21 February 2000

The earliest records of hounds being kennelled at Badminton date back to 1640 when the then Marquis of Worcester hunted mainly deer, but hare and fox as well. It was not until the mid 1700's that the 9th Duke of Beaufort, returning with his staghounds after an unsuccessful day put his hounds onto Silk Wood - now part of the Westonbirt Arboretum - and had such a fine run with a fox that henceforth he concentrated on foxhunting; hunting the country around Badminton - now the Beaufort - as well as a large area of country north of Cirencester now the Heythrop.

Dukes of Beaufort have either hunted hounds themselves or have been in Mastership ever since the title was created in 1682 and the hounds, kennels and stables still belong to them. The Beaufort is now one of the few remaining private packs although it is basically financed by subscription.

The hunt dress is peculiar to the country in that the Huntsman and Whippers-In wear green and the subscribers a bluecoat with buff facings - the Beaufort Liveries.

The Beautort is still a four-day per week country with weather permitting hounds being out on average for 130 days per annum. The territory lies in Glos., Wilts and Somerset stretching from Bath in the South to Malmesbury in the East to just short of Cirencester in the North and to Nailsworth and Chipping Sodbury in the West. The north is typical of the Cotswolds - light land and stone walls with heavier pasture in the West and mixed arable and pasture in the South. The whole comprises some 760 square miles but due to urbanisation and the M4 about 260 square miles have been lost.

The M4 is fenced with mesh over the whole of its hunted length as is the main part of the Great Western railway line where it runs through the Saturday country. This fencing is obviously considerably more substantial than the existing Motorway/Railway fencing and is fox and hound proof and obviously benefits other wildlife and farm stock. The cost of renewing the Motorway fence at present prices is budgeted at £100,000 every 12 years and the railway line at £40,000 with the same life span; both being financed from hunt funds.

The Beaufort Hunt comprises a main committee with a chairman and some 25 Landowners, farmers and subscribers. The present Duke of Beaufort has one joint Master who doubles as Huntsman and who oversees the running of the country and the kennels and stables.

A full time honorary secretary deals with the finances and other administration areas and a team of six Field Masters control the mounted followers on their given days and who help liaise with the farmers on their prescribed areas. This means that all farmers know the full time hunt officials on a personal basis and are regularly in touch with the local Field Master.

Sub-committees are formed to deal with the other main proceedings; the Point-to-Point and the Supporters clubs for instance.

The overall membership of the Beaufort is as large as any hunt in the country with 250 mounted subscribers and over 100 mounted farmers or members of their families. Paying members total about 600 in all but mounted farmers hunt for free. A considerable number of others also hunt on a daily basis paying a cap - or daily fee. Mounted fields on a Saturday can top the 200 mark and an estimated 800 horses are kept in the country for the main purpose of hunting.

A popular meet will also attract upwards of 250 car followers, with the Boxing Day meet reaching 2,000.

The hunt itself employs 12 full time staff and 2 nearly full time as well as other considerable casual labour. An estimated 80 full time grooms are employed in the country either full time, or almost entirely so, to look after hunters with the attendant number of farriers, saddlers, feed merchants, horse transport, clothiers, horse dealers, livery yards, etc. etc. to service this considerable industry.

The effect of a ban on hunting to jobs in this area would have an enormous financial impact on the rural economy.

The hunt costs approximately £400,000 per annum to run of which £50,000 is spent on capital items 70% of this is raised from subscriptions, caps and donations and 30% from fund-raising activities. These fund raising activities cover a wide spectrum from a large hunt ball catering for 550, a 'pop' night in an indoor school catering for 1200, down to skittles evenings in a local pub catering for 40. In total the hunt organises about four functions per month and many of these are tied in to a national or local charity. The Beaufort Hunt and its affiliated organisations have raised over £75,000 for charity during the last five years.

A comprehensive list of all farmers, landowners and smallholders over whose land hounds are liable to run is kept up to date by six area meetings held annually with a representative from each parish attending. The total number amounts to 1500 families of which 650 would be termed bona fide farmers as opposed to paddock owners and small holders.

