The Bicester Hunt was formed initially in 1778 and shortly after incorporated a large area in Northampton known as Warden Hill. In 1987 the hunt amalgamated with the Whaddon Chase and now extends over 175 sq miles from Daventry in the north, to Banbury, Oxford, Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Buckingham and Brackley. The amalgamation was necessary due to the encroaching urbanisation and ever shrinking countryside. This foresight now enables the country to be hunted regularly four days a week in the season proper with no area visited more than once in every month. The kennels lie in the village of Stratton Audley, very near to Bicester, and were built at the turn of the last century. The hunt owns the premises along with woodland up to a hundred acres, which is cared for by appointed trustees. The country is mainly of mixed arable and grass farms with few large estates and only a little commercial shooting, it lies wet and can ride heavy in the predominately clay soil. The country on the whole is very well foxed and contains numerous small, mature sporting coverts that have been strategically planted over the last two or three hundred years.

At present there are some fifty-seven couple of hounds in kennel. They are looked after by a team of five full time employees that include a huntsman, whipper-in, kennel-man, terrier man, and a country maintenance man. There is also a full time stud groom and three seasonal grooms who care for fourteen horses. All these employees are housed on the hunt premises. Our hunt offers considerable local employment in other spheres namely the industries of feedstuffs, saddlers, veterinary, transport, farriery, livery sables and private grooms etc. In the event of a ban on hunting this would have a devastating affect on our community.

There is up to two hundred subscribers who ride and a further two hundred and fifty people who actively support the hunt along with some one thousand two hundred farmers and landowners, 97% of which welcome the hounds. There are an ever-increasing number of pony paddocks and small hobby farms emerging on fringe areas around towns and villages and it has to be said a number of these are out of bounds. While hunting the fox is an inexact science, every effort is made to respect the wishes of any farmer and landowner and much work is carried out before a days sport in order to warn an area that the hounds are about and we can then respond to any special instructions.

There are people from all walks of life that hunt with us. While some subscribers pay a considerable amount we like to feel that hunting with the Bicester is with in reach financially, for any working class family. We have a large number of children out as a result of a good pony club, we have postmen, nurses, factory workers, shop keepers etc, in fact our amateur whipper-in drives a slurry tanker and looks after his horses before and after his days work and takes his holidays for hunting in the season. It goes without saying that farmers are welcome at any time. Many of these same people run all the fund raising events, point to points, hunter trials, sponsored rides, dances, clay shoots and so on. Do not under estimate the social structure that hunting creates and the importance of this structure to the rural community.

Foxhounds are amongst the most docile of working animals and their welfare is not compromised, unlike many domestic pets. Our hounds have the full and undivided attention of the hunt staff at all times; there is a big emphasis on cleanliness and fitness. They are exercised twice daily out of season and work up to four hours daily fitness conditioning before autumn hunting begins. We have a large fallen stock collection service, which is vital for the farming community as many private slaughterhouses are now forced out of business. We collected 1007 bovines alone last season plus a huge number of sheep and 92 horses and ponies. I cannot emphasise enough the value of this operation to the farming world, although we make a small charge to join the fallen stock scheme, we the hunt, subsidise this to the tune of £19 000 pa. All the unused material is incinerated by our own two incinerators and we are subject of course to all the usual regulations and MAFF inspections etc.

I consider that the country we hunt to be well foxed. I also consider that our hounds are effective in fox control accounting regularly for up to one hundred brace per season. Time after time a good fox would escape the hounds through cunning and guile while we would often account for a number of foxes that are less than healthy. I have seen foxes wounded and distressed when alternative methods of control are used but with the hounds they escape unmaimed or they are killed swiftly. On some of the best hunts we may not catch a fox, but instead like all other followers, enjoy the countryside, the ability of the pack, the horse and the people but most importantly, the hunt its self. Contrary to much public perception, hunting folk love to see a fox and often, hunting farmers proudly inform me in the summer months of how many litters they have on their farm, surely this attitude secures a healthy future for the species. Terrier work is carried out as and when necessary at the specific instruction of the farmer or landowner. This work is professionally executed under the strict rules of the MFHA, take this procedure away and the result could be disastrous.

The Bicester hunt plays a huge role in conservation. As mentioned we not only maintain our own woodland but also many other coverts in our country that the hounds regularly draw. This work is almost continuous, fencing, covert laying clearing and planting, hedge laying, gate hanging, constructing hunting fences and so on. This work is not just carried out by our employee, but also by hunting people and farmers so that it may benefit the sport as well as the countryside. These woodlands form habitat for all forms of wildlife and it is a grave misconception that only the fox may benefit. This work also illustrates the fact that the fox will prosper in hunting countries, in parts of the country where hunting is nor dominant the fox arguably has a much tougher time of it.

There are of course those people who violently oppose fox hunting, and we at the Bicester have experienced our fair share of sabotage from our opponents. After some considerable efforts, an understanding with our local police has been reached, and why peaceful passive protest will be tolerated, violence will not. Recently, monitoring by so-called animal welfare groups has been more in evidence and much of their footage is used to media effect. This is counter acted by our own response to media calls and an explanation to any issues brought about.

The issues raised here offer only a brief summery of the Bicester Hunt, but many of the points would echo familiar circumstances with other hunts through out the country. I think that the biggest factor to benefit us of late has undoubtedly been the amalgamation with the Whaddon Chase. This has given us so much more rural space in which to operate in an ever-decreasing countryside. A lot of people want to come hunting with us, it may seem a minority in real terms, but it is a large minority for which the members will defend most vigorously for their freedom of choice.

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