier illuminating incident:
"In Abe Pattinson's days a similar joke was played at Howtown~this time against the huntsman. A fox had been so desperately run that he took refuge in a stick heap and was secured alive by J. Waugh and Atty Grisdale, who took it to Howtown Hotel. Several of the hounds had been kennelled and the huntsman was returning home with the remainder. Prompted by that spirit of devilment which reigns eternal in the hunter's breast, the two natives liberated their "bagged" fox at the back door of the hotel, and he immediately stole off in the direction of Steel End. Someone, however, acquainted Abe with what had occurred and he immediately cast off the remaining hounds afresh, and before the lapse of half-an-hour they had run reynard down. Shortly before being run down the fox turned and pluckily faced the leading hound with bared fangs but found the odds too great." (RJB pages 118-119) Abe Pattinson was the huntsman for the Ullswater from the creation of the pack in 1873 to 1879.
References in the hunting literature make it clear that hunting foxes with hounds, far from being an integral necessity to sheep farming is in fact a bit of social frivolity tacked on to it. "Dalesman" put it in its true context in his contribution "Sporting Life In A Cumberland Dale" included in "The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes JULY-DEC 1911" : "Sheep farming is, of course, the staple industry of the dales, and in connection therewith are various sports and junkettings. In the autumn there are shepherds’ meets at various specified centres where sheep which have strayed from different districts are returned to their owners. This business being transacted there comes pleasure. A fox hunt and a dance are usually the great social functions of a shepherds’ meet." (BMSP 1911 page 490)
FELL HUNTS AND THE BOLTING OF FOXES.
Hunted foxes often elude the hounds at the end by seeking sanctuary underground. How they are then treated casts an interesting light on the local perception as to whether they are really pests. They could simply be left alone. They could be killed underground by "hard" terriers. They could be bolted to be killed by bolting them into nets, bolting to be shot, or bolting followed by immediate release of the pack (i.e. giving the fleeing fox no "law".) Finally they could be bolted to be hunted in which the fox is given a degree of "law", i.e. a headstart.
For the lowland packs where the quality of the sport is the prime consideration it is the usual practice to give a bolted fox a fair amount of "law". What about the fell packs where the chief consideration is claimed to be pest control?
Skelton mentions an incident at one of the early Ullswater hunts under Mr Marshall's Mastership, probably in the autumn of 1910, when the pack split and marked two foxes to ground in a borran in Grey Crag. "Terriers were sent in, each fox was drawn in succession, given the usual law, and rolled over in the open~both big dog foxes." (RJB page 67) Later during the First World War at a time when Joe Bowman resumed as huntsman, probably in 1917, Skelton refers to a meet of this pack in the Longsleddale valley at which over 300 were present. The hounds drove their fox to ground in Little Buckbarrow Crag. "He refused to bolt and was drawn by that keen sportsman, Billy Dawson, given the usual law, and run into in the open." (RJB page 80).
In recent years the whole question of terrier work has come under close scrutiny. The Masters of Fox Hounds Association in belated recognition that terrier work is the most unsavoury and despised aspect of fox hunting and more than four decades after a Government enquiry recommended the abolition of ‘bolting foxes for further hunting’, now claims that its Codes of Practice forbid such bolting. The hunting lobby also claims that these days, terriers entered into the refuge of a hunted fox, do not actually attack the fox, but merely ‘bay’ at it so that the hunt’s terrier-men can determine where to dig for the fox.
However, Fell packs come under the supervision of the Central Committee of Fell Packs and not the MFHA, and the use of ‘hard’ terriers to battle with foxes which have escaped underground from the hounds, and to bolt foxes for further hunting, are still the normal practice. Hence the following account by journalist Adam Nicolson of an incident after a fox had been hunted into a rocky refuge by the Blencathra Fox Hounds (Sunday Telegraph magazine, 17th August 1997)
"From above ground we could hear terrible fighting below us. The screaming of dog and fox was only partly muffled by the layers of earth and rock that separated us from it. The noise moved for about ten minutes around different parts of the earth and then went quiet. The huntsman, the whipper-in and the followers stood listening in silence as a lark rose from the moorland grasses round us.
Then the huntsman said, "All right, that’s us then," and headed back downhill. It was just before nine in the morning. "But what about your dog?" I said to the terrier man as we walked down. "Oh," he said, "that’s all right. It’ll either be dead and the fox will be eating it, or the fox’ll be dead and she’ll be eating the fox. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be back home in a couple of days, once she’s slept the whole thing off."
A LACS investigator who infiltrated Cumbria hunts for several seasons as a follower, reported in 1997:
"If a fox is found above ground, it will almost always head for some underground refuge which, contrary to those in lowland areas, is unlikely to be stopped (blocked-up to prevent foxes entering). The eager terrier-men then move in to evict the fox so that it can be chased again. Despite the claims that fell packs are there solely to kill foxes, the use of the humane killer to kill the fox immediately is an extreme rarity. On one occasion I saw a fox bolted five times before being killed by hounds, even though when the fox was first encountered it was clearly visible and in easy reach just a few inches below ground."
This report of repeated bolting to extend the ‘sport’ is supported by accounts submitted to local newspapers by the hunters themselves. ‘Trimbush’, writing in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, 7th January 1996, reported on the activities of his hunt, the Ullswater Fox Hounds:
"The hounds marked a fox in by the sheep pens. Bolted, it ran the fields to cross the road at the pencil mill bridge, then ran by Leeming Farm to mark to ground at Horrockwood Farm.
After being bolted, it ran around the farm to go in again. Bolted a third time, it headed over the road to Leeming House Hotel, then ran the fields to the Outward Bound Centre where hounds checked.
They righted themselves to hunt back over the road and circle Gowbarrow Hall. They then crossed on to the Knotts and ran down to Knotts Farm to mark in a drain.
Bolted, the fox managed to gain a minute at the fence and just got to ground again in front of the hounds at Horrockwood Farm. He was accounted for late in the afternoon."
THE ULLSWATER FOXHOUNDS.
The Ullswater Foxhounds hunt an area in the centre and north of the Lake District. They date back to 1873 when the Baldhow and Patterdale hounds united to form a new pack with kennels at Patterdale Hall. Lord Lonsdale, the 'Yellow Earl' was at the head of the list of subscribers to the new hunt. The Ullswater are regarded as being a typical fell pack. Their early successes at killing foxes are a matter of historical record. The following figures are taken from "Reminiscences of Joe Bowman" by W.C. Skelton published in 1921.
In the third season (1875-76) 35 foxes were killed and seven marked to ground.
In 1876-77 36 foxes were killed.
The following season 1877-78 the assistant secretary reported that only 17 foxes were killed. He explained this as follows : "The reason, he says, why these hounds have not enjoyed their usual killing sport this season was attributable to a combination of evils : "Misty, catchy, and bad-scenting days, a greater proportion of wintry and dangerous hunting weather in the high ranges of their country, a larger number of foxes after capital runs getting into strongholds whence ejection was impossible; but by far the greatest misfortune is the unscrupulous and, it is feared uncontrolled raid by gamekeepers and trappers on the vulpine race. Would that the golden maxim 'live and let live' might reign more conspicuously in the minds of this sporting country, and that the noble taste for the hounds and the horn could in a fuller degree be engrafted in the hearts of the rising generation!" (RJB pages 23-24)
In 1878-79 19 foxes were killed, one less than the number of hounds killed! These hounds were lost "by falling over precipices, killed on the railway, lost in old coal pits, and accidentally drowned." (RJB page 27)
In the 1880-81 season 29 foxes were killed. (RJB page 32)
THE ULLSWATER FOXHOUNDS IN 1994.
Dennis Barrow, the Ullswater huntsman in 1994, had been huntsman since 1971. He has now been dismissed following a dispute that involved extraordinary allegations of misbehaviour and misconduct. In 1994 the hunt had "22 couple of fell hounds" i.e. 44 dogs. The hunt meets at least three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, usually starting at 9.30a.m. and frequently continuing until darkness. The day length varies according to time of year but it is fair to assume an average of 7 hours hunting per day i.e. 21 hours a week.
How successful are they? How cruel are they? What fun do they give to those that follow them? To try and provide some answers I took a close look at the reported activities of the hunt during 1994. This encompasses parts of two hunting seasons, the second part of the 1993-94 season and the first part of the 1994-95 season.
I analysed the reports of meets published by the hunters themselves in the media. 1994 commenced on New Year's day with what their columnist "Larkspur" regarded as a "remarkable days hunting". From the meet at the Traveller's Rest Inn at Glenridding it wasn't long before one fox was found then another and another. The pack split into at least three separate units each of which killed their fox. Yet "Larkspur" tells us that "the best hunt of this busy day was yet to come." In this, two foxes were hunted but both escaped when darkness intervened. "After a truly hectic day's hunting with the pack hard at work all day, Dennis collected up the hounds and was only two short."
One of the Wednesday meets early in January ran into difficulties with snow in the Kentmere Valley. Dennis decided to hunt from the appropriately named Seldom Seen, Glencoyne. Hounds set off after one fox but lost it. Another fox was pursued and killed. A third hunt set off on a gruelling chase but disappeared into the unknown. "Larkspur" tells us: "Dennis called them back but at least ten hounds were still out as darkness closed in. Some were reported at Knott Houses and most returned to the kennels that night with the final result of the hunt unknown." This current disdain for missing hounds contrasts sharply with the responsibility that was displayed in earlier years. Richard Clapham in his classic 1920 work states : "Even he [the huntsman] gets tired at times, but if it is humanly possible he will get all his hounds back to kennels before dark, or, at any rate, the same night." (FLF page 87)
On Feb 4th "Larkspur" tells us of a meet at Moor End, Troutbeck. From this "the hounds were taken to try the big Rooking Plantations which, as usual, were full of foxes." The hunting scribe complains that the foxes made it difficult for the hounds "as usually they run around in circles." For whatever reason, although at least three separate hunts developed no foxes were killed that day.
February 1994 appears to have been a bad month for the Hunt. Although two foxes were killed from the meet at Rookin Farm, Hutton John at least two or three more escaped. Then two planned meets at Hilton and Longsleddale had to be abandoned due to the weather.
From the meet on Saturday February 19th at Middale Farm, Longsleddale "Larkspur" boasts of "By far the best hunt of the season." The hounds set off after what was "probably a visiting dog fox". They pursued him hither and thither and a lot of hounds separated from the pack. Did they catch him? Who knows? "Larkspur" reports: "Dennis and whipper-in Graham Bland had a major job collecting up and neither returned home until late in the evening. Some hounds remained outside all night."........"Where the hounds actually finished or whether they had caught their fox, nobody could really say."
In fact more is known about what happened that day than can be gleaned from "Larkspur's" account. LACS investigators were following those hounds that very day! "Larkspur" reports "a tremendous turnout of followers greeted Dennis at Longsleddale." LACS investigators, perhaps used to the turnout at lowland hunts where the riding is popular and the riders have their friends along in cars, reported that the crowd was small. Still, "Larkspur" was right to call them "followers" rather than "supporters". The LACS monitors found a noticeable divergence of opinion about the activities of the hunt between the elderly followers who seemed to lap it all up and the young lads with their terriers and lurchers out from the cities who seemed more intent on monitoring the CB radio transmissions from the hunt staff in the hope of picking up on any foxes that the formal pack left unhunted.
(It is worthy of mention that hare-coursing clubs are wary these days of strangers not so much because they fear them to be antibloodsport activists but more because they fear them to be lurcher lads who will return to the fields after the Club has gone home and lamp the remaining hares.)
These young lurcher/terrier lads had nothing but contempt for the old guard hunters and openly voiced their opinions. With their combination of terriers and lurchers they probably kill far more foxes than the formal hunt ever does.
The idea of the hunt as the LACS investigators saw it seemed to be to let the hounds go and then send observers to the highest points ahead, armed with CB radios, and have them report on what was happening. The role of the hunt staff appeared to be to coordinate the radio transmissions and cadge lifts from the supporters in order to keep in vague contact with their hounds. This was radio controlled hunting!
Late in the afternoon was observed a truly curious sight on the margins of Haweswater reservoir. One of the hunt staff clutching his CB radio and binoculars was doing his best to control his hounds that were faint specks in the mist on the far side of the reservoir.
On April 9th "Larkspur" recounts yet more antics by his beloved pack. One fox escaped when it was inadvertently headed by a large party of fell walkers. Hounds returned and were in sight of their kennels when another fox popped up. The ensuing hunt was labelled as "dramatic". Fox and dogs disappeared into really thick fog "and the followers could only listen to the hounds". "Larkspur" is graphic: "It was quite a dramatic finish as 24 hounds got stuck in terrible weather conditions. Despite all the efforts of Dennis and whipper-in Graham Bland they were left all night. They were quite safe as long as they did not try to move. Dennis and Graham finished at 8.30 p.m. and the mountain rescue team and others got them safely down the following day." The new 1994-95 season started off in much the same way. At the end of October "Larkspur" reports the meet at Hilton from which two foxes escaped. Then there was the Wednesday meet at Walloway Farm from whence the hounds were taken to the notorious Rooking Plantations that are regarded as being "full of foxes". After drawing there earlier in the year 3 foxes escaped the dogs. The canine side fared little better this time with the vulpines winning the contest two nil.
If the meet reports are characterised by anything it is the haphazard nature of the whole affair. The theme of fun is ever present and the social side of the meets is often mentioned. "Larkspur" tells us: "Mr and Mrs Taylforth gave hunters splendid hospitality...................Mr Edmondson and his family made sure that a pretty good turnout had ample refreshment............On Monday, followers of the Ullswater pack gathered at Home Farm, Patterdale, where they were warmed by drinks provided by Mike Beatty."
Fell hunts make much of the "lambing calls" service that they provide but it seems that these provide a convenient excuse to extend their foxhunting season at a time when most of the lowland hunts have been forced to end theirs by the state of the crops. Many foxhunters take pride in killing a "May fox" and such enthusiasts also delight in an annual pilgrimage to enjoy Fell foxhunting in the late Spring. Analysis of the supporter list for the Blencathra Foxhounds shows that many of those who give money to support the hunt live outside Cumbria.
Talk of "lambing calls" and the need for hunters to aid the farming community sit ill when considered in the light of the admitted behaviour of the fell hunters during their main season. Consider the sheep farmers living near the Rooking Plantations. By the hunt's own admission they hunted five foxes there yet lost the lot! That the local sheep farmers continue to tolerate such incompetence suggests that those same farmers know full well that foxes pose no real threat to their livestock.
Even the hunters sometimes forget that they are supposed to claim that they are always determined to catch foxes. "Larkspur" in his report of November 21 1992 vividly describes what he regarded to be "the greatest hunt seen this season." The hunt ended with the fox escaping to which our hunting scribe commented "Nobody could begrudge this good fox saving his brush."
Analysis of our sample of 1994 meet reports shows the following results. 22 meets were reported on. Of these 3 were abandoned due to adverse weather. From the 19 remaining there were 19 kills claimed, at least 21 foxes escaped and in no fewer than three cases the outcome was unknown. Hounds were missing on at least four occasions and the Mountain Rescue team was called out once!
"Larkspur's'" reports over the years make it clear that his hunt are well aware of the dangers posed by road traffic. On Dec 19th 1992 he refers to two hunt supporters seeing hounds safely over "the deadly A591" and less than a month later on Jan 9th 1993 he refers to "the deadly A66". The threat that exists affects both the hounds and the motorists who would swerve to avoid them.
RISING SHEEP POPULATION.
The sheep population on the Fells has rocketed during the course of this century. The Annual June Agricultural and Horticultural Census gives the sheep and lamb populations of the old Westmorland and Cumberland in 1904 as 928,195. By 1974 the similar census for the new county of Cumbria was 1,564,224 and by 1994 the figure had risen to 2,677,013 nearly three times as many! Interestingly there was comparatively little change in the sheep population between 1904 and 1954 (when the figure was 1,128,125). It has only been in the last 40 odd years that the greatest changes have occurred.
The rising sheep population produces an increased food availability for foxes in the form of carrion. This is the result of natural sheep mortality, mortality due to neglect and poor husbandry, mortality due to accidents such as on the roads, and then the carrion available from the mere presence of the sheep such as afterbirths. Availability of food is one of the prime factors governing the fox population density. We can expect the fox population to rise commensurate with the rise in the sheep population.
The rise in fox population in the Lake District by importation by hunt supporters is likely to be of small influence on the fox population compared to the effects caused by the appalling standard of sheep husbandry. The Guardian (30/9/82) reported that as many as two million lambs die unnecessarily in Britain each year. This figure was accepted by the farming industry, by the Government and by the professions involved in animal care. Clearly if the food supply for foxes rises in the form of lambs, killed not by predators but by neglect and incompetence, lying scattered about the fells then the fox population will also rise.
The MAFF reported in 1995 that sheep producers in the UK lose up to four million lambs every year. Most of these losses occur in the period from just before lambing up to a week of age. Of these the loss due to "predators and misadventure" is put at just 5%.
A booming sheep population provides food for foxes in ways other than simply the afterbirths and those lambs that drop down dead due to neglect. In "Natural History of the Lake District" edited by Canon Hervey and J. Barnes and published in 1970 it was noted : "Today the heavy population of hill sheep provides another, indirect, bonus for the Foxes. During late summer that large, succulent, sluggish beetle Geotrupes is plentiful everywhere, flourishing upon the sheep-droppings and providing almost the entire diet of the newly independent young foxes, who otherwise might well starve before attaining full hunting efficiency." (NHLD page 183)
A HAPPY HUNTING-GROUND IN THE FELLS.
So what is fell hunting all about? Many years ago Richard Clapham was shrewdly accurate when he wrote in "Sport on Fell, Beck & Tarn" (1924) "In these days of the "new poor" there are many men who by force of circumstances have been obliged to give up riding to hounds and content themselves with turning out on foot. To such people Lakeland should prove a happy hunting-ground, for the fells are well stocked with foxes, and five more killing packs of hounds cannot be found in England." (SFBT page 25)
Fell hunting is about fun first and "pest control" second. Hunt statistics show that for the Ullswater Foxhounds the annual kill of foxes has risen from about 14 in the 1870's to 80 in 1922-23. It then rose to 99 in 1993. Clearly it is with some justification that the fell hunters proudly claim that their area is "well stocked with foxes".
Why has the fox population in the fells increased so dramatically in recent years? Importation of foxes into the countries bordering the fells such as Richard Clapham reported back in 1924 doubtless has something to do with it. Foxes may even have been imported into the fells themselves. Then there is the construction of artificial earths to consider. However the importing and/or encouraging of foxes is likely to have a small influence on the overall fox population compared to the effects caused by an appalling standard of sheep husbandry. If the food supply for foxes rises in the form of lambs, killed not by predators but by bad husbandry, lying scattered about the fells then the fox population will also rise.
In the face of this man-made rise in the fox population hunting with hounds contributes little in terms of reduction. Michael Clayton in "A Hunting We Will Go" (1967) admitted that the Lake District packs killed no more than 10% of the estimated 5,000 foxes at large in the area at the time. Doubtless there are even more foxes about now.
Fell hunting does not control Lakeland foxes. The fox population can withstand an annual loss rate in the order of 70% plus without significant reduction (Bristol University "Fox Hunt Killing Figures" 1985-86). For the Fell packs to be effective they would need to kill more than 3,500 foxes annually, not the 500 as suggested is their annual tally by Michael Clayton.
ALTERNATIVE HOUND SPORTS.
In most of the UK the practical humane alternative to hunting wildlife with dogs is the pursuit of the artificial scent such as with draghounds or bloodhounds. Such a mounted pastime is not possible in most of the Lake District. There is however a humane houndsport that currently exists that might be expanded to cater for those whose delight is to watch hounds running about the Fells.
This is hound trailing. It has existed for some considerable time. "Dalesman" highlighted its humane nature in his chapter "Sporting Life In A Cumberland Dale" published in "The Badminton Magazine" : "Hound Trailing is rising rapidly in the social scale now that such men as Lord Lonsdale have taken it up; and indeed, fairly conducted, it is excellent sport entirely without the taint of cruelty." (BMSP 1911 page 492)
CONCLUSION.
Canon Hervey and J. Barnes in their book "Natural History of the Lake District" published 27 years ago hit the nail on the head regarding Lakeland foxhunting. "Orthodox hunting, carried out on foot in the Lake District, is a picturesque and ineffectual method of control. Behind the scenes no mercy is shown, sheep-farmers until recently using the gin-trap and poison throughout the year. The former is now illegal, but strychnine is still readily procurable ‘for poisoning Moles’. Gassing with 'Cymag' (freely available for Rabbit eradication) is another favourite method. Nevertheless the Fox remains omnipresent, man going to great expense and trouble to skim the surplus and keep the survivors fit and cunning............ In Lakeland his evil reputation depends to some extent upon the coincidence of lambing-time with his growing family needs. Even so, much of the damning rubbish around the earth represents still-born carrion. Ultimately, in sheep-farming areas, the solution might be the release of marked sterilised males, each of which could be expected to pair with a normal vixen and monopolise a large territory for many years, within which no breeding and therefore no increased spring predation would occur." (NHLD pages 182-183)
Mike Huskisson
February 2000
Bibliography:
Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes JULY-DEC 1911 Vol 33 E. Hulton & Co., Ltd 1911
Beaufort, The Duke of : "Fox-Hunting." David & Charles. 1980
Clapham, Richard : "Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells." Longmans, Green and Co. 1920
Clapham, Richard et al : "Fox-Hunting." Vol. VII The Lonsdale Library. Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd. 1930
Clapham, Richard : "Sport on Fell, Beck, & Tarn." Heath Cranton Ltd. 1924
Clayton, Michael : "A Hunting We Will Go." Pelham Books 1967
Hervey, Canon G.A.K. & J.A.G. Barnes : Natural History of the Lake District. Frederick Warne & Co Ltd. 1970
Skelton, W.C., : "Reminiscences of Joe Bowman and the Ullswater Foxhounds" 1921
Wadsworth, Waddy et al : "Vive La Chasse." Dickson Price 1989
Watson, J.N.P. : "Blue & Scarlet An Autobiography" The Sportsmans Press 1990
THE PERSECUTION OF RED DEER ON AND AROUND EXMOOR AND THE QUANTOCKS.
A Review of the Literature.
Now any review of the literature under the above topic is potentially enormous. It is also potentially enormously boring if it amounts to no more than a list of the Masters of the hunt, the notable meets and the notable runs of the deer. That would be boring if done over just one season, let alone 200 seasons!
Accordingly I have decided to break it up into sections. Essentially the review is an account of the persecution of red deer in this area by man. As such we need to look at the two sides in this "conflict", the red deer and those who hunt them.
Red Deer.
According to H.N. Southern in The Handbook of British Mammals published in 1964 the Red Deer Cervus elaphus has a range covering the Palearctic Region as far as Manchuria and reaching into Oriental Region along the southern slopes of the Himalayas. (HNS page 411) Noel Allen in Exmoor's Wild Red Deer (1990) puts the weight of an adult Exmoor stag at 300lbs and a hind at "seldom weighing over 200lbs" (NA page 5). Southern gave the weight of an English woodland stag at up to 420lbs (HNS page 412) Evered writing in 1902 in Staghunting with the Devon and Somerset reported a stag killed by the Tiverton Staghounds at Chain Bridge in the autumn of 1897 as weighing "when cleaned and dry, no less than 333lbs." (PE page 281)
Southern describes the red deer as "Normally beasts of forest, especially of forest margin." (HNS page 413)
The time of the rut is variable with Southern bracketing it between early September and mid-October. The hinds are fertile when three years old and bear their first calf the following year. (HNS page 413) The gestation period is eight months so the calves are usually born around the end of May to early June, though some have been born as late as October. (HNS page 416) Fortescue reported the killing of two heavily pregnant hinds during staghunting in August and September (despite efforts being made to save the deer) (HJF page 108) The calves are suckled for eight to ten months and remain with their mothers until the second Autumn. (HNS page 416)
There is obviously great potential for red deer to come into conflict with man. According to Southern the Forestry Commission suggest that one per 120 acres is the limit above which serious damage can occur. (HNS page 416)
Devon & Somerset history.
The history of hunting deer in these two counties can really be divided into five main phases. Phase one was the period up to 1825 when the hunters effectively hunted whatever suitable deer they could find on and around Exmoor.
Phase two was the period from 1825 to 1855 when the hunt was in conflict with the local landowners and as a consequence was a turbulent time with frequent changes of Mastership. Many deer were killed not by the hounds but were shot for food or profit. The wild red deer of the region were effectively exterminated in this period.
Phase three was the period 1855 to 1871 the first part of the Bisset Mastership in which stability returned to the management of the pack the conflict with the landowners was largely resolved and strenuous steps were taken to reinstate and enlarge the deer herd. Deer were released into the area, captured alive by the hounds and moved, particularly to colonise the Quantocks for sport.
Phase four was the period from 1871 to 1914. In this time the deer population boomed. The emphasis in hunting changed from one of preserving the deer as objects for sport to one of killing sufficient numbers to prevent the farming community becoming too irate.