Of these about five do not allow hounds. A recent petition from Wiltshire County Council Farm Tenants was signed by 97% of tenants asking for them to retain the right to allow hounds on their land. Of those that abstained one was about to give up his tenancy and another was in hospital.

The support given to hunting in this area is overwhelming. On the day of the march in London The Beaubort sent 37 buses with many others going by car and train, an estimated total of over 4,000 from the hunt, the majority of whom came from the farming community.

Every year the hunt holds three drinks parties paid for out of hunt funds and everybody on the above mentioned list is invited. They are held in the late Autumn and depending on the weather, 800-1,000 attend.

As stated hounds have been kennelled at Badminton since 1640 but the pedigree records have only been kept up since the mid 1700's. The furthest back an individual hound can be traced generation for generation is 1743, 54 generations in all. This makes the foxhound one of - if not the - most chronicled animal in the world today. During this time they have been systematically bred for the sole purpose of hunting the fox with an emphasis on nose, stamina, and character.

All the puppies bred at Badminton are put out to walk on farms at 6-8 weeks and some of the puppy walkers are the 3rd and 4th generation of families to do so. The fact that they live with a family for their formative months helps bring out their genetic friendliness. Anyone who has visited a kennel or seen hounds at a show surrounded by children can vouch for this. Hounds are the most magical animals to work with.

The Beaufort Hounds are also famous for their conformation - in particular their size and quality. They win prizes at many major hound shows and their blood lines are in demand in many other kennels in this country as well as America, Canada, Australia as well as the continent.

As stated the number of horses kept mainly for hunting in the Beaufort area is about 800, of which 20 hunt horses are kept at Badminton. An estimated figure for the upkeep of these horses is in excess of £2 million per annum and their capital value in excess of £3 million. The country has for a long time been very horse orientated.

The Beaufort Pony Club has extremely close ties with the hunt. There are over 250 members many of whom hunt and over 80 events are organised per annum to cater for children from leading rein age to advanced equitation. The majority of organisers/teachers and helpers are members of the hunt.

Badminton Horse Trials with an attendance overall in the region of 250,000 was the brain child of the late Duke of Beaufort and the trials still have close ties with the Hunt. Many of our successful medal winning International Event riders have been regular followers of the Beaufort Hunt.

The Beaufort holds an annual point-to-point with an average attendance of 2,500 people. It is organised by a committee of hunt members, is held on land donated free, is heavily sponsored by the hunting fraternity and is viable financially because a considerable workforce give their time for free because the proceeds go towards the Hunt. Without the hunt its raison d'être would disappear and so would a popular days racing.

The Beaufort has a thriving Supporters Club (The Hunt Club) with around 2,000 paying members and more than that attending functions. The annual membership fee is £5.00 well within the grasp of everybody. It is made up of individuals from every walk of life imaginable and all age groups. They hold over twenty gatherings per annum. For some members of the hunt club these gatherings and those run by the hunt are at the centre of their social life and many attend each occasion without fail.

The hunt club regularly donates money to charity (as already listed) and their present policy is to give more numerous but smaller donations to local charities rather than fewer but larger donations to local charities. This gives a greater local commitment and interest and they have found that people therefore give more freely.

The BSE disaster and the resultant demise of the knacker industry over the past four years has meant that the amount of fallen stock collected by the hunt has exploded. In the region of 5,500 calls are dealt with annually. The numbers of large animals - cows, big bullocks, and horses in particular has put a tremendous strain on the kennel staff and Hunt finances.

The hunt still tries to run a fair service to the farmer augmented by nominal charge for horses and the introduction of a calf scheme - whereby the hunt buys a calf and the farmer keeps it free for a year - with an annual sale at a local livestock market.

Also to combat the increase in the cost of having offal removed by a renderer the hunt has just installed a commercial incinerator with a burning capacity of 250 kg per hour. The cost of this incinerator, wages, vehicles, diesel and depreciation comes to £95,000 per annum. Only a small proportion is recovered by donations and the calf scheme and the hunt therefore is financing a knacker service to the farmers to the tune of £78,000 per annum.

