Exmoor Foxhunts

There follows submission of evidence from the four fox hunts in the Exmoor Area. Additional support material is to be copied to accompany the document. Therefore the evidence document will also be sent by first class post with the copy material accompanying it. I Trust this is in order.

This submission is from the four packs of foxhounds which hunt the high moorland of Exmoor - The Dulverton East, Dulverton West, Minehead and Exmoor.

This submission relates to Hunting activities and the social and recreational life of the Exmoor area and is an amalgam of the activities of the four hunts.

The recent West Somerset District Council Study into the Social and Economic Impact of the Abolition of Hunting with Hounds has dealt comprehensively with most aspects of the question in so far as they relate to this area and there is no need to repeat them as the Study has already been submitted to The Enquiry.

However it is worth emphasising that this is an important sheep farming area and the farming community relies heavily on the hunt at lambing time to reduce predation by foxes of new-born lambs. When the Ministry of Agriculture operated the experimental husbandry farm at Liscombe near Dulverton, their annual losses to foxes were estimated to be between 3% and 5% of lambs born. There is a strong sense on Exmoor that were hunting to be discontinued the tolerance currently granted to the fox as a quarry species would cease. It would simply be a pest and nothing more - in place of stringently-controlled hunting would come free-for-all destruction.

It is also the case that there is no enthusiasm for draghunting amongst Exmoor farmers: it is seen as being of no practical use and therefore access would be denied. Because it is very open and offers little opportunity for jumping, Exmoor is not particularly suitable draghunting territory anyway. For these reasons, draghunting is very unlikely to be a viable alternative to hunting with hounds in this area.

The Exmoor area is widespread with many isolated farms and small hamlets. Social life for many of the inhabitants revolves around the activities of the hunts concerned and the events organised and run by the hunts and the various committees. Much interest and much loyalty will be found in each of the hunt areas and for each of the hunts. All events and occasions will be organised by a member of the relevant hunt with the help of a committee of hunt members. The purpose of each event is three fold:-

During the course of any one year or season the four hunts will have organised:-

Each of the above occasions will provide a focal point and a social fixture for local inhabitants when people gather to meet each other, to exchange views and comments and to enjoy themselves. As has been stated many people live in isolated areas and the social importance of such occasions should not be minimised.

It is our submission that following a ban on fox hunting very few of the events listed would continue to take place and if any did continue they would be in a different form. The motivation for the organisation of each event stems from loyalty and interest in the local hunt. Remove the hunting and the interest would die. There would be not point in this social structure continuing. These events and social fixtures are all verifiable and will be mirrored in all hunting areas. They perhaps have a particular relevance in the more isolated areas such as Exmoor.

There is another aspect of hunting in the social and recreational field which may be less verifiable but would be clearly seen by any one visiting the area and attending hunting. This is the great love of hunting, a love of hound breeding and of following the hunt. It is not confined to people on horses it is widespread across all areas of society and is witnessed by foot followers, car followers and those on bicycles. This love may be as difficult for urban people to understand as is, for some country people, the support, sometimes hysteria, which can be shown for a football team. The fact is however, that many people in a hunting country take an abiding pleasure and interest in following their local hunt, how the hounds are faring where they have been and with what success. The hunt is a focal point of interest and a frequent topic of conversation.

A ban on fox hunting removes at a stroke not only the bulk of the verifiable occasions mentioned, but also the wide spread interest above described. It follows, as black night follows day, that a ban would be not only misunderstood but hugely resented and inevitably interpreted as an attack upon a substantial minority by an urban based majority, whose political leaders have indicated, contrarily, strong support for commercial game shooting and the sport of fishing for reared fish.

This submission has been prepared by The Chairman or Joint Master of each of the four hunts and is dispatched by a Joint Master of the Exmoor Foxhounds on their behalf.