Phase five was the period from 1914 to the present day. During this time questions arose as to whether the deer herd instead of being played with for sport should be managed humanely and effectively for the benefit of the deer and for the benefit of the local agricultural community. There was a rise in opposition to the cruelty of staghunting. With the formation of the League Against Cruel Sports in 1924 the hunters were forced ever more to justify their actions.
Phase one. Up to 1825.
Where the Devon and Somerset staghounds are concerned Baily's Hunting Directory lists the first Master as being Colonel Bisset from 1775 to 1784 though at this time they were known as the North Devon Staghounds (HB page 90). Deer had however been hunted locally for a considerable time prior to that. One of the earliest records I found of hunting deer with dogs in either of the counties comes from The History of Hunting by Patrick Chalmers published in 1936. Recounting the hunting exploits of Alfred the Great we learn that "In 878 we find Alfred (he is now a young man of thirty, and a proved soldier as well as a sportsman) hunting with certain officers and vassals in the forests of Somersetshire. But all we know of that woodland day is that the hunted stag escaped the hounds for a truly original reason: "The Sun becoming totally in eclipse between nones and vespers but nearer to nones," the deer "disproved the dogs." (PC page 99) Cecil Aldin writing in Exmoor, The Riding Playground Of England published in 1935 tells us that stag-hunting specifically over Exmoor is one of our oldest hunting institutions and that "the first recorded Master of Staghounds was a gentleman of the name of D'Auberville, who lived in the time of William the Conqueror." (CA page 65)
According to Macdermot in The Devon and Somerset Staghounds written in 1936 "regular hunting on Exmoor dates from 1508, when King Henry VII granted to Sir Edmund Carew of Mohun's Ottery, Devon, a lease of the forest for his life with licence for him "and all other our lieges by his authority freely to hunt and course the deer with hounds, greyhounds, bows and arrows." (ETM page 13)
In Queen Elizabeth I's reign Exmoor was hunted as a Royal Forest. Mind you the Royal forest was a strange place as it had no trees and held no deer. (ETM page 31) The Royal Forest status lasted until 1818 when the lease of the forest ran out, and an Act of Parliament was passed, enabling the Crown to sell. The property was then purchased by a Mr John Knight. (WSD page 45). Charles Palk Collyns in his Chase of the Wild Red Deer first published in 1862 reported that the earliest record he found of a pack of staghounds in Exmoor was 1598.
In 1803 the North Devon Staghounds became a subscription pack. The early and middle part of the 19th century proved a turbulent time for the hunt. In 1825, seven years after the forest was sold, the last of the true staghounds left England when the pack, about 30 couples of hounds, (CPC p14) was sold out of the country. They ended up in the kennel of a German baron. Why were the hounds sold? Palk Collyns is veiled about the reasons: "from untoward circumstances, and in consequence of dissatisfaction felt by the subscribers and landowners at the mode of conducting the hunting, arising from causes which it is not necessary to enter into now, the hunting was for a time discontinued." (page 13) Later in his book he enlarges slightly more : "But circumstances (to which I have already referred generally) had occurred shortly before the sale of the pack which had given great dissatisfaction to the proprietors of coverts, and patrons of the sport, and feelings of lukewarmness and apathy were engendered, which well-nigh proved destructive to the cause of stag-hunting altogether." (page 90) Lord Porchester in a letter to Charles Palk Collyns dated March 10th 1826 referred to "the differences that have unhappily prevailed among the sportsmen of Devonshire." (CPC page 91) Even a century after these events William Scarth-Dixon in his booklet Devon and Somerset Staghounds is no more forthcoming. He says only that "Both landowners and subscribers were very much dissatisfied at the manner in which the hunting was carried on." (WSD page 40) He is at a loss to explain why the eminent subscribers to the hunt at the time, including Lord Porchester, Sir T.D. Acland, Sir A. Chichester and E.P. Bastard Esq. could find no other solution other than to stop hunting altogether. Writing soon after the first world war he was particularly aggrieved that the hounds ended up with a German Baron : "When one thinks of those gallant hounds in a German forest, one cannot but say, "Oh! the pity of it!" (WSD pages 41-42) They talk about the loss of their gallant hounds, the last of the true staghounds, but just how true were they. We learn from Macdermot that in 1800, under the Mastership of Colonel Bassett "The pack was reinforced this spring by some large foxhounds from different kennels." (ETM page 39) Then when he handed over the pack to Lord Fortescue in August 1802 only 6½ couple were passed on, the rest being sold or given away. (ETM page 41) All sorts of drafts were brought in and by 1812 Lord Fortescue named only 8, i.e. 4 couple, in his kennel as pure bred staghounds.
Phase two. 1825 to 1855.
Two years after the hounds were sold, in 1827, Sir Arthur Chichester formed a new pack made up of large drafts from different kennels of fox-hounds and hunted the area until 1833 after which the hunt country remained unhunted for 4 years. As to why Sir Arthur Chichester gave up Charles Palk Collyns only says : "from some cause or another the worthy baronet gave up the hounds". (page 90)
In 1837 Mr Palk Collyns reorganised the hunt taking in drafts of hounds from various sources including six couples from Her Majesty's stag-hounds. He christened his pack the Devon and Somerset Staghounds. (ETM page 18) He kept it going until 1841 when funds failed. From 1842 to 1847 Lord Portsmouth, the Hon. Newton Fellowes, kept the hunt going. Charles Palk Collyns says that many good runs were had during that period but he was also critical : "the omission to observe the good old rule of 'tufting' for the deer, and a practice of drawing coverts with the whole pack, occasioned the death of many an 'unwarrantable' stag, as well as deer out of season, and caused considerable dissatisfaction among the landed proprietors who countenanced the ancient sport, and lent their aid to the preservation of the deer." (pages 94-95) Various gentlemen then took over the management of the hunt. In the autumn of 1849 Mr Theobald brought his own pack, used to hunting deer in the Cheltenham country, to Exmoor. He only stayed two months and killed three deer. (ETM page 18)
Phase three. 1855 to 1871.
Stability returned with the Mastership of Mr F. Bisset, commencing in 1855. He was a shooting man from Berkshire who according to Macdermot "knew nothing of staghunting" (ETM page 18) He controlled the hunt for 26 years a time during which considerable efforts were made to increase the stock of deer. Alfred Vowles in Stag-hunting on Exmoor (1920) tells us : "The deer during this time increased rapidly and were preserved with zealous care, while all the poachers were brought to bay or hounded out in dire disgrace never to return." (AV page 10)
Phase four. 1871 to 1914.
Bisset continued until 1881 when in failing health he resigned the Mastership. Near the end of his tenure disaster befell the hunt when in January 1879 there was an outbreak of rabies and the whole pack had to be destroyed. More about that later. (WSD page 50). Bisset was succeeded by Lord Ebrington a pupil of the Rev. Jack Russell and a member of the Fortescue family. He retired in 1887 and was succeeded by Mr Basset. (WSD page 50) He was followed by Colonel Hornby in 1893 who kept the Mastership until 1895. His successor Mr Sanders, who reigned until 1907 faced with complaints over the rapidly rising deer population increased the number of hunting days from three to four each week. (PE page 32). His place was taken by Mr Stanley who came from the Quantocks. He lasted a couple of years as did his successor Captain Adkins. (ETM page 22) He was followed by Major Grieg who was Master from 1912 to 1914 when he went off to war. He was killed landing in Gallipoli in October 1915. (ETM page 22)
Phase five. 1914 to present day.
Hunting was carried on during the first two years of the war by a Committee and then for the last two by a Mr Badco who seems to have been simply passing by and thought it a good idea to Master a pack of staghounds. (ETM page 22) He was succeeded by Colonel Wiggin who remained in position until 1935. The Hancocks and Abbotts then took over and kept the hunt going through the second world war. There then follows a whole assortment of different individual, Committees and the like until we end up with the present incumbents.
History of Exmoor Forest since 1818.
In 1818 the major part of the old Exmoor Forest was an empty wilderness with but one house, a small farm and just five people living therein. (HB page 135) John Knight from Worcestershire purchased this so-called 'King's Allotment', totalling 10,262 acres (HB page 116), for £50,000 in August 1818. He then bought out those neighbours who had acquired large slices of the old forest as awards in lieu of ancient rights. He bought Sir Charles Bampfylde's south western allotment of 1,880 acres. He paid Sir Thomas Acland 5,555 guineas for his north eastern allotment of 3,200 acres. He also bought the manor of Brendon that carried with it Sir Arthur Chichester's allotment and he bought several other smaller allotments as well. By 1820 he had acquired some 15,500 acres, nearly three-quarters of the whole area of the original forest. (HB page 119).
The Exmoor Forest is but a tiny part of the present day Exmoor National Park. The latter covers 265 square miles or 165,000 acres, two-thirds in Somerset and the rest in Devon. (NA page 13)
Hunt kennels.
In the late 1700's under Sir Thomas Acland the pack was kennelled at Highercombe. (HB page 92) The hounds were kennelled at Castle Hill from 1812 to 1818. (HJF page 4). The hunt kennels up to 1861 were at Jury close to Dulverton. The pack was then moved into the Rhyll Kennels, four miles west of Dulverton. (CPC page 70) In 1876 the Master at the time, Mr Bisset erected the kennels at Exford and presented them to the Committee. (AV page 10). Alfred Vowles writing in 1920 referred to two packs being kennelled at Exford "one of big hounds and the other of smaller--each taking it in turn to hunt." (AV page 13)
What is hunted and when.
The hounds hunt stags or hinds according to the different times of the year. The stag, or warrantable deer, is a male deer in his fifth year. (WSD page 18) Charles Palk Collyns noted that in his day "The period for stag-hunting commences on the 12th of August, and ends the 8th of October;" (page 63) He recommended that after the 8th October "the hounds should be kennelled for a fortnight or three weeks while the hinds are engaged with the stag," He then envisaged a division of the hind-hunting season with a break after Christmas to protect the hounds from water-hunting in the cold weather. When recommenced hind-hunting then continued until the 10th of May. He recommended that in the autumn hunting a barren hind be selected. He also considered allowing the hounds to hunt one or two hinds about the end of July to sharpen the pack up. He had no doubt that "the eagerness of the pack will be materially increased by giving them blood." (page 64)
The one-armed Mr C.H. Basset who took on the Mastership in 1887 introduced the practice of hunting stags in the spring. (ETM page 19) Clearly the duration of autumn staghunting was also being extended. Evered in 1902 refers to Friday October 25th 1893 as being the last day of the "legitimate season". Even so they hunted on the next day, the Saturday, and killed a "magnificent deer". (PE page 146) By the time of W. Scarth-Dixon writing in Devon and Somerset Staghounds 1925-26 the seasons had changed again. Staghunting still commenced about August 12th but then ended "about the middle of October". Hind-hunting then began at the beginning of November and went on until the first week in March. Spring staghunting started the last week of March and went on "for about three weeks." (WSD page 16) Scarth-Dixion was scathing about the previous practice of hunting hinds well into May : "this was very objectionable as the hinds were very heavy in calf before the season closed." (WSD page 16) Alfred Vowles writing just previous to William Scarth-Dixon referred to hindhunting extending from the beginning of November to the middle of March. He also referred to : "Bye meets, stag-hunting, July (to train puppies)" and allocated 2 weeks for this practice. (AV page 12).
In the 1932-33 season the Quantock staghounds commenced on August 2nd and the DSSH on August 3rd, though the latter had been out several times from July 22nd. (CS Sept 1932 page 76) Nowadays big stags of five-years-old and older are hunted from the middle of August until the end of October. There is then a break of about a fortnight in early November after which hinds are hunted until the end of February. Young stags of about three-years-old are hunted from early March until the end of April. (Vive La Chasse pages 100-101).
The question of when hinds have their calves has caused some interest to hunting folk for many years now. Charles Palk Collyns in the Chase of the Wild Red Deer first published in 1862 reported two incidents of hinds ready to give birth in September. "The second instance occurred in September 1853, when Captain West was hunting the country. He had tufted a long time at Culbone, the seat of Lord Lovelace, but had not been successful in finding an old stag, which was known to frequent those coverts, when a hind broke, and the field being impatient for a gallop, urged the master to lay on the hounds. It was objected by some who had viewed the hind that she appeared big with calf, but the idea was scouted, as being contrary to all probability. The hounds were laid on, and after a fast burst to Oare, Badgeworthy, Brendon Common, Farleigh and Watersmeet, near Lynmouth, the hind was killed, and was found to have a fine male calf in her." (page 46) Clearly the hunt were used to hunting hinds that were heavily pregnant. Palk Collyns refers to an enormous leap taken by a hind to try and escape the pack. She failed but clearly amazed the hunters with her effort : "What makes it more extraordinary is, that on being paunched, a calf was taken from her almost able to stand." (CPC page 155) Sometimes the hinds were hunted with their calves. On August 18th 1819 the hunt met at Porlock and we learn : "In Berry Castle they found a hind and calf, and as the hounds wanted blood, the pack was laid on under Buckethole." The hind ended up taking to sea and before the hunt could arrange a boat "a sloop going up Channel saw her, and put out a boat, caught her, and carried her away." (CPC page 200). What happened to the calf is unreported.
Suffering of the deer.
The deer could suffer in several ways at the hands of the hunters. They could be attacked by the hounds before being killed by the hunt in a variety of ways. They could die from their exertions, particularly at sea, they could become exhausted and the herd structure could be disrupted. Perhaps the most dramatic disruption for individual deer was the separation of the hinds from their calves.
Attacked by the hounds :
This could obviously happen on many occasions when the deer were subsequently killed by other agencies. Fortescue details a particularly gruesome incident that occurred in the season of 1885. "a stag turned to bay in the doorway of an outhouse and no doubt thought himself unassailable, but the hounds went straight at him and pulled him out like terriers drawing a badger-- a thing quite unprecedented, and not it is hoped to be repeated." (HJF page 162) There was abundant evidence that the hounds attacked the deer if they could. Evered recounts the death of "a real forest king" from the meet on Monday August 27th 1894. The end came under Honacott. "A lemon-coloured hound called Sovereign seized this stag by the flank, and never released his hold though carried for some distance through the air." (PE page 158) Modern hunters deny that their hounds ever touch the deer but the earlier authors were more truthful. Evered recounts the end of a hunt : "now his course was run, hounds rapidly overhauled him, and in the home pasture of Winstitchen Farm they fairly bowled him over in the open.." (PE page 175)
Fortescue had referred to deer being "rolled over" almost as if they were foxes. He tells us "There are instances of both stags and hinds being rolled over in the open, and it sometimes happens that a good number in some seasons are killed on dry land; but while a hind, being defenceless, is sometimes killed before she can reach the nearest water, a stag can generally fight his way down to it." (HJF pages 157-158)
Archibald Hamilton in The Red Deer of Exmoor published in 1907 detailed the end of a hind hunt from a day at Brendon Two Gates on February 28th 1903 : "she dashed down the hill with the pack at her haunches into Dunster town, where she was pulled down right against the gates of Dunster Castle at 3.5p.m. (AH page 117)
How were the deer killed.
How were the deer killed? They have been killed by the hounds, knifed to death or shot by the hunters or killed by hangers-on, they could be drowned or killed by falls over cliffs. They may also have died as a result of capture myopathy this is the condition whereby forced exercise has been known to cause wild animals to exhibit certain manifestations that result in paralysis and death. (J. sth. Afr. Wildl. Mgmt. Ass. 1974. 4 (1) 25-28)
Killed by the hounds :
The Appendix at the back of Charles Palk Collyns's book details some interesting incidents. On September 20th 1780 from a meet at Bratton the stag ended up : "in view over Woodburrow and Furzehill Common ; here, on leaping over the ditch wall, one of the hounds seized him by the hock, and was dragged over the field ; the pack soon pulled him down, and he was killed after a very fine chase." (CPC pages 167-168) One wonders whether the deer was killed by hound or human hand. That they could be killed by hound was shown by an incident mentioned by Palk Collyns that occurred on April 27th 1789 : "before reaching Alderman's Burrow, a dense fog came on, the hounds were lost and two days after the head and part of the carcase of a fine old stag was discovered on Exmoor, evidently killed and eaten by the hounds." (CPC pages 171-172) A similar fate befell a hind on May 4th that year : "The meet was Porlock; the hind at once faced the open country, and such was the pace over Exmoor, that no horse could live with the hounds ; the consequence was, that before any of the sportsmen could catch them, they had killed and eaten their deer." (CPC page 172)
In the Appendix to his book Fortescue reports the end of a hind hunt from Doone Valley on November 15th 1884 "Fresh found their hind, ran her on to Tennerleigh, pointing for Westland Pound, but turned to the left near Whitefield allotment, and again to the left over Wollhangar, killing her in the dark in Farley Water, high up in the combe. Not a soul with them." (HJF page 271) One can but guess how death came to her.
Knifed to death :
Fortescue describes the end of the hunt : "Occasionally a stag is lassoed, and so taken, but as a rule some one or two men go up to him in the water when his attention is distracted by the hounds and take him literally with finger and thumb........The stag must of course be approached from behind, as it would be certain death to attack him in front. His horns must be seized when his head is laid back and jammed down on to his shoulders. He is then powerless, and may be dragged ashore if there be men enough for the work, or thrown and stabbed to the heart there and then. The strength in a stag's neck is enormous, and a very old stag has been seen to hurl two strong men who handled him injudiciously, far in front of him. It is rare for men to be hurt by a stag, though two men were roughly handled by a very savage one in 1883." (HJF pages 159-160)
Writing in 1902 Evered had referred to the use of the huntsman's knife. (PE page 145) The same author writes of the end of the hunt : "The workmen on certain farms have exceptional opportunities of assisting at the taking of deer, and inasmuch as a pair of wet legs is always handsomely rewarded, there is no little enthusiasm displayed when the hunted animal comes to his final stand still. While the chase is in full swing, one is often met with the anxious enquiry "Is he nearly run up!" and if the reply be in the affirmative tools are cast hastily aside and hobnailed boots go pounding down the waterside track to the accompaniment of much hard breathing and many a hoarse ejaculation. Then, when the weir pool is being lashed into foam, and the hounds are plunging in on all sides to the assistance of their luckier and more adventurous kennel mates that have been first to come to close grips with the stag, brawny arms are stretched through the leafy alder boughs, the brown many pointed horns are seized as they turn with some anxious movement of the mighty head, and with a heave and a shove and a lusty shout three full hundredweight of resisting venison are lifted up the muddy, slippery, dripping bank to the shelving green sward where the huntsman waits." (PE pages 284-287)
Hamilton describes the end thus : "the main arteries above the heart are severed, and insensibility and death result in a very few moments."
Shot :
This is the "modern" method of killing the deer, it was introduced in 1929. (HPH page 15) As we know all too well from video evidence, it can lead to a great deal of suffering.
Drowned :
The deer could also be drowned. They could be drowned by their own exertions, by the hounds or by the hand of man. We are told by Palk Collyns of an incident in 1797 when "After a brilliant run with a hind, she went to sea at Coscombe, between Porlock and Lynmouth. Old 'Aimwell' leapt on her back as she took the water, and was carried out nearly a league ; the hind was drowned, but the hound swam ashore." (CPC page 181)
Evered is informative about the hounds drowning the stag : "it sometimes happens that on dashing into the sea hounds are quick enough to secure their stag before he can swim clear of them, and once out of his depth a stag is easily mastered by a couple of bold and resolute hounds, inasmuch as he can no longer use feet or antlers, and if seized by the ear is easily drowned." (PE page 266)
It seems that the deer could even be drowned by the hounds when the hounds were muzzled. In the Autumn of 1879 following a recurrence of rabies in the kennels the dogs were muzzled and there was no formal hunting between Christmas 1879 and March 1880. According to Fortescue "Throughout these three months the hounds were regularly exercised in muzzles, occasionally running a crippled deer, of which there were an unusual number in that winter. On one day a herd of hinds passed just in front of the hounds while exercising, close to Hawkcombe Head, and the whole pack broke away in different directions, finally killing two hinds in spite of the muzzles at Blackford and Horner, and being with difficulty prevented from killing two more. The streams were very high, and the muzzles did not prevent hounds from drowning their deer when they brought them to the water dead beat." (HJF page 79)
Fortescue is clear about the deer being drowned : "If he should get into deep water, where he must swim, the hounds will get on his back and drown him." (HJF page 159)
The terrified deer taking to the sea was very inconvenient for the hunt. According to Fortescue it "is very troublesome : the deer must be taken if possible when they go to sea, or they will go there every time they are pursued. So a boat has to be procured, the deer captured, blindfolded, and taken to the shore, whether fit or unfit to kill, to scare them from taking to it again." (HJF page 163)
Hunted deer taking to the sea must have been a common occurrence. Evered writing in 1902 tells us : "The swimming powers of deer are very great indeed, but they have their limits, and deer are more often drowned at sea than is supposed. The chill of the water is sufficient at times to drown a beaten deer, and it has occasionally happened that a stag or hind has been seen to drown in comparatively still water, when they might have returned with ease to the beach." (PE page 262) On the next page he adds : "Steamers, in passing up or down channel, have occasionally sighted the floating carcase of a deer that has been lost at sea in this way,"
Cecil Aldin writing in Exmoor. The Riding Playground of England published in 1935 talks of the huntsman killing the deer "with the gun he now always carries." (CA page 59) This same author is also most informative concerning the fate of the deer that take to the sea. He tells us : "At other times he may at the end take to the sea, swimming out long distances before being taken by a motor boat brought out by the fishermen of Porlock Weir, who are ready whenever they hear a hunted stag is in the neighbourhood.
One often hears complaints about this modern motor boat method of taking the stag, but when I first hunted on Exmoor the Pollards and Perkyns of the Weir went out on these occasions in a row-boat. It often took a very long time, first to get out to the swimming or floating stag--they float as easily as
they swim--and then secure him, generally by tying the legs and somehow getting him into the boat, so bringing him in alive.
I never liked this method. A fast motor boat, notwithstanding the adverse criticisms I have heard from time to time, is a much more humane and quicker way of ending the life of a hunted deer" He is graphic about how this is done : "Immediately the motor boat gets to him a rope is slipped over his antlers and the boat goes ahead at full speed for a minute or two. This pulls the stag's nostrils under water and he is drowned in a very short space of time, or, unable to struggle, one knife-thrust can be accurately made and so kill him instantly.
Tying the legs and getting a tired stag into a row-boat was not pleasant and a very spun-out operation, whereas the motor boat reaches him immediately and puts him out of action in a few seconds without any further struggling or fighting." (CA pages 80-81)
Falls over cliffs :
Deer could suffer in other ways at the hands of the followers. On August 15th 1855 from the meet at Brendon Barton a stag was hunted until he ended up near the beach : "He now leapt down about four feet on to the ledge of another rock, where it was impossible for the hounds to get at him ; no doubt thinking himself safe, he lay down exhausted. Several foot-people attempted in vain to reach him ; eventually , by throwing stones at him, he was driven off, and made a bound for the beach, a distance of sixty feet ; he so injured himself that he could not going to sea, and was easily captured." (CPC page 234)
Cruel Sports, November 1934, reports how the previous month on October 6th the stag and eight hounds were killed falling over the 120ft cliffs at Glenthorne.
Killed by hangers-on :
That deer can be killed from those who might be described as hunt hangers-on has been known for some time as shown by this incident recounted from 1798 : "A rather singular occurrence took place this spring, after a good chase with a hind from Clilfham Wood. At Bradbury, before the hounds ran up to her, the hind's throat was cut ; this was done no doubt with the view of stealing the animal, the offender not thinking the pack was so close on her. Colonel Bassett offered fifty pounds reward for information that would convict the delinquent, but no one came forward to claim the reward." (CPC page 182). Fifty pounds was an enormous sum of money in 1798.
There have been several accounts of what happens to the deer at the end of the hunt. F.J. Snell in A Book of Exmoor wrote : "Collaring a deer, when set up by hounds, makes a great demand on a hunter's skill and resolution, and the operation is never attempted without the help of a line which is thrown over the deer's horns, and by which he is at last firmly secured. Then you will see the hounds, which hitherto have kept for the most part at a respectful distance, swarm up and bite the poor animal's nose and ears, and indeed any portion of his anatomy to which they can gain access. Once we saw a hind drown in deep water through the efforts of the vengeful dogs. A hind, having no horns, can do nothing but kick; and a stag, when in the water, will sometimes use his heels with effect in the short rushes that precede his final stand." (CS March 1934 Page 22)
Writing in 1902 Evered recounts tales of the deer being lassoed at the end and the difficulties that could arise from this : "Some stags, especially towards October, will give their captors some awkward moments, and the author well remembers a lassoed stag turning short on the holders of the rope in a bend of the Exe under Curr Cleave, whereby they all fell hurriedly on the slippery sod, and for some anxious seconds were very much at his mercy. On another occasion in Horner the huntsman found himself obliged to mount a tree with all speed, a roped stag swinging round with such celerity that nothing but tree climbing was possible for the chance of an escape." (PE page 71)
Another account of a deer being lassoed came under the caption "Exhausted Hind Lassoed" in the Evening Standard December 16th 1929. This described the end of a hunt "The Tiverton Staghounds had hunted a hind from Haddon. When the hunt began the hind had a calf running beside it, but it left the calf sheltered in undergrowth.
