Fox Hunting News

A surprising multi-party coalition of MPs—Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour, and Plaid Cymru—in sympathy with the plight of farmers suffering livestock losses from foxes are backing Parliamentary proposals to ease one aspect of the Hunting Act. Under the Act as it stands, when a farmer wants foxes on his property killed, only two hounds are allowed to flush the foxes from covert to guns. The proposals under consideration would allow a full pack to be used. Such a change would bring the Act in line with Scotland’s ban. Farmers say that attacks on lambs have been increasing, and claim that the hunting restrictions under the Act are impeding effective pest control. A vote in Parliament will be required, but a new bill will not be needed for the change. Supporters are pressing Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to back the proposals. Although Mr. Paterson is a long-time supporter of lifting the ban, he has not yet made a public commitment. A furious debate is expected. Read John Bingham’s article in The Telegraph for more details. Posted October 14, 2013

Huntsman Nicholas Bycroft of the Crawley and Horsham Foxhounds in West Sussex, England admitted in court last month to illegal foxhunting after being filmed by an animal rights activist. A year ago, three members of the Crawley and Horsham, including the former huntsman, pleaded innocent of contravening the Hunting Act but were found guilty. Evidence against the accused included video clips furnished by an animal rights group. Bycroft was given a year-long conditional discharge, ordered to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £15. According to the Crawley and Horsham hunt, “Nick Bycroft has taken the decision not to contest the allegation made against him of illegal hunting. “The Crawley and Horsham carries out trail hunting and exempt hunting and from time to time it is inevitable that the hunt will come across a fox. “On this occasion it does seem the hounds did find a fox in cover. The fox was not hunted and was not caught by hounds. “However, the Hunting Act is a draconian and complex law and Mr Bycroft has decided to plead guilty rather than go to trial.” Click for more on this case. In another court case in Somerset, Seavington huntsman David Parker admitted to illegally hunting a fox. The RSPCA is said to have spent £4,200 taking Parker to court, and was criticized for doing so by Parker’s solicitor Jamie Foster. This RSPCA has been on the receiving end of complaints from sportsmen’s groups for sometimes spending vast sums of contributors’ money to prosecute under the Hunting Act. Foster said, “The hounds got on the scent of the fox, but were never in sight of it….The fox escaped and was not harmed. “Instead of trying to stop the hounds from chasing the fox, in a moment of madness David Parker blew his horn and encouraged them on. “In the moral pantheon of criminal law it falls somewhere between littering and not paying for your TV licence. “The RSPCA asked the court for a bill of more than £4,700 to be paid. The court ruled £500 should be paid instead, so they have spent more than £4,200 on a prosecution which should never have been brought. “That money could have been spent helping animals, which is why people donate to the charity, rather than on this unnecessary court case.” Posted October 4, 2013

The Essex Fox Hounds (NJ) will reach out to their community on October 12 and 13, 2013 with “A Weekend in Gladstone.” Members will celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the hunt’s incorporation with a series of activities aimed at reaching out to their community. On Saturday, foxhounds will meet at Bedminster Farm, and the organization’s legends will be honored at a hunt ball that evening at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation. On Sunday, there will be a procession of coaches, foxhounds and riders down Main Street to Natirar Park in Peapack and Gladstone, where a series of fun races will be held: stick races for children, a flat race, a timber race, and a Master’s Chase. Stable friends, amateurs, and junior riders will have the opportunity to ride relay races. “We want to do something within our own community that gives a little understanding of why we keep open space,” said Karen Murphy, MFH. The hunt feels that it is important for residents to understand the hunt’s role in preserving open space. Click for Nancy Jaffer’s complete article in The Star Ledger. Posted September 14, 2013

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced on September 11, 2013 the first diagnosed case of West Nile Virus (WNV) in a horse this year. The horse is from Russell County. It had been vaccinated for WNV just two weeks prior to becoming ill. The horse is being treated with supportive therapies to prevent the animal from injuring herself throughout the two to three week cycle of the disease. Often horses have to be euthanized because of the severity of their symptoms, which may include low-grade fever, ataxia (loss of full control of bodily movements), hypermetria (lifting its feet excessively high) and intermittent central nervous system depression. On September 9, VDACS announced the first horse in Virginia to test positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis. In April 2013 VDACS sent out an announcement encouraging horse owners to discuss a vaccination schedule for West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis with their veterinarians. Vaccines are available to drastically reduce the incidence of WNV and EEE in horses. The vaccines are effective for six to twelve months, so horses should be re-vaccinated at least annually. In areas where the disease occurs frequently, most veterinarians recommend vaccination every six months. The WNV vaccine for equines initially requires two doses administered three to six weeks apart. The vaccine takes four to six weeks from the second dose for optimal effectiveness. Horse owners should consult with their veterinarians to choose a re-vaccination schedule to protect their horses effectively. Prevention methods besides vaccination include destroying standing water breeding sites for mosquitoes, use of insect repellents and removing animals from mosquito-infested areas during peak biting times, usually dusk to dawn. Continuous, effective mosquito control can minimize the risk of exposure of both horses and humans to West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne diseases. The virus usually lives in wild birds of many different species. Mosquitoes transmit it from bird to bird. Occasionally a mosquito that has bitten an infected bird will then bite a human, horse or other mammal and transmit the virus to them. Transmission between horses and humans is extremely unlikely. WNV can cause a horse to go down and be unable to get up without help. Animal owners should consult their veterinarians if an animal exhibits any neurological symptoms such as a stumbling gait, facial paralysis, drooping or disinterest in their surroundings. Animal owners should consult their veterinarians or the nearest VDACS Regional Animal Health Laboratory for advice or information should an animal exhibit symptoms of WNV. Posted September 15, 2013

