Seven Years Later: Has Britain’s Hunting Act Failed?
That’s the view of Barney White-Spunner, Executive Chairman of the Countryside Alliance. “Hunting remains in good heart…and support is strong,” he wrote in the Alliance’s latest newsletter. After seven years under the law, White-Spunner claims that eighty-six percent of all hunts in England have the same number or more members and most feel higher or […]
Hunting and Fishing in ID, KY, NE, and WY Now Protected by Constitutional Amendment
Voters in Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Wyoming overwhelmingly passed amendments to their state constitutions on election day protecting their rights to hunt and fish. The National Rifle Association has been pushing this amendment state by state as a preemptive strike against attacks on hunting by animal rights activism. Thirteen states had already passed such constitutional […]
Wise Dan Emerges Favorite for Horse of the Year
Wise Dan has emerged as a favorite contender for Horse of the Year honors after setting a new record for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last Saturday. The gelding beat a strong field, including the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom whom he bested by one-and-a-half lengths. Trained by Charlie Lopresti, Wise Dan […]
Two Families with Five Generations in the Genesee Valley Field
The Genesee Valley Hunt (NY) can boast of two families still hunting in the fifth generation. It’s no surprise that the Wadsworth family is one. After all, it was Major W. Austin Wadsworth who established the hunt in 1876. Three generations of the Wadsworth family are hunting today—Martha Wadsworth, MFH, Marion Thorne, MFH, and Piper […]
Fox Pen Debate Continues in Virginia
The Virginia General Assembly brought opponents and proponents of fox penning together last February in an attempt to review the practice and work out a mutually acceptable set of rules. David Whitehurst of the Department of Game and Fisheries says that no compromise acceptable to each constituency was reached. The issue is expected to be […]
Hunt Club, MFH Sued: Hound Attack Alleged
A lawsuit has been filed in Buck’s County against the Huntingdon Valley Hunt and Richard Harris, MFH by a Warwick, Pennsylvania couple. John and Judy Cox claim they were attacked on January 1 while walking their blind dog in Dark Hollow Park. Hounds were hunting in the park at the time and came in contact […]
Journalist Sarah Greenhalgh’s Death Is a Confirmed Homicide
Photojournalist Sarah Greenhalgh at the Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point in the 1990s / Douglas Lees photo The investigation into the death of equestrian photo/journalist Sarah Greenhalgh is now entering its fourth month. On Monday, October 8, 2012, an official from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office said that Greenhalgh was murdered by a gunshot to the […]
California Bans Hunting Bear, Bobcat with Hounds
California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill banning the hunting of bear and bobcat with hounds in that state. The bill was opposed throughout the legislative process by pro-hunting groups. Its enactment on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 represents a big success for the Humane Society of the United States, the animal rights organization […]
Deep Run Hunt Marks 125th Anniversary
Members of the Deep Run Hunt (est. 1887) near Richmond, Virginia, marked their 125th anniversary on Sunday, September 30, 2012 with a day of celebration, awards, and the introduction of a new book by Aynsley Miller Fisher recounting the hunt’s history. For the Love of the Sport—The Horses, Hounds, Foxes and Friends of the Deep […]
British Hunting Ban an Accident?
Former British Home Secretary Jack Straw says that the passage of the foxhunting ban in England was the result of a misstatement by then Prime Minister Tony Blair. In Straw’s just-published memoir, he claims Blair was “put on the spot” by a question on live TV and “accidentally” announced he would support a hunting ban. […]