Closely pursued, the hind was hunted in and out of the river Exe several times, and when exhausted it entered the river Barle, near Marsh Bridge. Because of the flooded state of the river the hounds and hunters could not reach it. The hind was eventually caught by a hunter, who threw a rope over its head. The rope was drawn tight and the animal was pulled out of the water and killed." (CS Feb 1930 page 19). What fate befell the calf was unreported.
Deer have ended up in all sorts of predicaments at the end of hunts. According to Fortescue "More than one has jumped on to the roof of a house lying under a hill and thence set all at defiance." (HJF page 162) Bisset in his journal quoted by Fortescue refers to the following outcome to the day from Raleigh Cross on November 13th 1868. The hind ended up at West Kidland Farm. "Here the hounds, which had been alone for some time, were found at a check; it was now dark (5.15) and it seemed hopeless to do more, when the hind was suddenly found to be lying on the roof of a linhay close by. Attempted to lasso her here, but she jumped off, and in spite of all endeavours some of the hounds broke away after her. Stopped all we could reach and were going home, when it was announced that the hind was on the roof again. This time we dazzled her eyes with lights, and so took her safely without a scratch. She was turned out on Hawkwell Moor the same night, duly ear-marked." (HJF page 223) The same hind was hunted again on the 26th December that year and again caught. Again she was saved and turned out "a few days later apparently alright" It was not a case of lucky three times sadly. She was captured by a shooting party at the end of January 1869, badly injured and was killed. (HJF page 223)
The difficulties caused by footfollowers thronging in at the kill have been around for a long time. 61 years ago Cecil Aldin drew attention to this "Very few of us, anyhow, enjoy seeing a kill, and the people who seem to like most this necessary part of hunting are the foot people who always seem to collect from nowhere on such occasions, and who press on the hunted animal in his last moments, sometimes hindering the huntsman in his work much more than do the riders." (CA page 82)
Exhausted deer.
That the hunting is punishing to the deer Charles Palk Collyns has no doubt. He mentions several incidents where the deer have taken to the sea or even jumped off the cliffs to escape the hounds. He considers why : " It is more than probable that, at times when the deer have sprung from the cliffs, they have done so under delusion as to the depth of the fall, caused by partial blindness, the effect of severe exertion. In most cases, however, the animal has, no doubt, taken the fatal leap while under the influence of uncontrollable fear." (pages 150-151) He mentions an incident in the Appendix on April 23rd 1845, supposed to be hind-hunting when "they fresh found, and after a fast gallop of fourteen minutes ran into a young male deer; every effort was made to save him, but he died during the night from exhaustion." (CPC page 223)
It is interesting to compare Palk Collyns's theories with those of a report by Wobeser et al in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association Vol 169 no. 9, November 1 1976 entitled Myopathy and Myoglobinuria in a Wild White-Tailed Deer. This recounts how in September 1975 a farmer in west-central Saskatchewan found a female deer lying in a field and called the authorities because he thought the deer might be rabid. The clinical findings were as follows : "When found in the field the deer, a female approximately 2½ years of age, was lying down and was oblivious to human beings, but tracks indicated that it had been circling. While the deer was being captured it passed dark brown urine. The deer crawled under a gate in the veterinary clinic during the night, but the following day was unable to rise, offered no resistance when handled, and lay quietly unrestrained in an open truck during the 3-hour trip to Saskatoon. Approximately 2 hours after arrival......the respiratory rate was irregular....deer was severely depressed....would respond to sound but appeared not to see.....the following morning the animal was comatose and died approximately 42 hours after capture." In the discussion at the end the authors say "The clinical and pathologic findings were indicative of acute myopathy........We have seen similar myopathic conditions in a pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) and a moose (Alces alces) that died after having been captured, and myopathy may be a more common disease in North American game animals than is generally recognized."
Another name for capture myopathy is exertional rhabdomyolysis. In A Review of Exertional Rhabdomyolysis in Wild and Domestic Animals and Man in Vet. Pathol. 14 : 314-324 (1977) the authors, Bartsch et al expand on the topic : "Exertional rhabdomyolysis is a disease with a basic pathologic process that affects many species, including man. Muscle breakdown in exertional rhabdomyolysis seems to be caused by more than usual exertion. The stress of capture or of a new and unusual environment also may play a causative role." (page 320)
Perhaps the most relevant case for our interest was in a report by Dr John Henshaw and Ruth Allen entitled A Case of Suspected Capture Myopathy in a West Country Red Deer in "Deer" Volume 7, no. 9, pages 466-467, 1989. In this we are told of capture myopathy "Its symptoms are variable but often dramatic and it typically involves rapidly occurring changes to blood chemistry and the functioning of muscles. In acute cases death is the usual result." A red deer stag calf had been found at about 7pm on 16 March 1989 by local residents close to Steart on the minor road from Timberscombe to Blagdon. On that day the Devon & Somerset Staghounds had been hunting in the region around Robin How some 3.4km to the north west of where the deer was found. It appears that the hunt split up and were running in different directions around Blagdon wood. A Timberscombe resident and companion found the stag calf just before 10pm and described the circumstances as : "The deer appeared disorientated; it took little notice of them; it had little control over its legs; it was staggering about in the lane bumping into the banks; and it could not hold up its head." The deer made no effort to run away and as it went down it was covered with a blanket and John Hicks at the time the Sanctuary Manager of the LACS was called. He collected the deer and put it on to straw in a stable at his home. "Veterinary surgeon Mr D. Elliot attended the deer, describing its condition to Mr Hicks in terms of a stress problem." He treated the deer The next day John Hicks called in Dr Henshaw and Ruth Allen. They found the following : "The deer was very unsteady on its feet with the hindquarters swaying from side to side. It was staggering around the inside of the stable, bumping into the walls. It was unable to lift its head off the ground and its forwards movements, in effect, caused it to push its nose along the floor of the stable. It appeared to be completely unaware of our presence, bumping into us as we stood there." They concluded that in all probability the deer was suffering from acute capture myopathy and they recommended that it be killed to prevent further suffering. This was done and a blood sample taken. It has been stated that a creatinine kinase (CK) or creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) value in the order of 10,000 iu/litre at 30 degrees C would be indicative of the stress effects and blood chemistry changes which occur in severe cases of capture myopathy. The blood sample from this deer revealed a CPK level of 25,600 u/l at 30 degrees C. According to the Starcross Veterinary Investigation Centre, Exeter "This high value would be consistent with acute myopathy."
Henshaw and Allen were keen to point out that not all deer were affected by myopathy. "Deer are not consistent in their susceptibility to capture myopathy and in New Zealand it was noted that a hind pursued by a helicopter for 12 miles showed no ill effects after capture, versus the case of another hind in the same area which died from the effects of capture myopathy after only a short chase across open farmland lasting only a few minutes."
Diana Scott, Joint Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds disputes the existence of the condition. She was quoted in an article on the subject in The Telegraph Saturday 9 September 1989 : " "If myopathy really exists," she asks, "how come Exmoor is not littered with the bodies of dead deer after every hunt?" Dr Henshaw is not surprised by this state of affairs. "Over the years I have myself found many carcases of deer which seem to have died in mysterious circumstances. And I have seen deer limping and staggering about after hunts have taken place. They may or may not have been cases of myopathy, but we couldn't diagnose it then, simply because we didn't know about the condition....it is thoroughly irresponsible of the hunting people to deny it."
With the benefit of hindsight it is possible to look back in the literature and wonder whether previous incidents of myopathy might have been described. For instance Bissets journal quoted by Fortescue details the day October 26th 1866 from Haddon when a hind was hunted, one of three found in Haddon Wood. The hind ended up heading for Triscombe and was taken two hours and fifteen minutes from the lay on "at racing pace". Bisset states "Deer saved and turned out, but found drowned in a reservoir next day." (HJF page 219). More than likely myopathy played a part in the demise of this deer.
Suffering of the hounds.
The hounds could and frequently did suffer in the course of the hunt. They could be injured or killed.
Hound injuries.
Hounds could obviously suffer many minor injuries. They could also suffer in more dramatic ways. Bissets journal detailed in Appendix A of Fortescues book mentioned the following incident that occurred on September 11th 1863 hunting a stag from Greystone Wood, Dulverton. The stag ended up in the river in Filleigh Mill Weir "where for nearly half an hour he swam up and down with the hounds all around him, during which he managed to pierce one of them through the right ear, and towed him up and down by his left brow antler for full ten minutes before he was lassoed and taken." This deer was saved and turned out only to be killed by the hunt almost exactly a year later. (HJF page 207)
From the meet at Cloutsham on October 9th 1866 the stag ended up being killed in the water below Ilford Bridges. Bisset laments " "Factor" was dangerously wounded by this deer in the chest and flank." (HJF page 218)
As for fatalities the hounds could be killed out hunting, killed by the deer, killed by falls, drowned, trampled over by the horses or in the present day run over. They could also be killed by the hunt for a variety of misdemeanours the main one being sheep killing that will be detailed later. In addition they could be killed by sicknesses such as rabies either by the hand of God or by some kind of crude experiment such as was carried out by the hunt in the latter part of the last century.
Killed by the deer.
From the meet on September 10th 1781 Charles Palk Collyns reports how the hounds ran into their deer at Badgworthy and a fine young hound 'Driver' was killed by the deer. (CPC page 168) This feat was exceeded by the deer on August 31st 1788 when the deer that was killed at Newtown Bridge killed two of the best hounds in the pack, 'Brusher' and 'Lofty' (CPC page 171) Fortescue recounts that Mr Bisset (1855-1881) "never lost a hound killed by a stag, though he had a certain number injured" but his successor Lord Ebrington (1881-1887) lost "one if not two in 1881 and no fewer than five in 1882" (HJF page 162)
Killed by falls.
The hounds frequently fell to their deaths over the cliffs. Fortescue reports that the autumn hunting of 1884 was marred by the loss of four of the best hounds in this way on the third day of staghunting. (HJF page 97) Macdermott tells us that from the meet at Wheddon Cross on October 10th 1907 the stag went over the cliff by Glenthorne and two young hounds were killed. (ETM page 65)
Drowned
The hounds could also be drowned along with the stag they were pursuing. Evered records the death of a Quantock deer that set off from the beach near St. Audries. "In a dead calm this stag swam straight out into the smooth grey waters of the Bristol Channel, the pack following close in his wake and baying melodiously as they swam in full view of his noble head." He described how a boat was despatched to Watchet to get the boat sent out and in due course "the boat returned to the anxious watchers on the rocks, towing the stag, already dead with the chill of the water, and with seven hounds on board, one of which had already succumbed merely to the effects of his long swim. Another drowned hound shortly was seen, and two others never returned to land." (PE pages 265-266)
Trampled
On August 24th 1781 from a meet at Stevenstone Charles Palk Collyns describes "several of the hounds were killed, and many seriously injured, by the rabble pressing on and running over them." (CPC page 168)
Rabies.
At the end of hindhunting on the 19th February 1878 a hound was observed showing suspicious symptoms. In a few days this was recognised as rabies and that hound together with five others similarly afflicted was shot. The rest of the pack were kept separated and muzzled, each chained to a box where he could not reach his neighbour. By the 23rd May seven more hounds had either died or been killed. There was no further case until 12th July when another hound "was observed to be looking queer" and he too was killed.
As soon as he was sure it was rabies, Mr Bisset, ever the optimist, began to form another pack so that by the start of staghunting he had a new pack of 16½ couple of which the bulk were old fox or carted deer hounds. Thus there were two distinct packs, the "mad pack" and the "new pack". Surprisingly the "mad pack" took their regular turns out hunting.
Fortescue tells us "The old hounds, or "mad pack", were still kept separate from each other, except when actually out hunting, until the 25th of September, when, on a fearfully stormy night, they were put together into kennel, though of course apart from the new pack. (HJF page 77) Rabies broke out again in one hound in October. The hound was killed. This was when a bit of amateur experimentation went on as Fortescue recounts : "there was another case in December, and three more at the beginning of January, two of them being of hounds belonging to the new pack, which, being not very highly valued, were placed with the "old mad 'uns" as an experiment. There was now nothing to be done except to destroy the whole of the old pack, which was accordingly done on the 21st January 1879." (HJF page 77) Staghunting started in 1879 but before Christmas rabies had returned and four more hounds were killed. The rest were separated and there was no hunting until March 1880.
Hounds could also suffer in the most extraordinary fashion. Palk Collyns reports an incident where at a meet the first intelligence was that "one of the best hounds in the pack had been killed and eaten in the kennel, nothing having been left of poor 'Gambler' save his head." (pages 151-152) That was a bad day for the hunt because their quarry a stag apparently "deliberately committed suicide" by leaping from the cliff and ended up on the shore "a disfigured object, mashed to a jelly, the horns broken to flinders and scattered on the rocks." To cap it all a horse being led home by a groom became excited when hearing the hounds and fell headlong off a cliff onto the rocky bed of the river Lyn and was killed.
Hounds could also have close escapes at the hands of more modern contraptions. From the meet at Exe Bridge on January 18th 1876 the hind was eventually killed at Bottreaux Mill. Bisset records in his journal "Hounds had a narrow escape from a train, but the engine-driver stopped in time." (HJF page 241)
Suffering of the horses.
Horses can suffer not only from the sheer exertions of the chase, they have been known to drop down dead, they can also be attacked by the deer. On August 21st 1789 we learn : "Sir Thomas Acland's horse, was injured during this run, and was so lame at Cheriton, that Sir Thomas left him, and ran the rest of the chase ; a gentleman from Minehead had his horse drop dead under him" (CPC page 172-173) On September 21st 1795 : "The pace was such that the huntsman's horse, a real good one, died in the field." (CPC page 180)
Fortescue tells of an incident that occurred in October 1885 when "the hounds broke away after one of the park stags at St. Audries, and set him up against the park palings. The whip galloped up and got them away, and the stag at once charged him and dove one antler deep into his horse's chest. Had it not been that he drove his forehead against the man's knee, the brute would probably have killed both. As it was the horse was unfit for work for a month." (HJF page 160)
Some of the days seemed to combine the suffering to all species. Fortescue in Appendix A of his book reports the day on April 21st 1858 from the meet at Cloutsham "One tufter found a hind and calf in Sweetworthy. Separated them going towards the Forest. Laid on the pack on the hind." The hunt then progressed hither and thither and ended up heading for Woody Bay. "Here the hounds fresh found their deer in the stunted oak coppice. Deer viewed, dead beat. One last effort and over Freeth Gap (about 400 feet) into the sea and smashed to atoms, "Warrior" following." As for the calf we are told that "joined the hind again on Porlock Common, left her on Blackhill, and was killed by three couple in Badworthy Water--a male." This was a bad day for the hunt. Bisset quoted in his journal by Fortescue described it as "A day of slaughter; the hind, her calf, a hound, a sheep, which went over the cliffs soon after the hind, and four horses." (HJF pages 195-196)
Hunt runs.
Writing in 1902 Evered tells us of an interesting end to a hunt at Winsford. "The Royal Oak" once witnessed a sensational finish to a run, which at the time caused much local excitement. A stag from Haddon ran by the Exe valley to the Allotment preserves, and then, finding his strength failing him, crossed the fields of Halse farm and came down dead beat to the back of the village and rushed into the premises at the rear of the hostelry. As the leading hounds closed in he essayed to scale a low and convenient roof, but slipping back, made the best of his way to the back entrance of the inn, and there in a gloomy passage encountered a waitress bearing a tray of glasses. Curious to relate, the tray was not dropped, and the stag seeing an open doorway, passed into the best sitting room which was prepared for guests, while the ready witted Hebe closed the door. Thus trapped, the stag was easily secured, the field watching the proceedings through the narrow window panes." (PE page 51)
The same author describes another interesting end to a days fun : "Of all the queer places that hunted deer have got into, the Roadwater roller mills was one of the most dangerous and inconvenient both to stag and hounds. Here a Slowly stag gave some very anxious moments to his captors, but by good fortune avoided the machinery in motion, and passed on to a stable where he was secured after an exciting tussle." (PE page 372)
Macdermot writing in 1936 tells of some interesting runs in his time. From the meet on October 15th 1921 at Marsh Bridge the deer ended up by Culbone Plantations. "Hounds came up with their stag at the deer fence and bayed him more than once, but he broke away and having jumped a wired gate full seven feet high, went on down through Culbone Wood to the beach at Ivystone, where the huntsman, who scrambled down alone, found three hounds baying him and a fourth lying dead at the foot of the cliff. The stag then took to the sea and disappeared in the darkness, followed by the three hounds. One of these was back at Exford by daybreak, and the huntsman found the other two at Culbone and Broomstreet next morning, but could hear nothing of the stag." (ETM page 79)
How many deer killed.
The rate at which the hounds have killed the deer has varied over the years. Charles Palk Collyns in the Chase of the Wild Red Deer first published in 1862 gives the following figures. In the nine seasons between 1784 and 1794 killed 150 deer (73 stags and 77 hinds) That was an average of 16 to 17 deer per season. In the six years between 1812 and 1818, under the Mastership of Lord Fortescue, in what Palk Collyns described as "glorious days" 90 deer were killed (42 stags and 48 hinds). That was an average of 15 deer per season. ( CPC page 11)
Interestingly Scarth-Dixon gives different figures for these six years. He says that 50 stags, 48 hinds and "10 other deer" were killed. (WSD page 36). As to the number of deer about at the time when Lord Fortescue took over from Lord Graves in 1812 he was informed by the latter that "There are now about 200 deer in the country, about 100 less than in Sir Thomas Acland's time." (Vive La Chasse page 87). By 1855 Waddy Wadsworth and Dick Lloyd, writing in Vive La Chasse published in 1989 tell us that "in the whole of the West Country the red deer were down to somewhere around the 50 mark" (Vive La Chasse page 88). Macdermott gives a figure of about sixty deer at the start of Mr Bissets mastership in 1855 (ETM page 32) That being the case it is hard to see how the herd could have caused any real harm. In the first season of Mr Bisset's Mastership that commenced in 1855 the hunt took three stags and two hinds (and one of these stags was released). Mr Bisset also took steps to increase the deer population for sport. Fortescue tells us that before staghunting began in 1858 : "Mr Bisset carried out a project on which he had long set his heart, namely the introduction of new blood into the herd. With this view he procured, through a friend, two stags, two male deer, and three hinds, from Me Legh of Lyme in Cheshire." These were turned out in Haddon and Horner. "The two hinds in Haddon were killed after good runs in the spring seasons of 1859 and 1860, and the stag after a poor run in the autumn of the latter year. Of those turned out in Horner one stag was barbarously murdered by deer-stealers within three days after his arrival, one of the male deer was killed by mischance by the hounds in 1860, the other (grown to a stag) was killed after a poor run in 1865. The hind gave good runs, and was spared only to be destroyed by poachers in 1860." (HJF pages 51-52) Mr Bisset appears to have been fairly keen to release deer that his hounds had caught but this was not always possible. Fortescue tells how from the meet at Cloutsham on September 18th 1857 the deer was finally taken at Malsmead. "Hoped to save him, but he had a broken blood-vessel." (HJF page 193) Philip Evered recounted an incident when two stags had been killed At Larcombe Foot on Wednesday 13th August 1894. One had an interesting history : "It appears that no less than seventeen years ago the deer was taken alive when less than two years old, and having been somewhat injured by the hounds was, by the late Mr Bisset's orders, turned out again some time afterwards, when fully recovered." (PE page 153) In the 1881/1882 season 26 stags and 57 hinds were killed; in addition 6 young male deer and 3 crippled deer were also killed. A further 9 deer were killed either having been found dead in the covers, "killed by sheep-dogs after having been saved from the hounds" or lost and drowned at sea (HJF page 92-93) Deer were still being taken alive as late as 1888. Evered writes : "A certain one horned stag that ran to this point (Hurlstone Point) from Haddon in the October of 1888, after covering the distance in one hour and fifty minutes from the time of his rousing in the fields above Lady's Drive at Steart, broke from his bay here, and striking boldly out to sea, swam round the headland and was carried by the tide and his own efforts for some miles towards Minehead, landing at the last near Greenaleigh and being safely taken. This stag was subsequently sent to Lord Rothschild and showed several good runs before his pack." (PE page 260) The next season 1856-57, seven deer were killed and the following season eight deer. (WSD pages 47-48) Rather as pheasants might be protected by shooting interests steps were taken to increase the deer population. Macdermottt tells
us : " Oare Common was inclosed in 1860-1, and as soon as the fences had been erected Mr Snow devoted over 300 acres of his own allotment adjoining Badgworthy Water exclusively to the deer, planting larch and fir in the combes for shelter. This became known as the Deer Park, though deer have always been quite free to come and go, and was most jealously guarded from sheep, ponies and human trespassers by his son, the last Nicholas Snow of Oare, till the latter's death in 1914." (ETM page 33) In the early 1870's the task of keeping up the number of deer for sport changed to one of keeping them down so rapidly had they increased and spread. In the 1870's and 1880's the hunt killed some 80 to 100 deer each season out of a population estimated for the area as some 500 deer. (ETM page 33) In the early years of this century the deer population was estimated at 1500 and the four packs accounted for some 250 a season. (ETM page 33) Writing in 1902 Philip Evered in Staghunting with the Devon and Somerset referred to a booming population ; "For several years past a superabundant herd, and the hard times experienced by the hill country farmers, have made it a matter of absolute necessity to take as many deer as possible with hounds." (PE page 5) By the time of the 1905-06 season the four packs that operated in the West Country killed no less than 370 deer. (Vive La Chase page 88). In the 1929-1930 season the Devon and Somerset Staghounds killed 137 hinds and stags, the Quantock 26 and the Tiverton 32. (CS July 1930, front page) In the 1933-34 season the Devon and Somerset Staghounds reported killing 134 deer (CS Sept 1934 page 71) Macdermott in his book published in 1936 estimated the deer population then as between 600 and 700. By 1989 Waddy Wadsworth and Dick Lloyd write of the three west country packs killing between 150 and 200 deer a year out of a herd they estimate for Devon and Somerset as being 1000. (Vive La Chasse page 90) Noel Allen in his book published in 1990 puts the herd at 1,500 within Exmoor National Park, 400 immediately south of the border towards Tiverton and South Molton and 500 on the Quantocks. (NA page 12)
Deer capture and release.
The capture of the deer alive at the end of the hunt and the release of the animal for future hunting has been going on for many years. On October 10th 1821 from the meet at Buryhill a stag was found in Haddon and after a lengthy hunt killed at Emmetts under Redway. Charles Palk Collyns tells us : "He was a five-year-old deer, and had been taken with the hounds in 1819, and let go with half of one ear cut off."!! (CPC page 207)
In the 29 years between 1855 and 1884 according to their own records listed in Appendix B at the back of Fortescues book the hunters took alive and released no fewer than 86 deer.
Hamilton writing in 1907 regarded it as a bad thing to catch deer alive and release them : "If hounds have the misfortune, as must inevitably occur several times in a season (no matter how smart the hunt servants may be) to run a young male deer and pull him over, it is a great mistake to save his life and subsequently turn him out If by any luck he can be secured before any of the hounds have had hold of him, he would, of course be saved; but as the bite of one of these powerful hounds is so serious that though he may, and, unless badly torn, probably will, recover, he is not likely to grow into a strong, healthy stag whose presence is any advantage to the herd and the sooner he is put out of his pain the better." (AH pages 125-126)
Poaching.
For as long as there have been deer on and around Exmoor and the Quantocks there has been poaching. Charles Palk Collyns refers to the threat posed to the deer by the activities of the poachers when the area was not hunted between 1825-1827 and between 1833-1837 ( CPC pages 88-90). It is also clear from his book that there was a threat from poachers when the area was hunted as he later cautions his reader : "May I be excused for giving utterance to a word of caution to those who, either in quest of sport, health, scenery, recreation, or with any other object, pay a visit to our country? It is a warning against lending a willing ear to certain fustian-coated, 'early morning' looking gentry, who, for a consideration of from five to ten pounds, may offer to provide you with a stag's head, or horns, to take back with you as a trophy from the West. An assent to the propositions of these members of the poaching fraternity will probably seal the fate, by slugs or bullet, of at least one stag; it will be fortunate, indeed, if many should not be mortally wounded or permanently injured, in the attempt to secure the prize for which you have, possibly in a thoughtless moment, bargained with an idle and lawless marauder." ( CPC page 137) Writing of events on the opening meet of 1855, August 21st Fortescue tells us that a stag was taken : "He proved, however, to be a deer that had been turned out by Captain West, so he was spared and turned out again--only to be fired at by poachers, and eventually killed "to prevent his dying," less than two months later. Such occurrences were only too common at that time, the appearance of a poached deer in Exford village being the signal for general rejoicing among the whole population. (HJF page 47)
Fortescue bemoans the appearance some time in the 1860's on Exmoor "of a Dulverton man from London, who offered £6 for the head of a stag--an offer which resulted in the death of more than one deer and in the dismissal of a keeper." (HJF page 60)
Writing of the difficulty of separating out herds of hinds Fortescue says "In fact the only deer that can be depended on to be alone are the sick or broken-legged, of which the last, owing to wire fences and in some instances foul play, there are generally two or three, if not more, killed every year." (HJF page 170)
Injured deer killed.