If this service ceased this cost would of necessity fall straight back onto the farmer at a time when the dairy and beef industries are already so squeezed that many are going out of business. The alternative would be the dumping or burying of animals with the resultant environmental repercussions.

During the late 80's a small but organised local saboteur cell caused considerable problems and minor disturbances were commonplace. As a deterrent a system of hunt marshals was introduced and the main instigator moved away and the cell fell apart.

The Hunt experienced one major hit in the mid 90's when the hardcore London mob with pickhelves and balaclava helmets and about 100 strong caused havoc for one day causing £20,000 of damage to vehicles, and putting two people in hospital; ending by beating up a local farmer who did not hunt but who was feeding his horse in a field beside their route back to the Motorway. There has been no trouble since.

At present hunt officials have a regular yearly meeting with three police divisions in the area and also still operate a team of hunt marshals that are out hunting regularly and who also are briefed yearly by a police officer.

The support for hunting amongst the farming community in the Beaufort Hunt is almost unconditional, only 2 square miles not being available due to permission being denied out of a total of 500 square miles of huntable country. The vast majority of farmers in this area leave the problem of control to the hunt and except in a few areas where fox predation is particularly extensive either because of lambing, free range chickens, outdoor pigs or pheasants the hunt is recognised as the only method of fox control. In areas where other methods of control are exercised lamping with rifles in the Autumn and the digging of vixens in the spring are the most common, and can almost entirely wipe out the fox population.

In the majority of the country however where a large percentage of the farmers and landowners hunt the fox is considered more as a quarry species than as a vermin with the result that the density of foxes is greater. Because culling with hounds is more selective it also results in a healthier species.

The number of foxes caught in a season differs significantly depending on their density which itself depends primarily on the disease factor and on the success of the breeding season. In the Beaufort country the spread of mange emanating from the outskirts of Bristol four years ago has had a catastrophic impression on the fox population and the number caught has fluctuated from 130 brace to 60 brace in a given twelve months. The number of foxes caught over the last five years due to incapacity on their part has increased enormously; mange and wounds stemming from road accidents and shooting being the commonest.

Anybody seeing a fox in the latter stages of mange or suffering from gangrene caused by gunshot wounds could only be horrified and wish its instant dispatch.

The input into conservation of hunting in this area is surprising. The majority of woodland maintenance has hunting in mind and new coverts and fox habitat are continually being created. The hunt itself has a policy of planting new coverts and 'beefing up' the ground cover in bare coverts. Walls and fences are built and maintained, gates put in and maintained and rides and green lanes kept open.

If hunting were to cease many of the woods that are left quiet for the benefit of the fox would be used for an alternative and more lucrative purpose to the detriment of all wildlife.

The sport of Foxhunting is thriving in the Beaufort country. More people hunt on horses than at any time since the war. More people follow in cars, motorbikes or on foot than at any time in its history.

The range of income of those following is more diverse than ever and the backgrounds from which they stem wider still. More urban people participate now than they ever have done, and yet the friendships and camaraderie of this amazingly cosmopolitan group is staggering.

The backing of the farmers and landowners is more committed than it ever has been probably partly due to the present threat. The worry concerning the cessation of Flesh Collection is real.

The number of jobs created, both directly and indirectly in this area is substantial and the hard cash generated into the local rural economy, often from city sources, is of real benefit.

The effect of a ban on hunting on the Hound does not bear thinking about and the Horse industry in this area would be hard hit.

Finally the way that the landowners and farmers perceive the fox would alter dramatically. Culling would become more intense and their habitat would become much more disturbed driving them ever more towards a village environment where they would just become scavengers. All in all a ban on Foxhunting in this area would have a destructive effect conservationally, socially and economically with the added end result that the fox would be worse off.

Miss Jo Aldridge

Public Relations Officer Beaufort Hunt

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Date uploaded to site 26 May 2000