The 2013 Field Hunter Championship of North America will be held in Virginia from Monday, September 30 to Sunday, October 6. Competitors will hunt four days, with fixtures at Keswick Hunt, Casanova Hunt, Snickersville Hounds, and Piedmont Fox Hounds. The Finals will be held on Sunday, October 6 at Glenwood Park. The final day at Glenwood will start with the judging of the “Best Turned Out” horse and rider, after which a short drag hunt will start and end on the racecourse. At least ten finalists will be chosen to ride over a “handy hunter” course, where they may be required to drop a rail, open a gate, and hand gallop and halt. Spectators are encouraged to attend. This is the second and final day of the Virginia Fall Races at Glenwood Park, so there’s a lot going on! The family of the late Mrs. Theodora Ayer Randolph will again honor her memory and her lifetime commitment to fox hunting by awarding a $2,500 cash prize to the home hunt of the winner. The Museum of Hounds and Hunting in Leesburg will award a one-year membership to the winning rider and to the two highest-placed Juniors that qualify for the Finals. General Admission price is $30.00 per carload of four people.  To reach Glenwood Park from the Washington DC area, take I-66 West and exit Route 50 West (Exit 57B towards Winchester).  Drive approximately 25 miles to Middleburg and turn right at stop light in Middleburg (Route 626, Foxcroft Road).  Proceed 1 mile North to Glenwood Park on your right. For additional information and/or photos call the name above or contact the Field Hunter Championship Chairman Ms. Pippy McCormick at 540-454-2854. Posted September 6, 2013

James Barclay, ex-MFH, whose elegant prose has appeared (and will continue to appear) in Foxhunting Life, has launched a new subscription website titled, “For the Love of Hunting England. The new portal promises to be full of news, information, and features about hunting in Great Britain and further afield. James, whose family has been deeply involved in foxhunting for many generations and who has been a Master of several packs of hounds, including the Cottesmore, Fitzwilliam, Grove and Rufford, and Essex and Suffolk, said, “I hope that this new website will be of interest to hunting people all over the world, but I decided to call it For the Love of Hunting England because it is in Old England that the sport as we know it has its roots.” The site will be a portal for James’ passion for and knowledge of hounds across Britain, and the breadth of his interest in hunting and the personalities involved. The annual subscription fee will be £15. A special price of £12.99 is available for subscriptions purchased before Christmas. Visit the website for more information. Posted September 1, 2013

The Blue Mountain Pony Club in Maryland won the seventh annual Live Oak Hounds USPC Foxhunting Challenge Award for 2013. The Challenge Award is made possible through the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. C. Martin Wood III, Joint-Masters of the Live Oak Hounds in Monticello, Florida and Past Presidents of the MFHA. The Award is designed to encourage Pony Club members who do not regularly hunt to try the sport and to reward members who hunt on a regular basis to act as mentors to the less-experienced Pony Club members. Ten thousand dollars in awards are distributed each year among the top six Pony Clubs who introduce the greatest number of active Pony Club members to the sport of foxhunting. The United States Pony Club was established by foxhunters, and the two organizations share a close bond. The 2013 Challenge winners are: First PlaceBlue Mountain Pony Club in Maryland. Blue Mountain Pony Club members hunted with Blue Mountain Hunt (PA). Second PlaceCedar Knob Pony Club in Tennessee. Cedar Knob Pony Club members hunted with Mooreland Hunt, Longreen Foxhounds, Shawnee Hounds, and Full Cry Hounds. Third Place Old Dominion Hounds Pony Club in Virginia. Old Dominion Pony Club members hunted with Old Dominion Hounds. Fourth PlaceElkridge-Harford Pony Club in Maryland. Elkridge-Harford Pony Club members hunted with Elkridge-Harford Hunt. Fifth Place Lowcountry Pony Club in South Carolina. Lowcountry Pony Club members hunted with Lowcountry Hunt. Sixth Place Live Oak Hounds Pony Club in Florida. Live Oak Hounds Pony Club members hunted with Live Oak Hounds.

Four members of the Middleton Hunt (UK) pled guilty to charges under the Hunting Act. Video footage taken by the League Against Cruel Sports was shown to the Magistrate’s Court showing the men bolting a fox from a pile of round bales. The fox was immediately run down by hounds and killed. Although admittedly an unsporting way to kill a fox, if the fox had been shot and killed upon being bolted from the round bales, no offence would have occurred. If the fox had been shot but only wounded while making its escape, only to die after suffering its wounds for a day or more, no offence would have occurred. Such are the terms of the Hunting Act under which foxhunters in the UK must abide. The four men were fined by the court. Click to read Dan Bean’s complete article in The Press. Posted August 18, 2013

Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio is offering a course in foxhunting this semester. The course, “Riding to Hounds,” will earn students an hour of college credit for Thursday night classroom sessions and from two to four Saturday morning fox hunts with the Chagrin Valley Hunt. Pam Hess, dean of the School of Equine Studies said there is no killing of the fox. The Chagrin Valley Hunt has waived capping fees and, according to Hess, hunt members have gone out of their way to welcome young people, and especially those from Lake Erie College. The required textbook for the class is Riding to Hounds in America: An Introduction for Fox Hunters by William P. Wadsworth. For more details, read Michael K. McIntyre’s article in Cleveland.com. Posted August 17, 2013