Staghunting reports have been littered for many years with accounts of injured deer being killed by the hunts. Evered details this : "Many and many a deer has stood before hounds for an average length of time, that was never suspected to have had all the time a broken limb, until he or she was actually handled." (PE page 298)
Conflict between farmers and deer.
The imminent demise of the red deer herd on Exmoor has been forecast for some time now. Charles Palk Collyns in the Chase of the Wild Red Deer first published in 1862 wrote : "perhaps the present generation may witness the death of the last of the wild deer in Devon and Somerset." (Authors preface XXI) He was aware of the damage that the deer could cause to farming interest but he was also keen to see the farmers take steps to minimise that damage: "I have seen five or six cart-loads of turnips pulled up in a single field by the marauders in the course of a morning's meal. How much are the sportsmen of the West indebted to the kind and unselfish feelings of those farmers who endure this loss and annoyance in order that they may contribute to the amusement of their friends and the neighbourhood! I wish that the practice of "ricking" the turnips was generally adopted by the farmer, as by this means not only are the roots preserved from the attacks of the deer, but they are protected from the frost, and preserved for the stock in time of need." (page 82)
With the introduction of spring-staghunting by Mr Basset who commenced his mastership in 1887 the hunt effectively ceased to make any pretence at controlling the deer population. Macdermot is clear that both Mr Basset and his successor Colonel Hornby who took over in 1893 "did not pay sufficient attention to the hinds in the winter, with the result that the number of deer in the country, already too high for the damage fund, increased still more." (ETM page 19) The first deer fence to protect crops was put up by the Earl of Lovelace around the Ashley Combe Estate in 1898. Following the first world war the Hunt Committee took to supplying wire netting to exclude the deer in cases where the deer damage was regarded as excessive and continual (ETM page 20)
Opposition to staghunting.
Opposition to staghunting was generated on several main grounds. In the first instance it was probably caused by the hounds rioting and killing livestock particularly sheep. Then it was generated by the booming deer population that was protected for sport, causing damage to crops. The rise in popularity of the sport doubtless generated anger due to the mayhem and havoc caused by the followers. Finally, there was opposition generated on the grounds of the overt cruelty inflicted on the quarry.
Rioting hounds killing sheep.
Opposition must have been generated by the occasions on which the Exmoor staghounds ran riot. On October 18th 1789 we are told the following : "Drew the Shillets with the pack ; they ran sheep, killing several. Sir T.D. Acland desired the huntsman to hang the whole of them, and then himself. The worthy baronet's wrath was soon after this appeased by a good fast run from Hawkcombe, ending with a kill at Exford. (CPC page 173). Rioting on sheep was a continuing problem. Palk Collyns notes solemnly ; "The great vice to which, on different occasions, the pack has been addicted, is that of sheep killing; and for this offence it was necessary to sentence to death, and execute, no less than twelve couples (i.e. 24 dogs) of the old stag-hounds in 1794." (pages 64-65) Such punishment failed to cure the pack for we learn that the following year : "Colonel Bassett was much vexed by the pack killing sheep again, from which they had been free for a year ; no doubt they were corrupted by a buck-hound, from the New Forest, which, with three of the supposed ringleaders, died by the halter." (CPC page 178) Efforts were sometimes made to conceal the propensity for sheep killing. Hope Bourne tells us "Incidentally it must in all truth be confessed that these splendid hounds had one grave fault which may have contributed to the embarrassment of their last master : they were inclined to sheep killing. In the edited and printed extracts of the old hunting diaries such lapses from virtue are not mentioned, but in the originals they do appear. As in Parson Boyce's fine old diary, (he was the sporting parson from Withypool who noted most of the runs from 1776 to 1816) the faded brown handwriting not infrequently records, 'hounds also killed sheep'. Such laconic comments suggest a good deal more than they actually tell." (HB pages 95-96)
Local opposition to staghunting continued. Scarth-Dixon tells us that early in the Mastership of Mr Bisset that commenced in 1855 "there was not that support from the landowners that there should have been, or perhaps it would be more exact to say that there were only a few landowners at first that took a keen interest in the hunting of the red deer." Perhaps his next line explains why. "The hounds, too, were a source of trouble, for they took to killing sheep." (WSD page 46) Fortescue describes such an incident at this time : "A deer had been run from the forest over the "chains,"--that is to say, the worst tract of ground in the main watershed. No horse, of course, could live with them through it, but on coming up with them beyond "we found them very busy with something which was at once pronounced to be the deer; but deer in this country do not die so easily. Upon getting to them it was discovered to have been a sheep, of which nothing but the skin and horns were left." (HJF pages 48-49) Evered writing in 1902 admits to the hounds killing sheep. He tells us "It is not far from Hurlestone Point, on the sunburnt sheepwalks near east Myne, that a great outbreak of sheep killing by the pack took place in recent years, and caused the early demise of many promising hounds." (PE page 261)
Opposition by landowners.
Opposition by landowners has been around for a long time. It was their opposition that effectively closed the hunt down in 1825 The opposition at that time was probably generated by several factors, personal disputes and conflict, damage caused by the hunt, disagreements over hunting practice and the like. It can hardly have been generated by damage caused through excessive numbers of deer.
Evered admits that local opposition to staghunting existed : "The history of staghunting contains many instances of individual landowners exhibiting animosity to the chase" (PE page 341) One such of these was Lord Graves writing in the early part of the 19th century and quoted by Fortescue : " "We have been unpopular for some years at Dulverton," writes Lord Graves, "and the deer have constantly been disturbed and killed in the Hawkridge Bottom and at Bratton ; during Mr Chichester's hostility they had no rest, and great numbers fell victims to that gentleman's resentment." (HJF page 35)
Opposition to the hunt also manifested itself by farmers trying to protect their crops. Charles Palk Collyns mentions an incident in 1801 when the stag was lost : " A farmer living close by the road, told us he saw the deer more than half a mile below his house ; the hounds were taken down, but we could not recover him. The next day this same man boasted that he had 'sold the staghunters' for he saw the deer cross the road into a field of corn, and lie down close to the spot he broke from the stream ; and in order that no injury might be done to his corn, he sent them half a mile below to look after him." (CPC page 187) 'Cecil' in Records of the Chase first published in 1854 did not hold out much hope for the future of staghunting on Exmoor. He wrote that "it appears to be going fast to decay, despite the exertions of several zealous supporters of the time-honoured sport." As to the reasons for this he offered : "The wandering propensities of the deer in their wild state cause them to travel many miles in search of favourite food; consequently there is great difficulty in preserving them. I am informed that the damage they do is often considerable.......Their company, therefore, is not welcomed by the small farmers, who require compensation for the damages they sustain; but considering that it is the last relict of the ancient custom of staghunting, it will be a subject of much regret if some remunerative arrangements cannot be effected." (ROC page 215). Incidentally the book that I refer to was published in several editions. Mine was published in 1922 and a name label inside the front cover dates from 1932.
As the deer were ever more strictly preserved so was there increasing opposition from the farmers. Fortescue tells us that in the 1865 season the Horner covers that had previously been left untouched until September were hunted in August as "the farmers of the district were complaining of the numbers of deer." (HJF page 63) Thus began the tradition of the opening day at Cloutsham.
By 1868 the deer in the Horner covers were so numerous that it was necessary to hunt the hinds there on five consecutive days. (HJF page 65) Before Mr Bisset resigned in 1881 these so-called "Horner campaigns" were to extend to twenty and thirty consecutive days hunting. (HJF page 65)
It seems that from 1855-1871 the main difficulty that Mr Bisset had was "keeping up a sufficient herd of deer." From 1871-1881 it was the opposite : "the question was how to keep it down within reasonable limits." (HJF page 70) Even so in the 1871 season deer were still being caught alive presumably to be moved to areas where they were scarcer. That year 30 deer were taken of which 4 were spared. (HJF page 70)
By 1881 Fortescue complained that "the country was simply swarming with deer." (HJF page 80) "In a word, the deer had got out of hand, and in spite of great efforts to diminish their numbers it cannot be said that they have been under control since 1879." (HJF page 81)
Cruelty.
Opposition to staghunting on grounds of ethics and cruelty has been around for a considerable time. Charles Palk Collyns in the Chase of the Wild Red Deer first published in 1862 commenting on the way that in previous days many bishops and abbots had hounds and hawks noted that : "Times are changed ; and great would be the scandal at the present day if a bishop of the church were to enrol himself as a master of hounds. Indeed, the presence of a clergyman in the hunting field is by many considered objectionable." (page 4)
Increasing media interest in the activities of the hunts generated greater concerns as to the cruelty involved. The Manchester Guardian reported on August 13th 1932 how a few days previous a stag hunted by the DSSH from Hawkcombe head "got away from the hounds at Watersmeet after being hunted about fourteen miles and went down Lyn Valley to Lynmouth where its flight was checked by a wall. In desperation, however, the stag leaped over the wall and fell down on to the rocks in the River Lyn several feet below. It broke its legs in falling and lay, quivering and helpless, tormented by the hounds for ten minutes until the hunters arrived to kill it.
Meanwhile great anger was expressed by a large crowd of holiday-makers who had gathered at the spot, and their feelings towards the stag-hunters were so vigorously expressed that the latter deemed it prudent to withdraw from the scene as soon as they had secured the deer. Ever since this affair happened visitors have been protesting angrily about such things being allowed to continue. " (CS Sept 1932 page 77). The same paper reported an incident that occurred at Minehead on Wednesday 26th October 1932 involving the Quantock staghounds "the stag suddenly jumped into the claypits at the brickfields and then ran down between the engine house and a mortar mill. It then jumped down into a pit, and was unable to get out again. Some men who were near held the exhausted animal, where it was imprisoned for about fifteen minutes until the hunters arrived to kill it. Sections of a crowd who watched raised angry shouts of protest." (CS Dec. 1932)
Relationship with the media.
As the media started to report the truth about what took place in the course of staghunting so the hunters began to loathe the media. Occasionally this loathing would turn to violence. In September 1928 a Mr Hemingway a young free-lance journalist from Minehead said to have caused offence to hunting people by sending to London newspapers accounts of stag-hunting attended a polo ball at the Metropole Hotel, Minehead. The Daily Express, September 7th 1928 detailed what occurred : "The man was standing in a private part of the hotel when, without warning, a number of men, said to be prominent stag-hunters, burst in, seized him, and, shouting at the tops of their voices and blowing hunting horns, dragged him by his arms and legs to the vestibule. They were joined by a crowd of shouting dancers, who followed the procession through the hotel grounds and across the road to the sea-wall.
The critic was then thrown five feet into deep water. He climbed to the breakwater when, it is alleged, one of the party shouted, "Let's drown him again." He threw the man into the water and tried to hold him under. Police are making enquiries." (CS October 1928 page 132)
League Against Cruel Sports.
The West Somerset Free Press reported the demonstration by some 30 representatives of the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, about 13 of whom were from London, at the Opening meet of the DSSH at Cloutsham. The majority of the party were ladies. League supporters carried banners bearing slogans such as "Abolish the Shameful Sport of Stag-hunting" and "Stag-hunting is not Cricket." Sir Francis Acland the owner of Cloutsham had warned the League people to keep off his land. The National Trust who cared for the land in the area were on hand "to see that nothing was done that might occasion a breach of the peace". The demonstrators undertook to keep to the road. At first light hearted banter was exchanged between the two sides. "If you don't hold with the sport clear out and don't interfere with us" shouted one hunt supporter. Then it became more menacing : "the crowd began to press in upon them and tempers, it was evident, among the protagonists of hunting were wearing thin. A farmer follower of the Hunt did not improve matters by riding to and fro along the line of demonstrators cracking his whip and jostling them about." It became more violent. "with the crowd becoming angrier in mood
the demonstrators were soon in the midst of a rough and tumble with many supporters of hunting, women as well as men coming into conflict with them. A woman it was--an Exmoor farmer's wife-- who captured the first banner. Grabbing it from one of the ladies of the party--there was a bit of a tussle for possession--she tore it fiercely to tatters and, amid the cheers of the crowd, trod the fragments in the road. Others strove to gain possession of banners, and in the midst of an excited mass demonstrators struggled helplessly. Their banners were all destroyed, the women's umbrellas wrecked and the League literature ripped to fragments." The police intervened and advised the League supporters that "it would be well to remove themselves" This they did but the intimidation continued: "On their way from Cloutsham to Webber's Post, where their motor-coach was parked, the demonstrators were subjected to a hostile reception. Four police officers who were with them protected them from being roughly handled, but cat-calls, jeers and hunting cries from mounted and foot supporters could not be restrained. At intervals a hunting horn would sound and this would be the signal for a fresh outburst of vituperation and abuse. Eventually the party reached their coach by a devious route and took their seats amid renewed hostility, while a chorus of "boos" was maintained. Two or three children attempted to climb the sides of the coach and two or three handfuls of mud were thrown, in spite of the watchfulness of the police.
The ire of a certain section of the crowd was intensified when a lady member of the party attempted to photograph the agitated crowd through an open window. Her action was noticed by a man on foot, who attempted to knock the camera out of her hand, but he was pushed back by a policeman. One or two children followed his example and were rebuked. Then a mounted follower of the Hunt rode along the side of the coach, the close proximity of the horse's head causing the lady to withdraw hurriedly, to the amusement of the majority of those assembled, while her co-demonstrators hotly protested. The lady with the camera would not be baulked, however, but when she tried to take her photograph from inside a closed window hats and caps were held against it to prevent it." (CS Sept 1931 pages 75-76)
League Hunt Monitoring.
League hunt monitoring has a longer history than one might imagine. The front page of Cruel Sports September 1930 tells us "the Secretary of the League was present at the first bye-meet of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds at North Molton, and saw the "rouse" of the stag. He conversed with several villagers and others interested in stag-hunting, and obtained some useful facts for the coming lecture season." Hunt paranoia about pictures was also evident even at that time as the following paragraph in this same League report tells us "One visitor, who took several photographs of the "rouse" was later accosted by a stag-hunter, who "hoped that they were not intended for the newspapers." " (CS September 1930, front page)
Changing popularity of the hunt.
It is interesting to note the changing support for hunting. The earliest record I found recounted in A Little History of Exmoor by Hope Bourne published in 1968 dates from September 1759 at which we are told five hundred horse and '1000 foot' attended at the meet. At the meets in the late 1700's under Sir Thomas Acland "there might assemble five hundred horsemen." (HB page 92) Scarth-Dixon reports a field of "at least two hundred" at the meet at Cloutsham on October 3rd 1815. (WSD page 40). Charles Palk Collyns reports 500 horsemen and 300 foot followers at least at the meet on September 21st 1819, the Barnstaple fair hunt. (CPC page 203) Perhaps the most spectacular day was that August morning in 1879 when Edward, Prince of Wales rode with the hunt. According to Hope Bourne between 10,000 and 15,000 attended the meet and no fewer than 1,200 to 1,500 riders followed the hounds! (HB page 149). By the time of Alfred Vowles writing in 1920 the opening meet at Cloutsham was reportedly attended by "thousands". (AV page 20)
Cecil Aldin writing in 1935 referred to "500 men, women and children who come out on horseback at a meet of the staghounds" (CA page 59)
The support for staghunting amongst even other followers of bloodsports has always been lukewarm. Back in 1930 the stag-hunters were aggrieved at the scant support their attempts to create a pro-stag-hunting society received. The Daily Mirror September 23rd 1930 reported "An informal vote was taken at a private meeting of subscribers to a famous Leicestershire hunt, and three quarters of those present supported a resolution that hunting the stag is not "sport" " Whether they were referring to hunting carted deer, the Exmoor deer or both is not certain (CS October 1930 page 82)
As today the support for the hunts varies according to whether it is stag or hind hunting. Writing in 1887 Fortescue says of hind-hunting "The field rarely consists of more than a dozen persons, frequently of less than half that number, but these are all of the right sort, very much unlike the hundreds that appear in the autumn." (HJF page 172)
Accuracy of modern hunting literature?
As with most hunting literature the early books were the accurate ones. By the time of Waddy Wadsworth and Dick Lloyd writing in Vive La Chasse published in 1989 some interesting claims appear. On page 98 the reader is assured "for nearly half the year no hunting takes place" The break that was formerly from October 8th for two or three weeks to allow the rut is now described thus "Then comes a break of about a fortnight in early November to rest hounds, horses and hunt staff" (Vive La Chasse page 101).
Modern staghunters when pressed on the killing of hinds claim that they can defend themselves against the hounds with their hooves. Writing at the dawn of the last century Evered was more open. He was dismissive about the end of a hind hunt : "Not that the hinds figures much in the scene, for she has no antlers with which to fight, and her end is swift and sudden." (PE page 86).
Quantock Staghounds.
Red deer had been introduced on to the Quantock hills in the 1860's by the Master of the DSSH, Mr Bisset. According to Fortescue "from 1862 onward young deer captured before the hounds on the Exmoor side of the country were from time to time transported to the Quantocks and there turned out." (HJF page 58) This may have been done to form some sort of reservoir of deer as at the time the deer on an around the Exmoor forest were still heavily persecuted. As Fortescue puts it "There was something to be said for raising a herd in a country where it would be strictly preserved, and that too in covers belonging to the master himself." (HJF page 59) Fortescue was dismissive about the earlier Quantock deer : "the deer on the Quantocks had never been wild deer as on Exmoor, but simply a small tame herd turned out from some deer park, which had been exterminated and replaced by a few more still tamer." (HJF page 60)
The hunting of deer on the Quantocks commenced in 1865 when Mr Bisset killed his first stag there on August 29th (HJF page 63) The Quantocks were no part of the original stag-hunting country and Mr Bisset effectively annexed the area when the deer in the Exmoor Forest were unsafe (HJF page 98) Fortescue was dismissive not only of the deer on the Quantocks but also of the hunt supporters there : "There is not wild land enough to give them a fair chance of going where they will, and the result is that they simply ring round and round and about the small range of hills, hustled by the unsportsmanlike filed without any hope of fair play." (HJF page 98)
Deer were regularly moved from Exmoor to the Quantocks. Fortescue tells us that in the hindhunting season of 1876 "twenty-three hinds were taken, of which nineteen were killed and four saved for the Quantocks;" (HJF page 74)
The Quantock Staghounds were first set up in 1901 by Mr E. J. Stanley of Quantock Lodge. (ETM page 20)
Tiverton Staghounds.
These were set up by Sir John Heathcoat-Amory of Knightshayes Court , Tiverton in 1896 in an effort to aid Mr Sanders the Master of the DSSH at the time with the control of deer. They were known to start with as Sir John Amory's Staghounds. (ETM page 20)
Staghunters views on carted deerhunting.
Charles Palk Collyns was as derogatory about carted deerhunting as present day foxhunters are about draghunting. "Until the ancient sport of the country ceases to exist by the complete extinction of the wild deer, the more modern expedient of turning out a 'calf' will never acquire popularity with the sportsmen of Devon and Somerset. Without implying the least disrespect to those who enjoy a gallop after a stall-fed deer, I am quite sure every one will feel that there is a charm in the sport which I have attempted to describe in this little volume which can never attach to that of following a chase after an animal bred in a park, 'enlarged' for the day's amusement, and carted back to his paddock at the conclusion of the run. True, the 'calf-hunter' is certain of not having to undergo the disappointment of a blank day ; but from what I have read and heard (for I have but little personal experience in the matter, the performances of the uncarted deer are very unequal, and the runs frequently very poor." (pages 152-153) The following curious incident was reported on August 26th 1823 : "This day the hounds ran a stag which had been imported from Badminton Park. The hounds soon ran into him ; in fact, he had no go in him." (CPC page 211) Whether this was an attempt to introduce deer into the area or an attempt at some kind of carted deerhunting who knows? Deer certainly were moved about by hunting interests. On September 17th 1858 a stag was taken above Marsh Bridge. Examination "proved him to be a deer which I turned out as a yearling six years before ; he was one given me by Captain West. I presume that his head had never been properly developed ; his running was very inferior to that of a stag bred in this country." (CPC page 245)
My final quote on the subject of staghunting is drawn from the book The Fairest Hunting. Hunting and Watching Exmoor Deer by H.P. Hewett published in 1963. In this he writes of the end of a hunt "That there is a bad ten minutes at the last is undeniable, but we all have to face that sooner or later." (HPH page 45)
Mike Huskisson
A.W.I.S. GUIDE 1
An alphabetical aid to understanding the intimacies of hunting and similar rural amusements, past and present
Where two publication dates are given the first is of first publication the second is that from which the reference is extracted. (.......) shows the omission of words to save space. Phrases in brackets thus ( [ ] ) are added for clarity.
Abolition of Cruel Sports, early attempts.
The shooting for sport of live pigeons released from traps:
"When that good sportsman, Lord Redesdale, declared his intention of opposing the second reading of Mr. Anderson’s Bill to prohibit pigeon-shooting, the fate of that measure was sealed. No one could accuse the noble lord of any leaning towards pigeon-shooting or betting; his objections to the Bill were founded upon the broad principles which have been laid down in these pages by "The Hermit in London." "It was a fact," said his Lordship, "that many who supported this measure were practically opposed to all kinds of sport whatever;" and in that view he was quite correct. The Bill was but the narrow end of the wedge, and, although it was not openly avowed, it was intended to be a stepping-stone towards the abolition of all those amusements that bind a country gentleman to his home......Let then our golden youth bear in mind that the more they tame down sport, and make it easy and luxurious, the more they place arguments in the mouths of those who are opposed to every description of amusement. Our contention is that the prohibition of pigeon-shooting was not a fit subject for legislation at all, but should be left to the good feeling of sportsmen." (Baily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes. Pub. A.H. Baily & Co., September 1883. Page 184 in Volume 41. [The pastime of pigeon shooting in this fashion was abolished by the Captive Birds Shooting (Prohibition) Act, 1921. Clay pigeon shooting, a humane alternative, now thrives] )
Alternatives to Hunting.
Draghunting. Cross-country riding can be enjoyed without pursuing wild animals:
"The hard-riding contingent vote cub-hunting to be tame sport, and doubtless from their standpoint they are right. Their point of view is to regard as good sport a fast gallop with lots of jumping. In their opinion the fox and the hounds are mere accessories, and as they never trouble to learn the orthodoxy of fox-hunting it is not to be expected that they should take any interest in the preliminaries of the legitimate fox-hunting season." (A Century of English Fox-Hunting. George F. Underhill. Pub. R.A. Everett & Co. 1900. Page 269)
"Riding can be enjoyed without hunting. It is to this day my greatest pleasure, and it must be remembered that only about five per cent ride straight to hounds, the rest of the field career round the lanes and through the gates. For the good horseman there is always the draghunt, which almost invariably develops into a steeplechase. (This, however, makes it unpopular with those who only require a little social activity, the admiration of the crowd, the pomp and pageantry associated with hunting.)" (The Farming Ladder. George Henderson. Pub. Faber and Faber Ltd. 1944. Page 20)
Hound Trailing (in which hounds competitively pursue a humane scent):
"Hound trailing is rising rapidly in the social scale now that such men as Lord Lonsdale have taken it up; and indeed, fairly conducted, it is excellent sport entirely without the taint of cruelty." (Article, "Sporting Life in a Cumberland Dale, by "Dalesman" The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes July-Dec 1911. Page 492)
Badgers.
Killed by Foxhunters:
"At the annual dinner of Lord Middleton’s Hounds, held at Malton, in Yorkshire, in May, 1903, Will Grant, the retiring huntsman, made an extraordinary statement. He told his hearers that during the fifteen years in which he had hunted the pack he and his hounds had killed 2,000 foxes, a highly satisfactory record. But he added further that during his last three seasons he or his pack had killed, into the bargain, no fewer than 161 badgers. Badgers are, evidently, plentiful enough in Yorkshire, and these animals are by no means beloved of fox-hunting folk; yet it passes the wit of the average sportsman and lover of wild life to understand why, in three seasons, Lord Middleton’s huntsman should have destroyed this huge number of a beast which has not only become comparatively rare in Britain, but which is, after all, one of the most harmless as it is one of the most interesting of our native fauna. [Since this chapter was written I have heard from Lord Middleton and his late huntsman, Will Grant, in reply to inquiries of mine on this subject. Lord Middleton tells me that his country is overrun with badgers, and that these animals have greatly increased during the last quarter of a century. He adds that they are mischievous and do harm in many ways. Even from the point of view of the fox-hunter, however, this extirpation of badgers seems to me a trifle unreasonable.]" (Nature and Sport in Britain. H.A. Bryden. Pub. Grant Richards. 1904. Pages 235-236 inc. note)
"The Countryman. More night noises.
.............Next day the racket started up again and continued into the night. It became so unbearable that a young man was sent to drive the badger out of the wood towards waiting guns.
The noise in the wood was so terrible, however, that the young man would have no more of it. He bolted in fear and was seen running like a bat out of hell towards the main road. The blood-curdling racket continued on and off until November when foxhounds in the wood contacted a badger which killed two of their number and mortally wounded two more before being killed itself. From then on the noise ceased. That all took place in 1933........." (Article by Fred J. Taylor. Shooting Times & Country Magazine. May 21-27, 1981, page 23)
"CLIFTON’S WHITE BADGER
A Club Mascot
The Clifton Badger Club, like others of its kind, pursues with zest the partial extermination of badgers because of the burrows they provide for foxes in the area of the hunt.
Mr. Celebatch’s farm at Little Wittley was the rendezvous of the Club on Good Friday. The shades of evening were well advanced before the presence of badgers was disclosed. The haunt sheltered a small litter, in which, to the amazement of the diggers, one of its number was found to be perfectly white with pink eyes. A successful effort was made by Mr. W. Millward, ex-Kennelman of the Clifton Hunt, to secure this animal uninjured, and the Club is surely unique in its possession of a live white member of the badger family, which has been chosen as the Club’s mascot." (Report Berrow’s Worcester Journal. 11th July 1936)
"An old dog fox or a badger, should one accidentally be encountered, may put two terriers on the sick-list within an hour.
It is a mistake to allow the Hunt terriers to be used for badger digging, as, apart from the fact that they may get badly mauled, it tends to make them too hard. It is, to say the least of it, disappointing to dig for an hour with the hope of giving the fox a run in the open, only to discover that it has already been killed by the terrier." (To Hunt the Fox. David Brock. Master of the Thurles and Kilshane Foxhounds sometime Master of the East Sussex. Pub. Seeley Service and Co. Ltd. 1937. Page 274)
"Duo convicted on evidence of ‘mole’
TWO HUNT workers were convicted yesterday of digging for badgers on the evidence of an undercover RSPCA "mole."........
Stephen Clifton (35), manager of the Isle of Wight hunt kennels at Gatcombe, and James Butcher (25), a terrier man with the Essex and Suffolk kennels in Lower Layham, Suffolk, where he lived, both denied digging for a badger and attempting to kill, injure or catch one. They were each fined a total of £500 and each ordered to pay £500 costs...........
They claimed they were digging for foxes at the request of a nearby farmer." (Report Dundee Courier & Advertiser. 31st May 1991 [Stephen Clifton was the professional Huntsman of the Isle of Wight Foxhounds] )
Campaigning.
Various tactics:
"I had hoped not to worry you again with a letter, but I have just had the most interesting lunch with Ian Trethowan (it was his turn to give me lunch!).
He is entirely and 100% on our side and greatly deplores the stupid announcements made by some BBC programme kings. For example I told him about a rather stupid broadcast on Boxing Day Meets made that morning. He took a note immediately and said he would deal with it.
However, the main object of this letter is to tell you that he thinks it important that we should get a well-known personality who would be willing to talk on the radio or even television to the general effect: "I do not care much about coursing (or foxhunting, etc) but I am dead against the interference with the freedom of the individual by the Government." He suggested such personalities as Enoch Powell, Robens, Richard Marsh and Gormley.
Ian said that if we could get anyone on this he would guarantee to get them on the air for us and possibly television. He said that this was the sort of personality who would sway people and I think he is right. He also said that it was desperately important to get the miners behind us in regard to coursing, as indeed Tom Reynolds has said on many occasions.
I am copying this to Raymond." (Letter from Sir Richard Goodwin, Secretary British Field Sports Society, to Marcus Kimball, Esq, M.P., dated 8th January 1975, printed in HOWL No. 12, Spring 1979 [Marcus Kimball was Joint Master and amateur Huntsman at the Fitwilliam Foxhounds from 1951-53 and he held the same position at the Cottesmore from 1953-58. He was Conservative M.P. for Gainsborough from 1956 to 1983, and Chairman of the B.F.S.S. from 1966 to 1982. Ian Trethowan was Managing Director, BBC Radio 1969-75, Managing Director BBC Television 1976-77, Director General of the BBC, 1977-82] )
"Trolley tactics
Sir,- There is a simple method to register our disapproval of the Co-operative Society’s ban on hunting.
Simply enter the nearest Co-op and fill one of the mobile trolleys and take it through the payout desk. On presentation of the bill, hand the cashier a leaflet on "Hands off Hunting", stating that you have changed your mind on shopping at the Co-op until the ban is lifted.
I feel certain that the manager will not be best pleased, particularly on a busy day!" (Readers letter, Shooting Times & Country Magazine. May 13-19, 1982)
"The Association of Lurcher Clubs. BY GARY HOSKER
......I organised groups or cells (as we activist call them) of lurchermen to help pro-hunting MP’s at the last General Election, we helped six, three were elected.
With the aid of a local Master of Hounds we set up a telephone pyramid so that phone-in’s could be answered and telephone opinion polls won. These pyramids were in turn linked to other pyramids throughout the country, so that an opinion poll in the Isle of Skye might very well be answered by lurcher or terriermen in Kent. As a mark of their success I don’t know of an opinion poll the anti’s have won recently." (Article, Earth Dog ~ Running Dog, September 1996. No. 53. Page 37)
"A real protest
Sir - I shall be attending the rally in Hyde Park on 10 July.
But more drastic action is required. In this respect, we could learn from the French~truck drivers, fishermen and farmers~now, they really know how to protest.
The hunting and country sports bodies could snarl up London with thousands of horseboxes and trailers and thousands of mounted riders. What an amazing sight this would be, and a sure way of getting the message home.
A few thousand people in Hyde Park will be somewhat more effective than Stoneleigh or Ardingly, but not nearly as effective as the action I have mentioned above." (Readers letter, Horse & Hound. 29 May 1997 Page 12)
Farmers attitude to hunting.
General:
"Ethically it is wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering for the gratification of a mere thrill, and for that reason fox-hunting is a disgrace to the civilization of a country that permits it, and a reflection on the mentality of the people who take part in it. To contend that it provides employment is to put it on a level with crime and lunacy, for which the same thing could be said. The work and trade associated with the sport could be put to more productive and creative use." (The Farming Ladder. George Henderson. Pub. Faber and Faber Ltd. 1944. Page 20)
Farming.
Loss of livestock due to poor care:
"Down on the farms of our traditionally animal-caring society about three million piglets, two million lambs and a million calves die unnecessarily each year.....On farms not 150, but well over 16,000 large animals die unnecessarily each day....The round figures for deaths in millions are widely agreed to be reasonable estimates of actual losses, are accepted by the farming industry, by the Government and the professions involved in animal care, but are not often discussed in public. They indicate, not some massive cruelty, but a state of animal husbandry ~ of animal public health down on the farm if you like ~ which is comparable with human public health in Europe in the eighteenth century.
For these are animals dying within 48 hours of birth, through cold and privation, through inadequate support, perhaps inadequate prenatal care." (The Guardian report, page 8, September 30th 1982, of the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Liverpool, 1982)
".....Livestock farmers have also suffered from the cold, wet spring. Most lambing is now done indoors, but sheep and lambs turned out afterwards are meeting the impact of the weather. One farmer reported a loss of 29 lambs after a rainy April night...." (News report, Tonbridge Courier. May 6th 1983)
Foxes.
Bagged foxes for hunting:
"On the hounds returning to the kennels, five were missing. The next morning the huntsman sent a man to Ruperra to look for the absent dogs. Three of them were found lying outside the drain, and two GOMER and COUNTESS in the hole, with a fox. The huntsmen soon after arrived, and the hounds, and a splendid male fox was dug out alive. The fox was bagged and brought to the Heath, where he is reserved for another day’s sport. He will be turned out in a few days, when the gallant Master of the hounds promises another hard days run to the tired sportsmen of Cardiff and neighbourhood." (Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian 2.3.1866 page 5 col.5 quoted in Master of Hounds. Fred, Vida and John Holley. Pub. V.A. Holley. 1987. Page 204)
"On Tuesday last the Pentyrch Hounds met at St. Fagans for the purpose of turning out a bag fox.
There was a large assembly present, amongst whom we noticed a party from St. Fagans Castle. The fox was turned out by the grandson of the Baroness Windsor and after a good run in the open was brushed by J.P. Booker, Esq., Master of the Pentyrch Hounds, and the brush sent by him to St. Fagans Castle, to the young representative of the Clive family." (Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian 12.10.1866 page 5 col.4 quoted in Master of Hounds. Fred, Vida and John Holley. Pub. V.A. Holley. 1987. Page 210)
"In Abe Pattinson's days a similar joke was played at Howtown~this time against the huntsman. A fox had been so desperately run that he took refuge in a stick heap and was secured alive by J. Waugh and Atty Grisdale, who took it to Howtown Hotel. Several of the hounds had been kennelled and the huntsman was returning home with the remainder. Prompted by that spirit of devilment which reigns eternal in the hunter's breast, the two natives liberated their "bagged" fox at the back door of the hotel, and he immediately stole off in the direction of Steel End. Someone, however, acquainted Abe with what had occurred and he immediately cast off the remaining hounds afresh, and before the lapse of half-an-hour they had run reynard down. Shortly before being run down the fox turned and pluckily faced the leading hound with bared fangs but found the odds too great." (Reminiscences of Joe Bowman and the Ullswater Foxhounds. W.C. Skelton. Pub. Atkinson & Pollitt. 1921. Pages 118-119. [Abe Pattinson was the huntsman for the Ullswater, a Fell pack, from the creation of the pack in 1873 to 1879] )
"Probably all hunting men whose lot is cast in a country where game is preserved to excess know all about the bag-fox, and what sort of creature he is to hunt, but fields are in these days of such enormous size, and so many of the men and women who go out hunting care so little for sport as sport, that when a fiasco occurs with a bagman they are often none the wiser...........
In one good country, which for obvious reasons we shall not particularise, we were trotting on to a meet in company with the master, and never having been in the exact locality before, we interrogated him as to the likelihood of sport. He was not sanguine as to the morning draw, and candidly told us that hounds would probably find quickly, but that he doubted the capabilities of any foxes in those coverts he was likely to draw first. He had realised the situation exactly; hounds found a fox which ran three hundred yards, and when the huntsman picked him up he shook a shower of chaff out of his coat. A second fox ran from one little spinny to another a quarter of a mile away. He had a broken bit of rope round his neck, and hounds would not break him up. At a lawn meet in quite a different country we saw a quick find in some laurels, and what appeared to be a genuine, good-looking fox broke away in view of a big field. He crossed a small park, and slipped under a gateway into a stubble field, securing a capital start, but he was quite dazed, and ran twice round the little enclosure he found himself in, never making any attempt to leave. He had not only an old, rusty collar round his neck, but part of a label attached." (The Complete Foxhunter. Charles Richardson, (Hunting Editor, "The Field"). Pub. Methuen & Co. 1908. Pages 28-30)
"But some shooting tenants, though possibly sincere enough themselves in their attitude towards the Hunt, have little or no control over their keepers, who either risk their master’s displeasure and produce no foxes, or more frequently commit a worse crime and turn down a bag-fox whenever their coverts are being drawn........It should be remarked that the Master cannot blame a keeper for turning down a bag-fox if he himself, or one of his own servants, is also in the habit of doing so." (To Hunt the Fox. David Brock. Master of the Thurles and Kilshane Foxhounds sometime Master of the East Sussex. Pub. Seeley Service & Co. Ltd., 1937. Pages 37 & 38)
Benefits of foxes: "One good work the fox does is the snapping-up of diseased game as soon as it becomes at all feeble, and thereby preventing the spread of the complaint. In the Eastern Counties, and elsewhere, coveys of partridges are frequently seen afflicted with gapes, and, when flushed, individual birds drop exhausted at intervals along the whole line of flight. These birds linger on from day to day, spreading the disease, but if foxes existed there all but the most vigorous would be promptly destroyed, and their capacity for harm at once brought to an end, with ultimate benefit to the rest of the stock." (Game And Foxes. F.W.Millard, (Secretary to the Gamekeepers’ Association). Pub. Horace Cox. 1906. Page 107)
Caged foxes for hunting:
"Hearing hounds in front we pressed on and found them baying at a cage, which was placed in the middle of the covert in a tremendously thick place, and inside of which were two foxes~evidently ready for the draw which was to be made in a day or two. The hunted fox had probably gone on, but the master and one of his men were quickly on the spot, so that the situation was thoroughly grasped.
We have heard on what appeared to be absolutely reliable information that another pack of hounds came upon one of these cages in a big covert, and that, owing to the wire not being strong enough to resist their weight, they got inside, and quickly disposed of the half-dozen foxes which were being bottled up for future use. The story was told us by a master of hounds, and we have little doubt of its truth, because we have actually seen three of these cages~the one referred to above and two others." (The Complete Foxhunter. Charles Richardson, (Hunting Editor, "The Field"). Pub. Methuen & Co. 1908. Page 43)
Damage allegedly caused by foxes to:
Lambs:
"As regards foxes killing lambs, there is a great deal of nonsense talked and of misconception about it. That a fox will undoubtedly kill one, if it is very weak, or sometimes, when a ewe has two, will nip up one whilst she is defending the other, is a fact; but it is only when they are very small. The ewe is quite capable of defending her lamb.....In almost every case where a fox is found eating a lamb, it has been killed by a dog, and generally by a sheep dog; more often than not by the lamb’s own shepherd’s dog.....I do not say that foxes never kill lambs, but I say that such an occurrence is very rare.....We make a rule that no poultry shall be paid for that are not shut up at night......I have had claims for calves and cows killed by foxes, but they are too ridiculous to require any remarks from me." (The Badminton Library. Hunting. The Duke of Beaufort & Mowbray Morris. Pub. Longmans, Green, and Co., 1885. Pages 154-156)
"If here and there a fox does kill lambs the owner or his shepherd is often much to blame. A farmer generally establishes a lambing pen in the fields, and all the pregnant ewes are collected therein. As soon as lambs begin to appear foxes are attracted to the spot~and how? Why, simply by the cleanings or afterbirths of the ewes being merely thrown outside the pen instead of buried deeply out of the way. Either fox or dog will go miles for such fare as this, and the odour, which savours strongly of newborn lamb, attracts them from over a long distance. If a fox is encouraged in this way, is it to be wondered at that a lamb is stolen when afterbirths are no longer to be had? Were these disposed of properly, a fox would not consider it worth his while to visit the lambing fold.
The same remarks apply to the dead lambs of tender age, which the shepherd is too lazy to bury, for these, too, are generally thrown into some convenient ditch, or covert, where a fox can feed on them. In this way a liking for such food is engendered, and when dead lamb is no longer available, that alive has to pay the penalty. A farmer who permits his shepherd to leave dead lambs lying about is deserving of little sympathy should foxes attack his young flock.
Foxes are frequently blamed for killing almost mature mutton, when dogs are the real culprits; the latter feed on their victim and leave it, and a fox passing near is attracted to the spot and also enjoys a meal. The tracks of one or several foxes soon obliterate those of the dogs, and, as the footmarks of the former only are to be seen in the morning, foxes are at once condemned without further inquiry. A vixen, too, is sometimes considered guilty because a dead lamb is found near her earth, but it may be one she has found which a shepherd had neglected to bury." (Game And Foxes. F.W. Millard, (Secretary to the Gamekeepers’ Association). Pub. Horace Cox. 1906. Pages 117-119)
"The question of lambs cannot be ignored, and there can be no doubt that at times a fox will kill and eat a lamb; one wonders why more do not go this way because it must be a comparatively easy way of obtaining a good meal. I feel that ravens and rooks do much more harm, while we all know that the domestic dog constitutes almost the greatest menace. However, it is fun to have a grievance, and bad luck, or bad management, must be put down to something." (Fox and Hare in Leicestershire. Eric Morrison, (Ex-Master, Westerby Basset Hounds, Joint-Master, Atherstone Foxhounds). Pub. Eyre & Spottiswoode 1954. Page 23)
Pheasants:
"There is one thing the Hunt authorities often do which cannot be too strongly condemned, and that is the turning down of semi-tame foxes in a covert stocked with young game. This is done because such litters are on hand and the Hunt does not know what to do with them. Before now a litter has been released at night in a covert containing hand-reared pheasants just removed from the rearing field, and great destruction wrought before measures could be taken to prevent it.............Cubs which have been kept in confinement a few weeks and fed by hand become partially tame; their dread of man is not so pronounced as it is in the case of purely wild foxes, and being unaccustomed to get their own food such cubs venture lengths which an ordinary fox would not dare. In this case all the keeper’s efforts and carefully-devised scares are of little avail." (Game And Foxes. F.W. Millard, (Secretary to the Gamekeepers’ Association). Pub. Horace Cox. 1906. Pages 100-101)
"Another keeper, a well-known man in his profession, vouched that he secured the safety of his nesting game by performing on every cub a slight operation which utterly destroyed its scenting faculties. How he contrived to do this he could never be persuaded to divulge, but observation of the habits of his foxes certainly went to prove that something of the kind had been done." (Game And Foxes. F.W. Millard, (Secretary to the Gamekeepers’ Association). Pub. Horace Cox. 1906. Page 105)
Encouraging foxes for hunting:
Artificial earths:
"The artificial earth is now-a-days very often the accompaniment of the artificial covert, and we think it is just as well to make an earth in every new covert, if only in the hope that wild foxes may take to it in years to come. Artificial earths, however, are almost invariably made in order that they may form a home for hand-reared cubs, and though they are a horrible thing in themselves, there is undoubtedly a necessity for them in these days, where the fox is much interfered with in many districts, and would disappear altogether if he were not carefully cherished. It amounts to this, then, that it is wise to remove and hand-rear such cubs as will not be allowed to live if left where they were bred, and that being the case it is of course right to give the matter one’s best attention, in this case by imitating nature as nearly as possible. And writing of imitating nature what natural earth can compare with the elaborately planned artificial one that is now made? The wild fox lies up in a drain, in a rabbit-hole, or amongst the rocks, while the hand-reared cub has his "mansion replete with every modern sanitary convenience."" (Baily’s Fox-Hunting Directory. 1897-8 [Vol. 1] Pub. Vinton & Co. Ltd. 1897. Page 16)
"It should be borne in mind that an artificial earth is frequently the means of introducing mange into a country; that it provides a golden opportunity for a gamekeeper to turn down a bag-fox, for a dishonest huntsman to "doctor" a fox, and for poachers to steal one.
The diagram gives details of a satisfactory type of artificial earth. [Plan drawing shown~Ed.]
Having built the earth it is necessary to persuade foxes to use it, and the best way of doing this is to turn a litter of cubs into it and to leave them there until the earth smells thoroughly "foxy"~say for a month. It will be necessary to arrange a wire run for the cubs to exercise themselves, and to see that they are fed and watered daily. On no account must they be fed on meat, other than rabbits, rats, or birds. "Butcher’s meat" is very likely to introduce mange. For this reason, too, they should not be kept in the earth a moment longer than necessary....Should there be a natural earth in the immediate neighbourhood it should be destroyed, so that the foxes which would normally use it may be attracted to the artificial earth....If absolute quiet is observed a fox may often be bolted from an artificial earth if a strong electric torch is flashed up one pipe. This method is especially useful if it is thought that there are two foxes in the earth, for a sharp man can put down the grating as soon as the first is clear of the mouth; two hunts may then be scored from the one earth." (To Hunt the Fox. David Brock. Master of the Thurles and Kilshane Foxhounds sometime Master of the East Sussex. Pub. Seeley Service & Co. Ltd. 1937. Pages 58-60)
"I have been asked to say a few words about the upkeep of artificial fox-earths and coverts, which serve as a reservoir of foxes in those districts which would otherwise be insufficiently "foxed" to show consistent sport. I should like to say that the creation of man-made fox-earths borders too closely upon the "artificial" to suit me, for, although it is a comparatively simple matter to see to it that there are always foxes in them, it is nearly always necessary to bolt them in order to get a hunt. With too many artificial earths in a country, hounds get used to having foxes bolted for them and simply go to a holloa when once they are afoot. Very soon they get so used to having half their work done for them that they will not draw regular coverts well when it is necessary for them to do so. Moreover, such procedure comes perilously close to the evil practice of hunting a "bag-man." (Fox Hunting chapter by A. Henry Higginson in Youth in the Saddle, edited by Lt.-Col. W.E. Lyon. Pub. Collins 1955. Page 126. [A.H. Higginson was Master of the Cattistock Foxhounds from 1930-1939] )
"An artificial earth
I should be grateful for help over the making of an artificial fox-earth, please.-A.V. (Staffordshire)
A fox needs a space about 1ft. 3in. cube, but it can be larger. You can either dig a hole in a bank, or create a bank enclosing a cavity. Another way is to create a cavity with cordwood covered with sods, or use logs and earth. Indeed, any cavity with a bare earth floor, no matter how enclosed, will serve. It is said that a fox prefers only one entrance to the earth, but it is often found that if a second entrance is not provided (that is, an exit), the fox makes one." (Readers enquiry, The Field, November 29th, 1965)
"In countries where earths are scarce it is sometimes found necessary to make artificial earths, to provide somewhere for local foxes to have their cubs : in other words, for breeding purposes. Another advantage of artificial earths is that in grass countries where the coverts tend to be small and scattered it is useful to have snug earths judiciously placed at regular intervals, thus persuading foxes to take a good line. An additional advantage is that if an artificial earth is left open, it will only take a few minutes to bolt a fox. Also if it is a blank day, one knows where to go with some certainty of finding a fox.........In this book I only wish to touch on the subject, and to tell you what my grandfather had to say.
He felt that artificial earths should be primarily intended as breeding establishments, and so among the chief points to be borne in mind should be the aspect, position, soil, drainage and materials used for their construction." (Fox-Hunting. The Duke of Beaufort. Pub. David & Charles. 1980. Page 141)
"Barry drew again down Lansdale Fell, found, and hunted over to Mill Beck, marking to ground in "Porter’s Parlour".
Now I would have attempted the short climb to where they were digging, but a very interesting Mr John Gregg came and spoke to me and told me the history of "Porters Parlour". It is the largest man-made borran ever known, built about 30 years ago by Ronnie Porter. A maze of pipes and entrances exists..........The fox in Porters Parlour was accounted for, making a total of four foxes that day. On returning to the kennels, they were a terrier short, so went back to Porters Parlour, where a terrier was heard baying. It was then dug to, and the fifth fox of the day was added to the tally" (Article by The Gaffer, "Spring Hunting In the Cumbrian Fells" Hounds magazine. Vol. 10 No. 1. November 1993. Page 28. [Refers to meet of the Blencathra Foxhounds, a Fell pack, Huntsman Barry Todhunter] )
".....there are artificial earths in almost every hunting county in England." (Jeffrey Olstead, British Field Sports Society spokesman for Cumberland Foxhounds, in the ‘Sunday News & Star’, Carlisle. 17/3/1996)
Feeding foxes for hunting:
"The method of building the horseshoe drain is not of great consequence, we think; stone flags, bricks or pipes, all answer the purpose, but perhaps the flags are best and cleanest, and least likely to generate mange. When the cubs are brought there they must be well looked after and fed, for in all probability they will have left their mother before she had taught them to look after themselves, and at first they are quite unable to find their own food. Rabbits, rats, beetles and birds of every description suit them best, but too much raw horse-flesh often causes mange, which is, with the exception of barbed wire, the greatest curse any hunt can have to face, and we mention this because, if the cubs are located within easy distance of the kennels, the man in charge, in order to save trouble, often secures his supplies from the feeder, and thus the cubs get surfeited with horse-flesh at a time when they are better suited by milder food. Besides which, too, horse-flesh causes the cubs to shirk hunting on their own account, and foxes who get into these bad habits always become pottering, ringing beggars, and often die the moment the food supply is stopped." (Baily’s Fox-Hunting Directory. 1897-8 [Vol. 1] Pub. Vinton & Co. Ltd. 1897. Page 17)
Stick-piles:
"Besides gorse coverts and osier beds~which latter are good covert, but are seldom made with a view to foxes only, and which can only be formed on certain lands~sticks are the most popular of artificial fox preserves, and these are becoming more numerous every year. There is something simple about a stick heap. Anyone can make one, and if he has chosen a good locality in a neighbourhood that is nicely "foxed," it is almost odds that his covert holds soon enough." (Baily’s Fox-Hunting Directory. 1897-8 [Vol.1] Pub. Vinton & Co. Ltd. 1897. Page 15)
"In order to bolt foxes from a stick-heap, a short ladder and some 8ft. poles should be kept at the nearest cottage or farmhouse. If these are left lying near the heap, they may tempt farm hands and others to disturb the foxes. To bolt a fox three or four men mount the ladder, and get on to the top of the heap. They then work in line towards the entrances, pushing the poles down through the thorns, and rattling them against the roots below.......Should a fox bolt early in the proceedings, the pole-men should at once get off the heap, as there may be another fox in the latter, and he may come in useful later in the day." (Foxes Foxhounds and Fox-Hunting. Richard Clapham. Pub. Heath Cranton Limited. 1922. Pages 103-104)
[At the time of writing, January 1998, within the area hunted by the Thurlow Foxhounds based near Newmarket, 31 artificial earths and 16 stick piles have been identified. In addition 6 sites were found where hunt supporters put out food for foxes, contravening the 1992 Animal By-Products Order.]
Hunting does not control the fox population:
"This column, and quite rightly so, has often praised the efforts of the R.S.P.C.A. in various field but the attitude of the Society towards field sports has been equivocal to a degree which almost beggars belief. It professes to support foxhunting on the grounds that there is no more humane way of controlling foxes, when anybody who knows anything about the matter at all must be aware of the fact that foxhunting does not control foxes. The fact that foxes are flourishing as well as they are is due, in no small measure, to our hunts and, if you are a genuine conservationist, you should acknowledge their existence with thanks." (Jack Snipe article "Notes & Comments", Shooting Times & Country Magazine. 23/2/1967. Page 231)
Imported/moved for hunting:
"Reynard appears to have been originally divided into three distinct sorts, the greyhound, the bull-dog, and the cur-fox. The first is the wildest, stoutest, and fleetest, and is found in wild and mountainous districts. It is the indigenous species, and the best; hard to find, harder still to kill. Though now fast becoming extinct, he frequently leads the hounds many a mile up-hill and down dale, from dawn till dusk, ere his funeral chime is rung..............
The importation of foreign foxes is very great, and increases each year, from various parts of the Continent, and it may be safely averred, that if this were to cease, there would not be a fox in Great Britain in the next century, save in some of our extreme mountain fastnesses, or what may be strictly preserved. It is said that over one thousand are annually disposed of in Leadenhall market, the supply principally coming from Holland, France, and Germany. "Gastang," the well-known dealer, had once an order to stock a country in three weeks, and actually got seventy-five brace of both sexes and various sizes from the Continent and Scotland, charging twelve shillings and sixpence for the smaller, and fifteen shillings each for the larger ones.
The French fox has a long narrow head, rather long in the leg, and is not so bright in colour as our English fox. Russian foxes are blacker than ours, and shaggy in coat. Canadian foxes are very like ours. German foxes are grey in muzzle, more bluff and bull-head. Holland foxes are lengthy, with ears like donkeys, and thick brushes. So with all this variety of foreigners, which of course get intermixed, it is difficult to say what description of animal we really have now, and well might an eminent M.F.H. exclaim, that foxes are sadly changed now, and that there are few stout and straight foxes to be found." (Horn And Hound in Wales and some adjoining Counties. Edwin Wathen Price. Pub. Daniel Owen and Company, Limited. Undated but believed to be 1895. Pages 45-46)
"Among these enemies of fox-hunting, the man who has become suddenly rich, who has been reared in towns, and cares little for the ancient interests and traditions of the countryside, and especially that of fox-hunting, is too often in evidence. He is too old, too soft, or has too little nerve to acquire the difficult art of riding to hounds; but he can and does acquire a certain amount of skill in shooting. He spends money lavishly in rearing pheasants and providing big "shoots"; his wealth, his magnificent entertainments, his holocausts of game, bring him quickly the friends and the paragraphic notoriety that he desires. In the opinion of this class of person, wild foxes and foxhounds have no business near his coverts, and his keepers take good care that his private ideas are carried out. It is true that this type of pheasant preserver dare not plainly declare himself the bitter enemy of the fox-hunter. Public opinion, of which he has a wholesome dread, would not at present tolerate such an open avowal. But the wild fox knows his woodlands no more, and miserable imported beasts, kept in hand and turned down periodically against the coming of the hounds, are offered in its place. From these imported foxes, confined in some filthy kennel till they are foul with disease, has been spread the fell plague of mange, which nowadays devastates whole districts and threatens even to exterminate wild-bred foxes altogether. In some countries foxes have become so scarce from the ravages of mange that even masters of hounds are compelled to import fresh stock and turn them down. These importations again are, from confinement, often liable to disease, and are very poor substitutes for the aboriginal wild fox of the district." (Nature and Sport in Britain. H.A. Bryden. Pub. Grant Richard. 1904. Pages 140-141)
"That dread scourge, mange, seldom makes its appearance on the fells, and was unheard of until the importation of foxes from outside introduced it. There is no more horrid sight than a badly manged fox, hairless, and foul with disease." (Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells. Richard Clapham. Pub. Longmans, Green and Co., 1920. Page 37)
"In the old days there were some very big foxes on the fells, but now the breed has somewhat deteriorated owing to an admixture of outside blood, introduced by foxes imported to countries bordering the fells." (Sport on Fell, Beck, & Tarn. Richard Clapham. Pub. Heath Cranton Limited. 1924. Page 24)
"To All Masters.
CONFIDENTIAL
MOVEMENT OF FOXES
May I once again draw your attention to the allegations which have been made in Parliament and the Press to the effect that foxes are being moved from one part of the country to another for the purpose of restocking hunting countries.
As was the case last year, it is absolutely essential that hunts should avoid all traffic of this sort. If our opponents, who are extremely watchful and active, are able to prove that such movements are in fact going on, untold damage would be done to foxhunting which rests more than ever on the goodwill of the Government and Parliament.
I feel certain that all Masters will be aware of the seriousness of this matter and take all the necessary precautions to see that nothing occurs which may jeopardize the future of foxhunting.
FOXES AND POULTRY
May I also remind you of the circular which was sent out on the 2nd March, 1946 asking Masters to co-operate with the War Agricultural Executive Committees and the local branches of the National Farmers’ Union so as to ensure that foxes do not become too numerous in any part of the country and that if complaints are received, prompt action is taken.
I would emphasize that the future of foxhunting depends to a very large extent on the willing and co-operative spirit with which this advice is carried out even if it means using unorthodox methods for the destruction of foxes.
The recent long spell of hard weather, has, as you will appreciate, added considerably to the difficulties of the situation.
Beaufort. Chairman." (Letter from Masters of Foxhounds Association. Dated 13th March 1947)
"CONFIDENTIAL
MOVEMENT OF FOXES
In spite of the fact that both in 1946 and 1947 a notice was sent to all Masters, warning them that any movement of foxes from one part of the country to the other was highly undesirable, and that should specific instances come to the notice of the M.F.H. Association’s Committee, they would feel compelled to take the strongest action against offenders, our opponents have continued to assert that this is going on. Even the R.S.P.C.A. in a circular which was issued in connection with the recent introduction of two anti-sport Bills, spoke of foxes being transported from one place to another.......
Should it be necessary to move cubs because of complaints of losses of poultry or other reasons, you are asked to comply with the recommendation made in paragraph 40 of the constitution rules and recommendations of the Association. (Signed) Beaufort. Chairman" (Letter from M.F.H. Association dated 31st March 1949)
"Soon after I came, Sir Evelyn Wood was Commander-in-Chief. I used to meet him very often out riding with the old Duke of Cambridge when I was exercising hounds. He’d always stop, and ask about the hounds. He was very keen on the beagles, and used to come out hunting with us often. He was the first to import foxes into Aldershot. He got a lot down from Scotland and kept them in an enclosure in the Government House grounds. In the early part of the season, when the Garth Hounds were going to hold a cubbing meet anywhere near, he used to get us to bring the beagles to hunt the foxes out of the Government House grounds to spread them about the country. On one of these occasions we hunted one from Government House to ground at Fleet Pond, three and a half miles away. Sir Evelyn wasn’t at all pleased. He thought we ought to have stopped them." (Fifty Years A Kennel-Huntsman. Part I The Reminiscences of Eli Cranston, Fifty years the Kennel-Huntsman of the Aldershot Command Beagles and Draghounds. The Field October 30th 1937. Reproduced from The Merry Beagler, The Journal of the Army Beagling Association. April 1965 No.6 Page 19)
"Dear Sir,
We write to draw your attention to the digging out and taking alive of fox cubs by a member of the Tickham Hunt footpads, on Sunday, 21st April 1974.
I should like to know what you propose to do about it.
Yours faithfully. M. Davies. Secretary" (Letter from League Against Cruel Sports to the Secretary of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, Chipping Norton, dated 24th April 1974)
"Dear Dick,
.................I have been in touch with the Secretary of the Tickham on the question of this fox digging, and it appears that the man who did the job had no connection with the Hunt other than the fact that he happened to be a Member of the Supporters Club and was not in any way acting for the Hunt, and they do not know what has happened to the cubs.
Yours ever, J.E.S. Chamberlayne, Lt-Col., Honorary Secretary." (Letter from M.F.H. Association, Chipping Norton to Sir Richard Goodwin, British Field Sports Society, London. Dated April 29th 1974)
"Australia received the blessing of the fox, for sporting purposes, and the lesser blessing of the rabbit to feed the foxes." (Article by Colin Willock, Shooting Times & Country Magazine, May 23-29, 1974. Page 10)
"There are plenty of foxes on the island which were introduced from the mainland in the last century along with the badger, both of which are thriving..................................The Hunt dates from 1845, when foxes were imported into the island and a pack of foxhounds established by a few gentlemen, of whom Ben Cotton was the leading spirit, Henry Nunn assisting him. John Harvey, of Marvel, supplied the kennels." (Baily’s Hunting Directory 1997-1998. Entry for Isle of Wight Foxhounds. Page 81)
Survival prospects for foxes in absence of hunting:
"Then, in May 1965, Mr Goschen founded and registered his own pack to hunt country loaned by the Chiddingfold and Leconfield and Cowdray Hunts in Hampshire and West Sussex. Some of this region had not been hunted for 50 years but there were plenty of foxes in residence." (Shooting Times & Country Magazine, January 9-15, 1975. Page 13 [Foxes can survive well without hunting] )
Foxhunting.
"Blood":
"Masters and huntsmen hold widely different views on the subject of blood. There are few that do not agree that it is essential for a Pack to be in blood, but it is on the subject of what "being in blood" is that they differ. Many will say that hounds are out of blood if they take the field on three consecutive days without killing a fox; others say that the magic period is three weeks, and so on...................
Personally I am of the opinion that, for blood to do hounds any good, they must have it when they have their hackles up. To eat a fox out of a sack in cold blood, or to lie curled up at an earth for a couple of hours, then to have a half dead fox thrown at them, does hounds remarkably little good." (To Hunt the Fox. David Brock. Master of the Thurles and Kilshane Foxhounds sometime Master of the East Sussex. Pub. Seeley Service & Co. Ltd. 1937. Pages 251-252)
Bolting foxes that have sought sanctuary from the hounds below ground:
"It is as a rule wise to bolt a fox from a drain, even if he has afforded you a fast, straight run, because certain drains are veritable death-traps to foxes. When hounds have been trotted away to fresh covert, somebody can be left to do the job, and it may mean the saving of one or more good foxes to the Hunt." (Foxes Foxhounds and Fox-Hunting. Richard Clapham. Pub. Heath Cranton Limited. 1922. Page 108)
"CONFIDENTIAL.
BOLTING FOXES.
At a meeting of the Committee of the Masters of Foxhounds Association held recently consideration was given to the Report of the Committee on Cruelty to Wild Animals with special reference to Rule 18b of the M.F.H. Association.
You will have observed that the Committee on Cruelty to Wild Animals expressed the view that if a fox goes to ground he should either be dug out and killed at once, in accordance with M.F.H.A. rule 18c, or left where he is (M.F.H.A. Rule 18a). The Committee of Enquiry however expressed the view that M.F.H.A. Rule 18b, which allows a fox to be "bolted and given a fair and sporting chance of escape" is needlessly cruel and should be prohibited. The Committee of the M.F.H.A., whilst they do not propose to alter at present Rule 18b wish to draw particular attention to the finding of the Committee on Cruelty to Wild Animals, and to say that it is desirable to comply with them as closely as possible. With this view it is strongly recommended that the practice of bolting foxes which have been run to ground should be kept to a minimum.
Your Committee thinks that very often Press accounts of particular hunts give rise to the impression that a fox has been bolted several times, and they would be grateful if care may be taken in the wording of reports which are sent to the Press. Beaufort. Chairman" (Letter from M.F.H. Association, 19/10/1951)
"I have been known to get quite hot under the collar when someone has interfered when a fox is about to bolt for besides upsetting the plan it is unfair on the terrier who has probably already worked quite hard to get his fox out. My most memorable occasion when this happened almost cost me my job for I was, at the time, doing terrier work for a pack on the Welsh border.
Hounds had met at a really big country house and the "Lord of the Manor" was an eighty year old ex-Master~an arrogant old son of a bitch and as big a snob as one could possibly find. Hounds found immediately in a big old spinny near the house and after a short circuit of the property they marked to ground within three hundred yards of the meet.
It was a three hole earth but about twelve feet deep and I could see it would be a difficult dig....I asked the master to take hounds well back so that I could try for a bolt.....I slipped a little bitch, a cracker for bolting a fox....five minutes passed, then ten, but I was sure of a bolt....just then this old boy from the big house came ambling down the field with an even older looking terrier under his arm. I waved to indicate to him to keep back, or at least out of the line of fire....I shouted at him to keep back but as he reached the stream he threw the dog across and as the dog landed, so the fox came to the entrance, saw both the dog and the old man, and did a quick about turn back into the earth....I literally screamed at the master to get the old fool out of the way, swearing at him and leaping across the stream to tell him what I thought of him. I could hear the fox lay hold of my bitch as he turned back at her, which sent me into more of a rage....I shouted to the master to take hounds on as there was no chance of a bolt now and he would probably not see me again that day as, thanks to the old idiot, I was now faced with a long and difficult dig.....
I netted the holes and, leaving one man to watch them, set about trying to find the terrier....After about three hours we were down to the sandstone but although the bitch could now be heard quite plainly, it would have taken a jack hammer to make an impression on that rock.....We would have to tunnel between the two layers of sandstone....By eleven thirty that night I was just about done in and I had only gone in about ten feet or so....I decided to call it a night and, lifting the nets, I left my coat on the top hole and drove the two hours home.....The next morning, with my brother to help, I got back to the earth at nine o’clock....the old bitch was still baying away steadily so I reset the nets and started to dig into the tunnel once more.....we got lucky and broke into a pipe that led directly to the bitch....She was lying on her back baying upwards, for the fox was directly above her. It would take several hours to reach her so I decided to call her back and try another terrier that might get hold of the fox....I released Cooper, with lots of encouragement to send her on her way. She hit the fox like a train and, taking an instant firm hold, started to draw. Actually, she had gone in and then up a couple of feet to reach the fox so she was now really swinging in mid air, her back end six inches from the floor, jerking like mad to try to pull the fox away from his elevated position....The old man from the house brought us tea and sandwiches....Half an hour later Cooper had not made any progress, just swinging there, jerking so we just had to tunnel in to reach her. By late afternoon I had managed to get near enough to reach her and I got hold of her, helping her by pulling with her. The first bit of pressure saw the fox come with a rush and if I had not blinded him with the torch, which halted him for a moment, I reckon he would have been over me and away, even with the bitch holding him, for he was as big as an alsation and just as strong. I got him by the scruff with my free hand then, dropping the torch, got a leg, by mistake, with my other hand and before I could change my hold he got me, fair across the hand.
The next few minutes were murder as my brother dragged me back by my boots, fox, terrier and all and we shot this very big specimen, still gripping me like a vice. And all that just because the old man had interfered at the crucial time!" (Article "Silence is Golden" by Eddie Chapman, Earth Dog ~ Running Dog. No. 20. December 1993. Pages 12-14)
Cubhunting:
"URGENT
Your Committee was recently called upon to investigate allegations that cubs which had been marked to ground by the Bedale Hounds had not been killed before being given to hounds, as they should have been in accordance with Rule 18(c). The Master, Captain H. Farrer, admitted this to be true and that the foxes had in fact been drawn by hounds before being killed.
Under these circumstances, and in view of the fact that after a previous incident in October, 1947, all Masters were warned that if any similar case was brought to the notice of the Committee in the future the membership of the Master concerned would be terminated and official recognition withdrawn from the Hunt, your Committee had no alternative but to terminate Captain Farrer’s membership of the Association......Beaufort Chairman" (Letter from M.F.H. Association dated 2nd February 1949 [Baily’s Hunting Directory 1997-1998, page 12, reveals that Capt H L Farrer was Master of the Bedale Foxhounds from 1946-49 and again from 1950-53. From 1953 an unnamed Committee took over] )
"The object of cub-hunting is to educate both young hounds and fox-cubs. As was said earlier, it is not until he has been hunted that the fox draws fully on his resources of sagacity and cunning so that he is able to provide a really good run....I try to be out cub-hunting as often as possible myself, and the ideal thing is for the Master to be out every day....Never lose sight of the fact that one really well-beaten cub killed fair and square is worth half a dozen fresh ones killed the moment they are found without hounds having to exert themselves in their task. It is essential that hounds should have their blood up and learn to be savage with their fox before he is killed." (Fox-Hunting. The Duke of Beaufort. Pub. David & Charles. 1980. Pages 68-69)
Digging out of foxes:
"It should be a standing order that, except where there is a likelihood of the fox digging farther in, he should always be kept in the earth for the hounds to draw~if it is decided to kill him. Nothing teaches hounds to mark so well as drawing their foxes, and at the same time the spectacle, so distressing to many, of a fox being thrown to hounds, is avoided.
If a fox is to be killed, but for some reason cannot be drawn by the Pack, let him be eaten at the earth, or near it. The practice among certain Masters of pretending to give a fox which they intend to kill a "sporting chance" (having first given instructions that he is to be so interfered with that he cannot possibly escape) deceives but few of the Field. If the Master decides that, for one reason or another, that particular fox must die, he should have the courage of his convictions, and not have to resort to attempts to deceive his Field into believing that he means to give them a hunt........
If it is necessary to throw a fox to hounds it is as well to do so when as few people as possible are looking. If necessary the Pack can be trotted quickly and quietly away to some secluded spot, and the fox be eaten before the Field and foot followers have realized that they have gone.
The terrier man and the other hunt servants must be warned that they should exercise the greatest care that no action of theirs can be construed as an act of cruelty. There is, unfortunately, no doubt that much unnecessary suffering is caused to many foxes during the various stages of a dig, much to the detriment of Foxhunting and of Field Sports at large. That these acts of cruelty arise from pure thoughtlessness and familiarity cannot be denied, but, nevertheless, they are quite rightly and quite naturally much resented by many of the followers and chance onlookers." (To Hunt the Fox. David Brock. Master of the Thurles and Kilshane Foxhounds sometime Master of the East Sussex. Seeley Service & Co. Ltd. 1937. Pages 276-277)
"TO ALL MASTERS OF HOUNDS.
VERY URGENT
On October 3rd, a letter was published in the "Oxford Times" which alleged that a fox, marked to ground in a drain by the Bicester Hounds (South) had been ejected with drain rods, caught in a noose made from a whip and broken up by hounds. Certain other details were given which were denied by the Master, but the fact remains that the instructions laid down in the Association’s rules for dealing with foxes which have gone to ground and must be killed, were not complied with. The fox was not destroyed before being given to hounds.
As this is the first case to be brought before the Committee’s notice since the adoption of this rule, they have refrained from taking disciplinary action, though the Master has been very severely warned and reprimanded. It should, however, be very clearly understood that should any similar case be brought to the notice of the Committee in future, the Master’s membership of the Association will be terminated and official recognition will be withdrawn from the hunt concerned.
It is most unfortunate that such a case should be brought to the notice of the Committee at this time when foxhunting is on its trial and when opponents are exerting every effort to bring it to an end.
There is no doubt that full use will be made of the incident to damage the sport in the eyes of the general public and we simply cannot afford a repetition.
Masters are, therefore, requested to ensure that their hunt servants are not only made fully aware of the rules governing the digging out of foxes but also that they carry them out to the letter.
(Signed) BEAUFORT Chairman" (Letter from Masters of Foxhounds Association. 13th October 1947)
"To all Masters,
IMPORTANT
It was recently reported to the Committee of the M.F.H. Association that on January 19th 1952 a fox having been marked to ground by the Bramham Moor was dug up to and drawn by hounds, and subsequently another fox in the same earth was also killed by hounds, neither having previously been destroyed, as laid down in para 18(c) of the Association’s rules. After due enquiry, these facts having been established, the Committee decided that the membership of Mr. T. Paisley, the Joint Master who was responsible on this occasion, should be terminated forthwith......Beaufort Chairman" (Letter from Masters of Foxhounds Association dated 9th April, 1952. [T.L. Paisley was joint Master at this hunt 1948-52] )
"On 27 October, the Mail on Sunday published an ‘exclusive’ story that a spy or ‘mole’ representing the League Against Cruel Sports had been taking video pictures of recent cubhunting operations by the Quorn, who were, in one instance, allegedly breaking Masters of Foxhounds Association rules....
The video film appeared to show one fox being shot in a hole while being held by the terrierman, and another being pulled from a hole and thrown into a hedge, then apparently running headlong into the pack of hounds which immediately killed it. The latter manoeuvre was described as a case of ‘throwing the fox to the hounds’, although anyone with long experience of foxhunting could see that this was not the intention; it appeared to be a botched attempt at bolting the fox.......
The MFHA Committee, chaired for twenty years by Captain Ronnie Wallace viewed the nine minute video film issued by the League. Afterwards the Committee announced that it took ‘a very serious view of the contents’ and required the Quorn Masters and Hunt staff concerned to attend an inquiry.....
On 14 November the MFHA held a Committee of inquiry, and heard evidence from the former Quorn Masters, the Chairman, and huntsman Michael Farrin. The verdict and penalties were the stiffest ever handed out by the Association in its one hundred and eight years. The Committee decided that the Masters had breached rules one and five. ‘The Committee found that a fox had been handled in such a way that it should have been destroyed and not hunted further’ said the MFHA statement.
Rule one is that already quoted above. Rule five contained a provision that members of the MFHA had to bind themselves to abide by its rules and instructions. The two senior Joint Masters, Joss Hanbury and Barry Hercock, were expelled from the MFHA for four years before they could re-apply for membership; the two junior members, who had only been in office since 1 May that year, were expelled until the start of the next season, 1 May 1992." (Foxhunting in Paradise. Michael Clayton. Pub. John Murray. 1993. From pages 97-103)
"The fox had gone to ground....It was time for the terriers.....the old bitch was slipped into the tunnels....From above ground we could hear the terrible fighting below us. The screaming of dog and fox was only partly muffled by the layers of earth and rock that separated us from it. The noise moved for about ten minutes around different parts of the earth and then went quiet. The huntsman, the whipper-in and the followers stood listening in silence as a lark rose from the moorland grasses round us.
Then the huntsman said, "All right, that’s us then," and headed back downhill. It was just before nine in the morning. "But what about your dog?" I said to the terrier man as we walked down. "Oh," he said, "that’s all right. It’ll either be dead and the fox will be eating it, or the fox’ll be dead and she’ll be eating the fox. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be back home in a couple of days, once she’s slept the whole thing off." And so, I gather, she was." (Article by Adam Nicolson describing incident following a meet of the Blencathra Foxhounds, A Fell pack. Sunday Telegraph Magazine. August 17th 1997. Page 46)
"Doctored" foxes:
"When I went as huntsman to the North Shropshire Hounds I took on the most difficult job of my life. The huntsman I succeeded had been there eleven seasons, and was very sore about turning out, consequently it was not easy or made easy for me to take over....A difficulty I had to contend with and try to stamp out was "doctored foxes," which had just about ruined the hunting capabilities of this pack. It was no secret in this country that for many years it had been a regular practice to drop "touched up" foxes at every opportunity. Any fool can show sport (of sorts) under such conditions, but it is not fox-hunting. I whipped-in to eight professional huntsmen and I never once knew them touch a fox up in any way. A farmer, who lived near a big wood in the North Shropshire country, told me that it had been arranged for him to drop a "doctored" fox his end of the wood at a signal from the huntsman as he put in at the other end. On that occasion they found a genuine fox at once and the farmer timed it just about an hour later when they hit the line of the fox he had dropped. They hunted this fox for over two hours and killed him.
One of the best hunts seen in this country was from Long Plantation, the fox being killed near Lacon Gorse, about a thirteen-mile point, but a certain man saw him turned out of a bag. I once said to this same man : "Have you ever seen any good hunts from the Wrekin?" He replied : "Oh, yes, but we used to bring one and drop him in the gorse a few fields below and had several topping hunts, always killing at the end....A first whipper-in at the time (now huntsman with a well-known Yorkshire pack) told me the very first morning they went cub-hunting they were hunting a good litter of cubs when an old fox, which the huntsman (a young chap in his first season), had arranged to be turned down, was holloaed away, ran about a five-mile point and was killed. About a couple of hounds dead beat got to the end, the rest were all over the country, it being a hot day. This pack had marvellous sport all this season, splendid hunts, catching their foxes day after day. It was a dry, bad scenting year in most countries. The whippers-in with this pack even had bottles with "Tallyho" printed on and the necessary mixture inside for doctoring the foxes. Hounds continually hunting artificially "scented" foxes soon lose their sense of smell for the genuine article, also it gets them absolutely mute." (Thirty Years A Hunt Servant. Jack Molyneux. Pub. Hutchinson & Co. 1935. Pages 225-230)
"......all would be well with both fox-hunting and fox-preservation if attention had not been drawn to another deplorable custom within the last few years. I refer, of course, to the ‘doctoring’ or ‘doping’ or ‘scenting’ of foxes with various compounds such as aniseed or turpentine or disinfectant.....What is the use of keeping foxes if one can be obtained by closing up any drain or earth and then be dropped before hounds after being treated in such a manner that its chance of escape is negligible?
I do not think that hounds will break up a fox which has been rubbed with aniseed or paraffin or ‘doped’ with gin with the fury and the gusto that they would a clean run fox, if indeed, they will break him up at all." (Fox~Hunting. William Fawcett. Pub. Philip Allan. 1936. Pages 54-55)
Fell hunting:
"Sheep farming is, of course, the staple industry of the dales, and in connection therewith are various sports and junkettings. In the autumn there are shepherds’ meets at various specified centres where sheep which have strayed from different districts are returned to their owners. This business being transacted there comes pleasure. A fox hunt and a dance are usually the great social functions of a shepherds’ meet." (Article, Sporting Life in a Cumberland Dale, by "Dalesman". The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes. Pub. E. Hulton & Co. Ltd., July-Dec 1911. Page 490)
Kill. What of claims that it is an "instant nip to the back of the neck"?:
"Amber, a wire-haired terrier, bred from Mr Russell’s celebrated old Devonshire strain, and a great-granddaughter of his famous old Tip, would face any wet drain, and would swim for miles....One season she bolted a large fox from a drain under the road near Thornhill, and hanging tight to his brush, she was dragged over a field and to ground in a rabbit-earth before the hounds could get up. She quickly had the fox out again, and he made a meal for the eager pack outside." (With Hound And Terrier In The Field. Alys F. Serrell. Pub. William Blackwood and Sons. 1904. Page 74)
"Another puppy which distinguished itself by a single-handed encounter with a cub was Sapient (1889) by the Hon. Mark Rolle’s Bajazet. Sapient met a cub face to face on the ride in Holtham, and as the fox jumped to one side to avoid her, she jumped and caught it by the under part of the body. They both rolled over together, but the hound would not release her hold....A curious incident happened during cub-hunting at Inwood. In the field just outside the wood a young hound named Mayfly, a draft from the Ludlow kennels, got hold of an old dog-fox and was viewed having a desperate fight. Hound and fox stood upon their hind-legs snapping and biting at one another, but with very little noise. At last Mayfly got a firm hold of the fox’s nose, and rolling him over, stood shaking him until some more hounds came to her help and he was despatched." (With Hound And Terrier In The Field. Alys F. Serrell. Pub. William Blackwood and Sons. 1904. Pages 228-229, chapter on the Blackmore Vale Hounds)
"Hounds still hunting well, they continued on to Weston Mead Farm where they worked up to their fox and rolled him over, but somehow he managed to get away. Hounds now ran at a great pace crossing the canal bridge on College Farm and into the Whaddon Chase country.........over the hill onto Mr North’s farm at Wing Park. Here the fox doubled back onto Miss Packer’s Farm where scent gave out."
(Article "From my Hunting Diaries" by Jim Bennett in Vale of Aylesbury Hunt Magazine, Summer 1990. Page 8. [Jim Bennett spent 34 years as Huntsman to the Old Berkeley Foxhounds and the Vale of Aylesbury Foxhounds. The incident mentioned occurred from the meet at Weston Turville, 3/1/1961. The condition of the fox after surviving this 2½ hour hunt in which hounds ran 12 miles is unknown] )
Political:
"TO ALL MASTERS OF HOUNDS
In these days when the general public is labouring under many restrictions including the loss of basic petrol, it is very essential that the impression should not get about that foxhunting is an exception.
Although of course there is no truth in such a suggestion, I feel very strongly that large gatherings of horse boxes, cattle trucks etc. (mostly hired), are very apt to convey that impression, with consequent complaints, letters to the papers and questions in Parliament.
Will Masters therefore please give instructions that horse boxes must not be brought to the Meet, but if they must be used, that they are left at nearby farms........Signed BEAUFORT Chairman" (Letter from Masters of Foxhounds Association, dated 18th December 1947)
"STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
LEGISLATION TO CONTROL FOXHUNTING.
Your Committee has good reason to believe that strong representations are being made by Animal Welfare Societies and others to the Government Committee enquiring into cruelty to wild animals, urging them that if they will not recommend the total abolition of Foxhunting and other sports they should recommend that their conduct should be strictly controlled by legislation. This would include the enforced use of a Humane Killer for destroying foxes which have to be dug out, the prohibition of the movement of foxes, etc., etc.
Obviously legislation of this nature would be most objectionable and lead to all kinds of supervision and meddling prosecutions carried out at the instigation of our opponents. It is therefore being made quite clear to the Committee of Enquiry that the Committee of the Masters of Foxhounds Association is itself in a position to ensure that Foxhunting and everything incidental thereto is carried out in the most humane way possible.
Under these circumstances your Committee feel that they must insist that as soon as they become available all Hunts shall acquire, carry and use whenever possible, a Humane Killer for the destruction of foxes which have been marked to ground and have to be killed.......Beaufort Chairman" (Letter from Masters of Foxhounds Association, dated 6th June 1950)
Germany.
Resurgence of foxhunting after the Second World War, by the British Army of the Rhine [BAOR]:
"It is of much interest that hunting by the B.A.O.R. is now so well established that various Regimental Packs formed since the Second World War have now appointed their own Masters of Hounds Association. The Duke of Beaufort has agreed to become their President, and Colonel H. Tilney, O.B.E., will be Chairman. Thus hunting in the B.A.O.R. will be controlled in the highest English tradition. Germans will be welcomed to their meets." (Baily’s Hunting Directory 1950-1951. Pub. Vinton & Co. Ltd 1950. Preface)
"3rd Hussars (B.A.O.R.)
The pack was formed in 1948....................While residing in Schleswig-Holstein the pack hunted foxes, but on moving to Munster were compelled to change to hare by the inaccessibility of foxes....
Warman Hunt (B.A.O.R.)
Foxes are hunted......The Warman Hunt was founded in 1945-46 by Brigadier H. Cumming-Bruce, D.S.O., and Capt. T. Russell, M.B.E." (Baily’s Hunting Directory 1950-1951. Pub. Vinton & Co. Ltd. 1950. Pages 361-363)
Why there is now no such animal hunting with dogs in Germany:
"Royal Engineers (B.A.O.R.)
The pack was formed in 1951..............With the advent of German Sovereignty in 1955, the Hunt had to cease fox-hunting, in order to conform with German game laws, and now follows a drag.....
Wessex Hunt (B.A.O.R.)
This pack was formed in June 1950............Until 1953 hares and occasionally foxes were hunted. Owing to opposition from German shooting interests it has become necessary to confine activities to a Drag.........." (Baily’s Hunting Directory 1957-1958. Pub. Vinton & Co. Ltd. 1957. Page 233)
Hare Coursing.
Cruelty of the coursing season:
"Please Stay Our Coursing Season
Dear Editor
Many lurcher men and women travelled down to Hyde Park to show the world we are true sportspeople who care about our dogs and are thoughtful about our quarry and the environment.
These same men and women wouldn’t consider running stubble hares and leverets who have no chance of escape from a collie mongrel, let alone a specially bred coursing machine.
We have no need to boast of our dog’s prowess by killing weak hares and, because of the wet summer season, late bred leverets.
May I make an appeal to other coursing people and clubs who didn’t attend the rally? Please stay your season until the middle of October at least, to give these leverets a chance to grow into the beast that will give a sporting test to any halfway decent dog.
Please don’t undo all the good we have achieved this year. Let us all stand together and show the general public that we are not mindless morons with no respect for anything." (Letter from A.R. Stainton, (Chairman, East of England Lurcher Club). The Countryman’s Weekly. August 22nd 1997 page 25) [See below]
"NATIONAL COURSING CLUB FIXTURES 1997-98
September : 25 Altcar : October : 2/3 Old Yorkshire; 6 Kimberley & Wymondham; 8 North Herts
9 Yeovil & Sherborne (p); 11 Sherburn Farmers, Sportsmans; 15 Coquetdale (p); 15/16 Altcar" [Of these the only meeting checked, that at Altcar near Liverpool on September 25th, went ahead]
"NORTH DEVON BEAGLES
Sat., Aug. 30 Spanhead At 2p.m." (Meet advertised West Somerset Free Press Friday August 29th, 1997)
Hare shortage:
"(b) Coursing Committee
Mrs. Shennan reported a good season of coursing despite the shortage of hares." (British Field Sports Society. Minutes of a Meeting of the MAIN COMMITTEE held 23/7/1974 at 11.00a.m. in the Council Chamber, National Farmers’ Union, Agriculture House, Knightsbridge, London S.W.1., page 4)
Hares.
Advice to hunt followers not to sympathise with the hare:
"In hunting, whether it be of fox or hare, every follower should identify himself with hounds’ aims and give his entire sympathy to them. If he allows himself to sympathise with the hare, his pleasure in the chase will be neutralised and he might as well go home at once." (The Art Of Beagling. Captain J. Otho Paget. Pub. H.F. & G. Witherby. 1931. Page 217)
Bagged hares for hunting:
"Wyndham Lewis’s Harriers at Brean, 1862-63 Season.
"This pack of harriers met on MR. SPERRINGS land at BREAN on Friday. As this was the first regular meet of the season, there was a good field, forty horsemen were present. After a good lunch, the hounds were set on, and a fine hare was soon found, a few fields from the farmhouse. Scarcely was the view "hallo" given than the hare bounded away to the "warren" where she sought shelter in a rabbit burrow. She was, however, speedily dug out of her retreat and BARRELLED for a "nest egg". A second hare was soon started by the merry pack, but got clear off to BERROW.
The captured hare was then let loose, and afforded some excellent sport, leading the hounds at a rattling pace towards the railway, and then turned off to the right through brake and briar. After a splendid run this hare was killed."" (Cardiff Times 14.11.1862 p.5 quoted in Master of Hounds. Fred, Vida & John Holley. Pub. V.A. Holley. 1987. Page 154)
Kill delayed in order to provide better "sport":
"It is probably better to have a good hunt of an hour or 90 minutes, rather than over match the hare and pull her down in 20 min." (Horse and Hound. November 7, 1980)
Hounds.
Disposal of:
"And how are you going to start drafting your hunting hounds? It has been said, somewhat humorously, that you should place a man behind a tree with a gun and tell him to shoot the leading two couples and the tail two couples, and there is something to be said for it!.......Before the war, in Leicestershire, a hound was regarded as too old to keep at five seasons." (Fox and Hare in Leicestershire. Eric Morrison. (Ex-Master, Westerby Basset Hounds, Joint-Master, The Atherstone Foxhounds). Pub. Eyre & Spottiswoode. 1954. Page 119)
"One has to breed more than one requires and must therefore, get rid of the worst. There is neither the room nor the money to keep them all and you cannot carry passengers of any sort. Babblers and hounds that have got too slow must be drafted or put down. They are very often the same individuals." (Hunting Notes. A monthly discourse from behind the scenes by Tremolo. Shooting Times & Country Magazine. October 3rd, 1963. Page 1166)
"Mr Boyles, 50, who has been a huntsman since he left school, takes puppies into the kennels at Exford, Somerset, [Devon and Somerset Staghounds] for training at about 12 months. "If for some reason they are not suitable for the hunt by the time they are two they are put down," he explained. "Perhaps two or three couples~that’s four or six~each year don’t make the grade."
And out of nearly 140 hunting staghounds, between 10 and 20 are replaced each year.
"Their toes tend to go flat or their stifles (hind legs) get a nasty twist," he said.
"In some cases the dogs simply lose pace."............The staggering death toll of 12,000 a year is accepted by the British Field Sports Society. Publicity officer Robin Mackenzie agrees that the 458 hunts in Britain, including Northern Ireland, replace an average of 28-30 dogs a year.........." (Man of the People special investigation, by Alan Ridout. Sunday People. March 24, 1985. Page 5)
Indifference to hounds by hunt staff:
In July, masters spend a few days in Northumberland organising meets with the help of the large green book which has been compiled and updated over the years and carries details of all the landowners whose permission must be sought. It also contains a brief paragraph on the temperament and bete noir of each farmer coupled with a final prescription for damage limitation. Masters are recommended to keep a stock of whisky so that a bottle may swiftly be produced in the event of an unforseen disaster. Rumour has it that 10 years ago, a master who shall remain nameless, left Northumberland half a couple short with the order: "If you see the thing, shoot it."" (article The Trinity In Hares’ Heaven. Stephanie Hirsch-Miller, ex-Master Trinity Foot Beagles [Cambridge University Pack]. The Field. Sept. 1997. Page 50)
Killing each other:
"Even a domesticated dog will often go for another, which you are chastising. Hounds much ‘more so,’ and they will even kill one of their number in kennels if not minded. A pack has been known to break up one of the pack in the actual course and excitement of a run when their blood was up, and when, for example, the unfortunate victim has fallen back from a wall, hurt." (English Sport. Captain H.F.H. Hardy. Pub. Country Life Limited. 1932. Page 23)
"Another hound that I had years ago was called Waggoner ‘32~....He had a brother called Watchman ‘32 who was killed and broken up in kennel. The whole pack had been moved to other kennels for a fortnight, and there was not as many lodging rooms there as in the kennels at home. Watchman who lodged with the bitches at home, was put with the dog hounds, with this awful result.....I knew he was for it if the dog hounds got a chance at him, because I had seen them ‘setting’ him as he lay on the benches........The only thing to do if you see this is to move that hound if you don’t want a tragedy in the kennel." (Fox and Hare in Leicestershire. Eric Morrison. (Ex-Master, Westerby Basset Hounds, Joint-Master, The Atherstone Foxhounds). Pub. Eyre & Spottiswoode. 1954. Page 45)
Killing and eating hunt staff:
"I mentioned that Lord Lonsdale’s Sergeant was savage. This reminds one of the various hunt servants reputed to have been eaten by their hounds! Believe this or not, as you will, but there is evidence that the K.H. of the Worcestershire Hounds went into them one night in his nightgown and was promptly eaten! This case is, I believe, quite authentic and extremely bad luck on the huntsman!" (Fox and Hare in Leicestershire. Eric Morrison. (Ex-Master, Westerby Basset Hounds, Joint-Master, The Atherstone Foxhounds). Pub. Eyre & Spottiswoode. 1954. Page 65 [K.H. refers to Kennel Huntsman] )
Killing and harming sheep:
"It is not far from Hurlstone Point, on the sunburnt sheepwalks near East Myne, that a great outbreak of sheep killing by the pack took place in recent years, and caused the early demise of many promising young hounds." (Staghunting with the Devon and Somerset 1887-1901. Philip Evered [He was Secretary of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds]. Pub. Chatto & Windus. 1902. Page 261)
"There is one temptation to which fell hounds are more liable to fall than low-country hounds, i.e. sheep worrying. It may be a wild, windy day, and hounds are on a catchy scent, and eager to be pushing on. No one is near them, and perhaps a young hound happens to view a solitary Herdwick sheep scurrying off. He gives chase, pulls down the sheep, and his example may be followed by several others. When this happens the huntsman is reluctantly forced to put down the culprits, no matter how short of hounds he may be at the time.
Although, luckily, such a contretemps as the above seldom happens, it is always liable to happen with certain young hounds. Death is the only cure for a hound which takes a liking to mutton on the hoof, for he can never be thoroughly trusted afterwards." (Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells. Richard Clapham. Longmans, Green and Co., 1920. Pages 59-60)
"In 1908 there was almost an epidemic of sheep-worrying amongst hounds. How it started is not known, but the Ullswater hounds were smitten like the rest. There was nothing for it but to pocket sentiment, deal out the most drastic treatment, and destroy the guilty (and, which is often but too true, some of the innocent). One of the quietist hounds amongst sheep that ever ranged a mountain breast, Towler, a worthy descendant of Old Towler and almost as clever, was embroiled in the excitement, and was one of the ill-fated nine to pay the extreme penalty for indiscretion." (Reminiscences of Joe Bowman and the Ullswater Foxhounds [A Fell pack]. W.C. Skelton. Pub. Atkinson & Pollitt. 1921. Page 101)
"Hounds go wild, eat sheep alive
Four lambs were eaten alive after a pack of hounds taking part in a fox hunt went wild among his flock, a West Wales farmer told a Lampeter court yesterday. Altogether 26 lambs were massacred.
The master and huntsman of the Vale of Clettwr Hunt farmer Mr. Trefor Owen Jones (38), of Dancapel, Bancyffordd, Llandyssul, was fined £5 and £10 10s. advocate’s fee after pleading not guilty to being in charge of dogs which worried sheep on farmland at Drefach Llanybyther......
Mr. Lloyd told the magistrates that on March 11 he had about 286 young lambs on his 150 acre farm.
About midday his sheep started bleating and running up towards the farm. He saw a pack of fox hounds hunting on land adjoining his farm. Mr. Lloyd said, "While I was watching the dogs some riders came down a nearby lane at full gallop like a pack of Indians.
I was very distressed to find a pack of hounds out at that time of year and I was concerned about the young lambs. I called to the master to call the dogs away from my land but they didn’t take any notice of me and kept urging the dogs on." said Mr. Lloyd.....
He said he had again asked the master, Jones, to keep away from the sheep but Jones replied that his were a registered pack and had a right to go anywhere." (Western Mail news report 27/5/1967)
Spread of disease by hounds in the countryside:
"An inquiry into the causes of liver damage in lambs......
The lamb slaughter records of a large private abattoir showed that a small minority of farms had a lamb liver rejection rate exceeding 40 per cent. Small sheep farms were most likely to have high rejection rates and farms producing both lambs and pigs had relatively high lamb liver rejection rates. In a farm survey statistical analysis showed that the spreading of pig slurry, access to the grazing land by hunts and the infrequent use of dog cestocides were factors significantly linked to high lamb liver rejection rates..............
Foxes were present on all farms, with most flock owners’ considering that they had ‘lots’. Most were sceptical about the value of hunts for controlling foxes. A fox-shoot at lambing time was a popular method of control at a critical period. The recorded incidence of 6 per cent infection of T. hydatigena in foxes (Hackett and Walters 1980) could presumably only come from scavenging sheep carcases as it is unlikely that a fox would kill a lamb old enough to have the larval form C. tenuicollis. This throws suspicion on the claim by farmers in the survey that they are meticulous in disposing of carcases properly. The occurrence of gid. caused by the larva of Coenurus cerebralis, on some of the high incidence farms adds further evidence to this suspicion.
All but one of the high incidence group of farms were hunted over by hounds as compared to half of the low incidence group...Four farmers in the latter category forbade hounds to come on to their land as they thought that they spread disease, although they were uncertain as to which ones.......
Seven packs of foxhounds, two of stag hounds and two of beagles were identified as using the land of the 40 farms visited. All but one, which was a private farmers’ fox hunt, fed the hounds on uncooked raw meat and offal.
All the hunts were aware of the potential presence of tapeworms in their hounds. More concern was expressed about the effect the tapeworms might have on the hounds rather than the possible effects of subsequent infestation of farm livestock with the larval stages of the parasite.
The hounds were wormed on average three times annually (range 2 to 12 times). The cost of modern anthelmintics was of concern to most hunts and three still used the old-fashioned purgative cestocide, areca nut powder.
The success of the worming procedures was not evaluated but tapeworm segments were observed in the faeces, even in hounds wormed every two months." (Report by P.G.H. Jepson and M.H. Hinton. The Veterinary Record May 24 1986 from pages 584-586. Vol 118)
Hunting ethics.
General:
"In winding up these Reminiscences, and in speaking of my sporting inclinations yet existing, supposing that I had a domain of my own, I think that at my present time of life I should feel as much or more pleasure in rearing, taming, and taking care of birds and animals, and of affording them rest and enjoyment around me, than I should have in active pursuit of their lives. Landseer’s beautiful picture of "The Forester’s Family" should have a living illustration at my door; where, though I might still kill the fat stag or buck at the right season, as well as the "yeld hind," or "dry doe," and the "aver," or "hevier," as it is vulgarly called, between the seasons of the male and female deer, still my chief amusement and pursuit would be in nursing and rearing heaven’s creatures, rather than in their chase and destruction;......." (Reminiscences of a Huntsman. The Honourable Grantley F. Berkeley. Pub. Edward Arnold. 1854, 1897. Page 320 [Grantley Berkeley was Master and Huntsman of the Oakley Foxhounds from 1829-1834. He was MP for West Gloucestershire for 20 years] )
"Sport has no sympathy with cruelty, though the latter may possibly be inseparable from its performance, but a real sportsman ever regrets the pangs, that he would willingly avoid causing, if possible, and does his utmost to lessen them." (Reminiscences of ...The Course The Camp The Chase Colonel R.F. Meysey-Thompson. Pub. Edward Arnold. 1898. Pages 25-26)
It is up to this coming generation of this British people to see that sport is kept clean and free from unnecessary cruelty. A huntsman loves and ‘lives with’ his hounds so much that he makes every effort to catch their fox~but the fox must be given a fair chance. It is not sport to put aniseed at the mouth of a fox’s earth so that he gets it on him as he leaves the earth~nor to put a fox in a bag and let him out in front of hounds." (English Sport. Captain H.F.H. Hardy. Pub. Country Life Limited. 1932. Pages 13-14)
"All field sports unfortunately are cruel; we cannot get away from that fact; but it is always the aim of every true sportsman to render them as little cruel as possible." (My Fifty Years Of Sport. Major Charles Van Der Byl. Pub. Arthur H. Stockwell, Ltd. 1937. Page 9)
"Sir, May I, at the threshold of the 1982-83 foxhunting season, crave the courtesy of your columns to express concern about certain ethics of the sport?
As a foxhunter who enjoys days with a dozen or more different packs a season in every quarter of Britain I have been impressed by the universal increase in the size of hunt supporters’ clubs. Not only do most of these clubs raise substantial amounts of money to present essential equipment and facilities for use in their kennels and stables~as all the hunts so warmly appreciate~but they are also significant of the grass-root support for foxhunting throughout the country.
On the other hand their enthusiasm is often in conflict with moral and sporting principles. Clearly the burgeoning of the clubs has produced a considerable growth in the "terrier-and-spade brigade"; and in many countries, when a fox goes to ground, there is often a race to see who can get their terriers first to the earth. Since the clubs are good to the hunts, many Masters and huntsmen indulge them. The result in most countries, is a great deal more digging. This is very often done in the twilight or by torchlight, when hounds have returned to kennels; and it is rarely carried out in accordance with MFHA guidelines let alone done in a humane way.
The increase in size of the hsc has also resulted in a proliferation of "amateur" earthstoppers, men who are sedulous in blocking up holes, but who have no intention of unblocking them at the end of the day; so that one hears stories, not once but time and again, of foxes shut in and starving to death.
Foxhunters used to be a more sporting fraternity. While fully acknowledging the need to control fox numbers in some instances, they honoured the "good" fox that got away; they approved of digging only if there were strong complaints about marauders by local farmers, or if the fox gave them a very short run; and provided the dug fox was disposed of as speedily as possible with the humane killer. Foxhunters used to take pride in "giving Charlie a sporting chance". Now the motto seems to be "the foot followers must have their sport, too".
It seems to me a great shame that now, when foxhunting has so many enemies, and we are endeavouring to present an image of fairplay and humaneness, that there is greater callousness than ever before.
In these days of short Masterships, mostly composed of juntas, there is less authority in the hunting-field at a time when more than ever is required.
I know of several young people who have been put off the hunting field by the sight of excessive digging and indiscriminate earthstopping. That does not augur well for the future of the sport." (Letter from J.N.P. Watson to The Field published 27/10/1982 [An entry in the Guiness Book of Records reads "Between 1968 and 1989 J.N.P. Watson hunted with 267 packs of foxhounds, staghounds and harehounds in Britain, Ireland, USA and Europe." ] ) [See below]
"I have always disliked the digging and bolting of foxes. Ideally, for me, the sport should be concluded when the fox, eluding the pack, finds a refuge. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, witnessing an excessive amount of digging, I attributed this partly to the growth in membership of hunt supporters’ clubs. It seemed to me that foot followers, raising large amounts of money through a variety of fund-raising events, were demanding their little bit of extra sport in terms of terrier work. I sensed that this was getting out of hand and a letter of mine expressing these sentiments, though couched in very moderate terms, was published in The Field in October 1982. The vehemence of the response was quite extraordinary. The chairman of the British Field Sports Society wrote me the most vitriolic letter I have ever received in my life, while the chairman of the Masters of Foxhounds Association demanded to see me immediately. If I had any complaints to make, he said, I was to make them through him. Let those who follow me be warned: the fact that you are set up as a spokesman for hunting does not mean you have the liberty of free speech!" (Blue & Scarlet. An Autobiography. JNP Watson. Pub. The Sportsman’s Press. 1990. Page 107)
Hunt havoc:
Hounds:
"Hunt chaos on M1
Two hounds after a fox caused chaos on the M1 yesterday. Drivers skidded and one crossed the central reservation to avoid the hounds from the Oakley Hunt, Bedfordshire. Police said : "It’s a miracle no one was killed."" (News report, Daily Mail, October 23rd, 1970)
"HOUNDS DIE: Five foxhounds of the Warwickshire Hunt were killed by an express train at Chipping Camden as they were in full pursuit of a fox yesterday. The other 17 couples of hounds and 40 members of the hunt continued with their sport after the train was delayed for 20 minutes. The fox got away." (News report, Guardian, November 23rd 1972)
"FOX HUNT HOLDS UP AIRLINER
As a jet airliner approached to land at Gatwick airport yesterday members of Surrey Union hunt careered after a fox crossing the airport. Air control spotted the danger and warned the incoming plane. The aircraft circled. Meanwhile the fox slipped across the runway to escape and the hunt turned away. Col Barry Girling, hunt secretary, said later: "We didn’t get too close."
Told that a jet had been delayed Col. Girling said: "Country sports were here before jets, old boy.""
(News report, Sunday Telegraph, February 4th 1973 [Col. Girling was Hunt Secretary from 1964-84] )
Violence:
"Horse-whipping a hunt saboteur is rather like beating a wife. They are both private matters." (Comment by Tim Asplin, Joint Master Essex Union Foxhounds [1976-1984] following incident at his hunt November 27th 1976, quoted in HOWL No.8 Spring 1977)
[Many have been beaten for trying to save the lives of hunted animals. Some have died at hunts. Michael Hill was killed 9/2/1991 protesting against hare hunting at the Cheshire Beagles. Thomas Worby was killed 3/4/1993 protesting against foxhunting at the Cambridgeshire Foxhounds.]
Illegal Bloodsports.
Cockfighting:
"Perhaps~it is a delicate subject~it would not be amiss to wind up with a reference to that legally-extinct sport, cock fighting, which is~dare I say it?~still in full swing in Cumberland. Cock fighting~as compared to the barbarous and abominable rabbit coursing, let us say~is not a cruel sport, though it is illegal whilst the other is not. The cocks themselves no unprejudiced person can doubt thoroughly enjoy it; indeed, it is a very difficult matter to avoid impromptu cock fights if you keep game fowls." (Article, Sporting Life in a Cumberland Dale, by "Dalesman". The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes. Pub. E. Hulton & Co. Ltd., July-Dec 1911. Page 494)
"EIGHT MEN who placed bets on cock fights, in which the birds fought "vicious and bloody battles to the death," were yesterday fined a total of £5,750. They were arrested after police and RSPCA officials raided the kennels of the Wheatland Hunt at Eardington, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, on June 16.
They found six dead birds in a plastic bucket in the "cockpit" where straw bales had been arranged to form a ring. Pictures of fighting cocks decorated the walls...........
The cockpit was in a corrugated shed next to the home of Terence Richmond, who was then the kennel huntsman for the Wheatland Hunt. There was a calendar giving details of contests going back to April, 1981." (News report, Western Morning News 20/8/1985. [Terry Richmond was Kennel Huntsman and Whipper-in at the Wheatland Foxhounds, 1974-1985, he went on to be Huntsman at the West Somerset Vale Foxhounds from 1987 to 1995] )
Minkhunting
Cruelty:
"The TV film the League Against Cruel Sports released DID show a live mink being thrown to hounds.
The man who did it ~ Peter May, a professional terrier man with the Three Counties Mink Hounds from the West Midlands ~ was dismissed....The three joint masters were reprimanded." (Arlin Rickard, Master of the Devon and Cornwall Mink Hunt writing in the Sunday Independent. August 7th 1983 [This refers to an incident that occurred when a terrier was used to extract a mink from a hole following the meet of the Three Counties Minkhounds at Ketford Bridge on September 4th 1982. Ian Coghill, a Joint Master who was present on the day, was at the time Conservation and Education Officer for the British Field Sports Society. Ian Coghill was a Master of the Three Counties Minkhounds from 1977-1988] )
Miscellaneous
"Blood Sports?":
"TO ALL MASTERS OF HOUNDS.
CONFIDENTIAL
NOT "BLOOD SPORTS" PLEASE.
.....Some years ago our opponents coined the term "BLOOD SPORTS" to cover those sports which they wish to bring to an end. They did this deliberately because they knew the term had the great advantage of suggesting to townspeople in two words all sorts of unknown horrors.
Unfortunately many sportsmen have themselves adopted this term and from newspaper reports which we receive it is often used in public by Masters of Hounds and others.
May we please appeal to you not to use this term or give it any encouragement. The sports for which we stand have for years been called by one word "SPORTS", but if they are to be qualified we suggest that the term "COUNTRY SPORTS" or "FIELD SPORTS" is used.........." (Letter from J. W-Fitzwilliam, Secretary. British Field Sports Society. Dated 4th November 1947)
Foxhunting:
"Several foxes were soon afoot in the thick gorse however and John Smith viewed one away downwind back towards the lough. Eamon got hounds on, but the pilot very soon got to ground.
Terriers were some time in coming as car followers were the wrong side of the wind for hearing. A quick dig followed and two foxes were dispatched. Eamon had a brush for Clarissa and a fox’s tongue, which he intends pickling in vinegar and using to cure warts and draw thorns." (R.C. writing under the caption "Westmeath face run of poor scent" The Irish Field. 7/12/1991 [Refers to Westmeath Foxhounds] )
Political:
"Baroness Mallalieu (below) heads a group of celebrity Socialists cautioning the Labour Party on the folly of continuing hostility to country sports...............
Ann Mallalieu QC was elevated to the peerage in 1991. The former grammar school girl and daughter of a Labour MP began riding at six and hunting with the South Oxfordshire at 10.
Her marriage to Timothy Cassel, also a QC, was on condition he took up hunting too and now their daughters Bathsheba, 12, and nine-year-old Cosima, are ardent followers in their hoofprints." (Article, Adella Lithman Reporting. Horse and Hound, February 10, 1994. Page 8)
Otterhunting.
Hunting:
"An otter is a sufficiently formidable beast of chase, and the terrier that has to tackle him must be a hardy and high-couraged one; no creature, in fact, knows better how to use its teeth than an otter, and the unaccustomed spectator will do well not to try to "tail" or otherwise meddle with one of these animals in the course of the hunt, if he values his fingers. "Tailing" an otter~that is, seizing the beast by his tail and flinging him to the hounds, or turning him, is an operation of extreme nicety, and only old hands know how to achieve it successfully." (Nature and Sport in Britain. H.A. Bryden. Pub. Grant Richards, 1904. Page 255)
"Dear Member,
The going is tough, but that is nothing new in our daily lives........What can you do? Well you can double your support of this hunt by coming out more days than you ordinarily would, by supporting the social functions, and giving generously to the cap which we will take this year for the BFSS Fighting Fund. You can demonstrate that you are proud and unashamed of your sport. Hunters and Otter hunters in particular have been conservationists for longer than most can remember and long before conservation became a weapon of those who wish to stop our pleasure.
We have got a jolly good little pack of hounds with this years puppies of our own breeding being entered for the first time since 1968. Please help me to find water for them to hunt.......
Help me to kill a few otters this season and I think that next year we will shake the pessimists by showing just how many there are about. We have been keeping a low profile for too many years now, and there is nothing quite like a pack of hounds that is catching otters, to show sport every day we go out. I am taking steps to bring this about, belated perhaps, but I realise that successful hunts don’t just happen, they are made by their members and masters................Good hunting Charles Corner"
("Message from the Master" by Charles Corner, Master Eastern Counties Otterhounds [1974-76], Spring 1976)
Political:
"CONFIDENTIAL
Otterhunting
Thank you so much for your letter of 31st October and for giving me your own personal views in confidence at the same time alerting me to the rumours which you say are circulating among otter hunters in Wales.
Any rumour that the BFSS is planning "to sacrifice otterhunting to save other sports" is quite untrue. It is both unfounded and uncharacteristic............
Speaking personally, I would never give up a field sport without using every devise to protect and retain it. We expect to have quite a battle on otterhunting in the next session of Parliament and we shall have to play that as best we can, depending in what way it comes up........" (Letter signed MRK to a Master of Foxhounds in Oswestry, dated 8th November 1976 [Marcus Richard Kimball was Chairman of the British Field Sports Society at the time] )
"(j) Otterhunting Committee
The Chairman reported that efforts to protect the otter were likely to be made in Parliament. The BFSS would oppose any legislation directed at otter hunting." (British Field Sports Society. Minutes of the Meeting of the Main Committee held on 9th December 1976 at 11.30a.m. in the House of Commons, London S.W.1. Page 6)
"Let me warn you that if any attempt is made to add the Otter to the list of protected animals, my friends and I in Parliament will argue every clause in the Bill over and over again and add every other animal and extraneous reforms so that the proposal will eventually be talked out." (Marcus Kimball, M.P. for Gainsborough [now Lord Kimball] and at the time Chairman of the BFSS talking at the Otter Conference held by the Joint Otter Group 22/6/1977 reported in HOWL No.9 Autumn 1977. Page 1)
[From 1958 to 1963 the 11 otter hunts in England and Wales, according to their own records, killed 1,065 otters between them]
Political.
"Dear Humphrey
I am reluctant to add to your problems at the moment but I am extremely uncertain about one aspect of Margaret as our leader. My personal view is very minor and I would never do anything to undermine the Conservative party.
I must consider the 1.6 million members and associates of the Field Sports Society. We have had for many years a "special relationship" with the Conservative party at constituency level, the House of Commons, and within your office. We had support from Ted and active encouragement in our tactical battles and help in a major way from Willie and you under Ted continued this support.
Before the 1970 election Margaret voted for the abolition of coursing and made it clear to me that she felt our vote on that night was an error. We appreciate that this was the eve of a general election.
We now face a very different situation ~ country sports are to be legislated against one by one year after year.
I hope Margaret will allow our special relationship to continue and will agree to stand by any tactical successes we may achieve in either House.
An undertaking on those important matters would make it much easier for me to continue as always, to obey and receive your whip. Yours ever, Marcus. " (Letter from Marcus Kimball M.P. [Chairman BFSS] to Humphrey Atkins M.P., Conservative Chief Whip, 12/2/1975, printed in HOWL no. 12 Spring 1979)
"You may remember suggesting to me last week that a good way of getting at Margaret Thatcher might be through her sister Mrs Cullen about whom some newspapers had written.
I thought the best way of doing this was probably through the Master of the local hunt and by chance I met Guy Aldous, master of the Essex and Suffolk at a Press Lunch in Ipswich last Friday. I showed him the Daily Telegraph cutting and asked him if he could "put the ferrets in". He has written me two postcards fully covered on both sides and I have reduced them to a rather long looking document photocopied from the post cards. I hope you can read it but it will explain what steps he has taken.
I have of course acknowledged and asked him to let me know what follow up there is from his contacts.
With best wishes" (Letter from Sir Richard Goodwin, Secretary British Field Sports Society, to Lord Margadale, TD, JP dated 28th February 1975, printed in HOWL No. 12, Spring 1979 [Guy Aldous was Master of the Essex and Suffolk foxhounds from 1967-76] )
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals. [R.S.P.C.A.]
"(c) R.S.P.C.A. Council:
The R.S.P.C.A. Council are very embarrassed by the activities of the Reform Group as it is threatened by them. It is important that as many as possible be persuaded to join the R.S.P.C.A. from the hunting fraternity, The MFHA have agreed to help as much as possible." (British Field Sports Society. Minutes of a Meeting of the MAIN COMMITTEE, 22nd March 1973 at 11.30 hours in Committee Room 5 at the House of Commons, London S.W.1. Page 5 [MFHA is the Masters of Foxhounds Association] )
Staghunting.
General:
"19. The study produced clear-cut scientific results. These show that lengthy hunts with hounds impose extreme stress on red deer and are likely to cause them great suffering. The hunts force them to experience conditions far outside the normal limits for their species. These stresses are at least at the same level as for severely injured deer and usually last for hours in the case of deer which are killed and much longer in those that escape. We could not judge, for the latter group, the likely extent of recovery but this does not efface the reality of the suffering caused. Moreover, the potential for such suffering occurs with every hunt.
20. The alternative of shooting red deer, already accounting for most of the culling on Exmoor and the Quantocks, produces on average much lower levels of individual suffering. Thus, I estimate that 130 hunted deer that are killed each year by the Hunts and roughly a further 100 that escape will experience unacceptable levels of suffering whereas only seven or so of the 130 at present killed by hunting would have such problems if they were shot.
21. I conclude that the level of total suffering would be markedly reduced if hunting with hounds were ended. Hunting with hounds can no longer be justified on welfare grounds, taking into account the standards applied in other fields of animal welfare...." (The Behavioural and Physiological Effects of Culling Red Deer. Report to the Council of the National Trust. Professor Patrick Bateson, FRS. 1997. Page X)
Hindhunting:
"It is almost unnecessary to say a word with reference to the proverbial agility of the deer. ‘Nimrod’ thus adverts to a remarkable leap taken by a hind under difficulties, at the time when the late Lord Fortescue was the Master of the old stag-hounds. "I was shown," he says, "a leap which a hind had taken last season, before the pack, when close at her haunches, after a long run, and not more than ten minutes before she sank before them. What makes it more extraordinary is, that on being paunched, a calf was taken from her almost able to stand."" (Notes on the Chase of the Wild Red Deer. Charles Palk Collyns. 1862, Pub. Alston Rivers Ltd., 1907. Page 155 quoting article in "Sporting Magazine" Oct., 1824. Page 42)
"At first the hinds will perhaps run round and round in a most exasperating way, and many days are marred by the hounds changing on to fresh deer when their hunted one is more than half beaten; nevertheless the sport is often first-rate. Especially is this the case after Christmas, as by that time the calves are able to take care of themselves, and a mother when pressed by the hounds will leave her offspring and go straight away, instead of ringing round to the place where she hid the little one under a bush in the morning." (Fur, Feather, & Fin Series Edited by Alfred E.T. Watson. Red Deer. Pub. Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912. Page 238-9. Stag-Hunting section by Viscount Ebrington, Master Devon & Somerset Staghounds 1881-87)
[Hinds are hunted November, December, January, February. With the rut occurring in red deer in October the hinds are pregnant the whole time they are hunted.]
Kill:
"1789~The spring hunting was attended with two rather unusual circumstances. On April 27th, Horner Wood was drawn with the pack (a very imprudent practice, as the following account shows). They soon found, and after running the coverts half an hour by Stoke Pero Church for the open; before reaching Alderman’s Barrow, a dense fog came on, the hounds were lost, and two days after the head and part of the carcase of a fine old stag was discovered on Exmoor, evidently killed and eaten by the hounds..........
May 4th~The meet was Porlock. Soon found in Park Brake; the hind at once faced the open country, and such was the pace over Exmoor, that no horse could live with the hounds; the consequence was, that before any of the sportsmen could catch them, they had killed and eaten their deer." (Notes on the Chase of the Wild Red Deer. Charles Palk Collyns. 1862, Pub. Alston Rivers Ltd., 1907. Pages 171-172)
"........here the pack bayed him as he stood on a rock for safety, but in a few minutes obliged him to seek other quarters. He now leapt down about four feet on to the ledge of another rock, where it was impossible for the hounds to get at him; no doubt thinking himself safe, he lay down exhausted. Several foot-people attempted in vain to reach him; eventually, by throwing stones at him, he was driven off, and made a bound for the beach, a distance of sixty feet; he so injured himself that he could not go to sea, and was easily captured. This chase lasted three hours and a half, the hounds got blood as they deserved... ." (Notes on the Chase of the Wild Red Deer. Charles Palk Collyns. 1862, Pub. Alston Rivers Ltd., 1907. Page 234 [describing outcome of opening staghunting meet at Brendon Barton, August 15th 1855] )
"Fresh found their hind, ran her on to Tennerleigh, pointing for Westland Pound, but turned left near Whitefield allotment, and again to the left over Wollhangar, killing her in the dark in Farley Water, high up in the combe. Not a soul with them." (Staghunting on Exmoor. Hon. John Fortescue. Pub. Chapman and Hall Ltd. 1887. Page 271 [Describing end of hind hunt from Doone Valley. November 15th 1884] )
"Occasionally a stag is lassoed, and so taken, but as a rule some one or two men go up to him in the water when his attention is distracted by the hounds and take him literally with finger and thumb.........The stag must of course be approached from behind, as it would be certain death to attack him in front. His horns must be seized when his head is laid back and jammed down on to his shoulders. He is then powerless, and may be dragged ashore if there be men enough for the work, or thrown and stabbed to the heart there and then. The strength in a stag’s neck is enormous, and a very old stag has been seen to hurl two strong men who handled him injudiciously, far in front of him. It is rare for men to be hurt by a stag, though two men were roughly handled by a very savage one in 1883." (Staghunting on Exmoor. Hon. John Fortescue. Pub. Chapman and Hall Ltd. 1887. Pages 159-160)
"One often hears complaints about this modern motor boat method of taking the stag, but when I first hunted on Exmoor the Pollards and Perkyns of the Weir went out on these occasions in a row-boat. It often took a very long time, first to get out to the swimming or floating stag~they float as easily as they swim~ and then secure him, generally by tying the legs and somehow getting him into the boat, so bringing him in alive.
I never liked this method. A fast motor boat, notwithstanding the adverse criticisms I have heard from time to time, is a much more humane and quicker way of ending the life of a hunted deer~which we should never forget must end on the day he is harboured and hunted if it can possibly be accomplished~than by chasing a powerful swimmer with only a pair of oars.
Immediately the motor boat gets to him a rope is slipped over his antlers and the boat goes ahead at full speed for a minute or two. This pulls the stag’s nostrils under water and he is drowned in a very short space of time, or, unable to struggle, one knife-thrust can be accurately made and so kill him instantly.
Tying the legs and getting a tired stag into a row-boat was not pleasant and a very spun-out operation, whereas the motor boat reaches him immediately and puts him out of action in a few seconds without any further struggling or fighting.
I fail to see the argument that to use a motor boat is "an unfair advantage" and that the old-fashioned row-boat was more sportsmanlike. It might look it but it certainly was not so, for it dragged out the hunted stag’s last moments for a much longer period of time. The quicker a huntsman can kill his quarry when once it is at the final bay the better, and the same action applies when a stag goes to sea.
Every hunting man or woman wants this done. Very few of us, anyhow, enjoy seeing a kill, and the people who seem to like most this necessary part of hunting are the foot people who always seem to collect from nowhere on such occasions, and who press on the hunted animal in his last moments, sometimes hindering the huntsman in his work much more than do the riders." (Exmoor. The Riding Playground of England. Cecil Aldin. Pub. H.F. & G. Witherby. 1935. Pages 81-82)
"It is astonishing how deer will often loiter about in front of hounds, often to their own ultimate undoing, presenting a very different picture from that of the terrified creature fleeing in dread for its life conjured up by the sentimentalist. That there is a bad ten minutes at the last is undeniable, but we all have to face that sooner or later." (The Fairest Hunting. Hunting and Watching Exmoor Deer. H.P. Hewett. Pub. J.A. Allen & Co., 1963. Page 45)
Staghunting:
"CERTAIN PERIODS ARE FIXED for hunting wild red-deer; being, for the warrantable hart, from the 20th of August to the 31st of September [sic], both inclusive; after which, he is so weak from rutting, as to be unfit for sport." (British Rural Sports. Stonehenge (Editor of "The Field"). Pub. Frederick Warne and Co., 1868. Page 132)
"To-day the deer are numerous and the stags are not hunted until they are at least four years old. There is a summer and autumn stag-hunting season: no hunting during the rutting season in October: then a hind-hunting season: then the stags are hunted again during a short spring season." (The Wild Red Deer Of Exmoor. Henry Williamson. Pub. Faber and Faber Limited. 1931. Page 47)
[Horse & Hound, 23rd October 1997, advertised meets for the Devon & Somerset Staghounds on 23rd October and for the Quantock staghounds on 23rd, 27th, 29th, and 30th October]
"....a stag turned to bay in the doorway of an outhouse and no doubt thought himself unassailable, but the hounds went straight at him and pulled him out like terriers drawing a badger~a thing quite unprecedented, and not it is hoped to be repeated." (Staghunting on Exmoor. Hon. John Fortescue. Pub. Chapman and Hall Ltd. 1887. Page 162)
"On Monday, August 27th, 1894, drawing with the pack was resorted to, for a heavy stag had been harboured by himself by George Barwick in Hollacombe Wood.....The bulk of the pack change to a hind in Twitchen Wood, but he stops them by Button Bridge, and meanwhile Sidney is busy with the stag with only three hounds under Honacott. Breaking away, he conceals himself until Anthony returns with the rest of the hounds, and then a few turns up and down the water quickly finish him. A real forest king, with a royal head of twelve perfect points, the velvet clean gone. A very difficult stag to take; the tenth of the season; time, seven hours and a quarter; the pace at first quite fast enough, but slow towards the end. A lemon-coloured hound called Sovereign seized this stag by the flank, and never released his hold though carried for some distance through the air." (Staghunting with the Devon and Somerset. 1887-1901. Philip Evered [Secretary Devon and Somerset Staghounds]. Pub. Chatto & Windus. 1902. Pages 154 & 158)
"The Devon and Somerset Staghounds was banned from hunting for five weeks, until midnight November 18, in an unprecedented decision by the sport’s governing body after a committee of inquiry last Friday.
The committee viewed a video showing repeated failed attempts to kill with a shotgun a stag brought to bay by hounds in the River Barle. Eventually the quarry was despatched with a humane killer. The committee decided that the incident brought the sport into disrepute. Hunt staff attempting to kill the stag swiftly were impeded by unruly behaviour of foot followers, it was alleged.............
Some footfollowers waded into the river and prevented the two marksmen getting a clear shot. The first shot hit the stag, but it did not die; it began to move up and down the river, and survived a second shot, with two other shots missing the deer. Eventually, the huntsman, Donald Summersgill, and two Hunt followers went into the river, held the deer and despatched it with a humane killer. Altogether the incident took about six minutes." (Horse and Hound, October 20, 1994. Page 30 [Incident referred to followed meet of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds at West Molland, Thursday September 29th, 1994. The video was taken, under great duress, by League Against Cruel Sports Sanctuary Officer, Kevin Hill] )
"Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore, 40, (pictured) will have winced on opening his sister paper, the Sunday Telegraph, this weekend. His friend Adam Nicolson, 39, stirs bad memories with an article about fox-hunting, whose headline speaks of a ‘howling pack of natural born killers’. Mr Nicolson once wrote, also in the Sunday Telegraph, about spending a day stag-hunting. After the kill, his host, ‘wailing and screaming.........like a banshee’ had scooped up a ‘soup-bowl of blood’ in his hands and smeared it into Mr Nicolson’s hair with ‘a manic delight’. Mr Nicolson, horrified, concluded that this ‘chaotic, ugly primitivism could only be the sign of something degenerate’, Suave Old Etonian Mr Moore was mortified when it emerged that he was the unnamed banshee." (Daily Mail 19th August 1997)
GLOSSARY OF RELEVANT HUNTING TERMS.
Babbler : A bad fault in a hound. A noisy hound that gives tongue freely to all sorts of scents.
Bagman : A fox released from a sack, box or similar when required for a hunt.
Chop : To kill the quarry before that quarry has provided a run.
Couple : A pair of hounds. A pack is counted in couples.
Covert : (Pronounced cover) Woodland, gorse or thicket where the quarry may lie for shelter.
Holloa : (Pronounced holler) A loud high scream given when the quarry is viewed.
In blood : Hounds that have recently killed.
Law : In coursing the start given to the hare before the greyhounds are released. In foxhunting the start given to a bolted fox before the hounds are released.
Mark : When hounds bay at the earth or drain in which a hunted fox has sought refuge.
Putting to : The blocking of earths in an area into which hunted foxes might run, possibly a radius of five or six miles from the meet. A keeper can put-to his earths on the morning of the meet, provided they are all put-to by 11a.m.. It is done in daylight, possibly with the fox still inside. Coverts where the earths are put-to will not be drawn but a hunted fox must not get to ground.
Mute : A bad fault in a hound. The hound is silent, it does not give tongue when hunting.
Riot : Hounds riot when they hunt any animal other than their proper quarry.
Scarlet : This, rather than pink, is the correct term for the red hunting coat.
Skirter : A bad fault. The hound does not follow the exact line of the quarry but instead cuts corners.
Stern : The tail of a hound.
Stopping out : The blocking of all earths used by foxes where the hounds are likely to draw. It is recommended that this is done after 9.00 p.m. to ensure foxes being out of the earths hunting for food. Done to ensure that foxes are above ground in the coverts that are drawn by hounds.
Trencher-fed : Term used for hounds that are not looked after as a pack but rather cared for by individuals and brought together to form a pack on hunting days.
Hunting wildlife with packs of dogs is cruel by design and cruel by calculation. The hounds used are bred not for the speed that might produce a quick kill but rather for the stamina that guarantees the lengthy hunts the supporters seek. Hounds can be trained to hunt any scent and could easily hunt the humane artificial scent. Most supporters have no idea what their hounds are hunting.
Most foxes that are killed by hounds are not caught above ground. Instead they are dug out after seeking sanctuary below ground. There are no "instant kills" in digging out.
Animal Welfare Information Service, P.O. Box 8, HALESWORTH, Suffolk. IP19 0JL
(Additional copies of this booklet are available from the above address for £2 each to cover postage and packing, cheques/postal orders payable to AWIS please)
Date uploaded to site 7 March 2000