Fox Hunting News

Two farms in New Jersey—one in Gladstone, the other in Pompton Plains—are under quarantine for exposure to the neurologic form of equine herpes virus-1. A horse from the Gladstone farm that had attended a horse show in Newburgh, New York tested positive to the virus. After tracing the movements of the infected horse, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture determined that eleven horses in that state had been exposed. None, however, have tested positive. The infected horse is being treated and is said to be recovering at a veterinary quarantine facility Oldwick, New Jersey. Horses in New York State, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania have or may have been exposed, but none have tested positive as yet. The two Connecticut horses are in quarantine. For more details, see Megan Brincks’ January 25, 2013 article in The Chronicle of the Horse. Posted February 6, 2013

The traditional “Night of the Foxes” took place in Upper Styria, Austria over the last weekend in January, 2012. The tradition endures there as a way of controlling the fox population, balancing the natural environment, and protecting small game. Although details were sparse in the Austrian Times article, the hunting method seems to involve the staking out of an area by participating individuals overnight while the foxes are out and active. The hunter must keep absolutely still and quiet so as not to alert his quarry, and he shoots it if it comes within range. Success is said to require skill and experience. The morning after, the hunters’ trophies are proudly laid out for the townspeople to see and admire. The ceremony includes horn blowers in traditional Austrian attire celebrating the hunters’ achievements on their horns. Successful hunters are awarded fir branches, which they stick in their hat bands. Nineteen foxes were taken with one hunter accounting for three. Sounds more like our turkey hunting than foxhunting! Posted February 4, 2013

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has instituted a new program—Animal Disease Traceability Program (ADTP)—to allow livestock (including horses) to be traced in the event of a disease outbreak. ADTP will apply to all interstate transport. How this traceability program will impact the Equine Interstate Event Permit (EIEP) program devised by states in the Southeast to ease the flow of interstate horse traffic is not addressed. The USDA traceability program requires horses to have an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) or other document acceptable to the states involved, but doesn’t specifically address the new EIEP. The ADTP will be administered by the states with federal support. It goes into effect on March 11, 2013, but a transition period is anticipated to allow transporters to get used to the new rules. Posted January 27, 2013

A new permit—the Equine Interstate Event Permit (EIEP)—will allow the transport of horses between states in the Southeast for six-month periods. These permits will serve in lieu of the usual Certificate of Veterinary Inspection which is good for only thirty days. Dr. Richard Wilkes, State veterinarian with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) said that a database and record-keeping system has been devised, and that the Commonwealth has a Memorandum of Agreement with fourteen states to allow the permits to be issued. Participating states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The state of New York also announced recently that it will also accept the six-month permit. The EIEP may be obtained form an accredited veterinarian. Applicants must fill out an application, present a health certificate for the horse, a negative Coggins test, and either microchip ID or three-view digital photographs of the horse. Owners will also need to demonstrate their ability to perform a simple physical exam and the ability to take the horse’s temperature. This data is to be recorded on the horse’s travel document with each interstate movement. Click for more detailed information from the VDACS or call 804-786-2483. Posted January 27, 2013

The Countryside Alliance believes that there would be sufficient votes in Commons to overturn the hunting ban, but for the votes of the Scottish Labour MPs. The government is being urged to reform the system which gives Scottish MPs veto rights on legislation that has no impact in Scotland. Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance said, “[T]here are a lot of people in the Westcountry who simply cannot understand why the Hunting Act cannot be repealed when a majority of English and Welsh MPs support getting rid of it. “MPs from the Westcountry have no say on hunting laws in Scotland, so why should Scottish MPs hold a veto over repealing the pointless and wasteful Hunting Act in England and Wales? “The continuing interference of Scottish Labour MPs also underlines the fact that the Hunting Act has nothing to do with animal welfare or wildlife management, but is a prejudiced, political attack on the hunting community.” The Countryside Alliance predicts that a vote in Commons to overturn the ban would prevail by thirty to forty votes if taken only by English and Welsh MPs. Click for more details in This Is Cornwall. Posted January 15, 2013

Vannah Grisham Husband, MFH of the Mells Foxhounds, passed away on Friday, January 4, 2013 at the Huntsville Hospital in Alabama. Vannah grew up riding horses and had a life-long love of animals. She started her foxhunting career with the Mooreland Hunt (AL) at age eight and received her colors in 1972. Through the early 1990s she served as chairman of the Mooreland Hunt Ball. She became MFH of the Mells Foxhounds in 1995. After receiving a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Stetson University—where she met her husband-to-be, Floyd Douglas Husband—she taught elementary school children from 1984 to 1987. She was exceptionally artistic, and was a professional Lettering and Book Artist whose work was displayed in art shows around the Southeast. She was a member of the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting and Lettering, and the President of the Board of the Nashville Calligraphy Guild. She was also an original member and Docent at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, where she volunteered with their Education Program. Contributions may be made in her memory to Mells Foxhounds; c/o Joy Smith, MFH; 900 U.S. Highway 64; Frankewing, TN 38459. Click for a complete obituary. Posted January 15, 2013

The 2013 Washington Winter Show, renowned for its antique and fine art offerings, this year celebrates the country and sporting life with exhibits on loan from the National Sporting Library in Middleburg, Virginia. The NSL’s Claudia Pfeiffer is the principal curator. Billed as “Thrill of the Chase”—a double entendre referring to the foxhunt and the antique hunt—the show previews on January 10, 2013 and runs from January 11–13. The exhibit is open free of charge to the public to further the understanding and appreciation of antiques. General admission tickets which include the show catalogue are $20.00. Claudia Pfeiffer contributed an essay to the catalog. At 1:00 pm on Friday, Honorary Chair Penny Chenery, owner of Triple Crown-winner Secretariat, will be represented by her co-author Leanne Meadows Laddin to sign copies of Secretariat’s Meadow: The Land, the Family, the Legend and Riva Ridge: Penny’s First Champion. The show will be held at the Katzen Arts Center, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016. Click here for details of this exceptional exhibit. Click here for more information on the show and to view the video of Secretariat’s monumental victory in the Belmont Stakes, capturing the Triple Crown and shattering the track record. Posted January 5, 2013

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that bans the use of dogs in hunting bear and bobcat. The moment represents a long-sought for success for animal rights activists, who have been bringing this or similar bills to the California legislature for many years now. Pro-hunting groups with the help of the MFHA and the United States Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) have, until now, successfully staved off passage. There is no doubt that this bill represents a major defeat for all sportsmen and women who hunt with dogs or hounds. Where will it go from here? is the big question. Read more details in John Bowman’s article in the Siskiyou Daily. Posted December 28, 2012

Boxing Day, traditionally the best-attended day of the hunting season in England, will bring large fields and throngs of hunt supporters to the meets, but no solace in their dreams of repealing the despised Hunting Act of 2005. Prime Minister David Cameron’s campaign pledge to bring the matter to a vote in Parliament notwithstanding, such a move is not in the offing according to Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, a hunt supporter himself. The Huffington Post, UK quotes the cabinet minister as saying, “There’s only a point having a vote if you’re going to win.” A recent poll found, in fact, that seventy-six percent of the population are against legalizing foxhunting, despite a concerted pro-hunting campaign by the Countryside Alliance. With nearly all hunts planning to ride on Boxing Day, The Telegraph estimates that more than one million people will attend at least three hundred meets. As a comparison, there are more than twice the number of hunts in England as in the U.S. According to The Guardian, the Countryside Alliance reports more hunt followers today than in 2005 when the ban became law, as well as an increased sense of support from local countryside communities. One third of all hunts claim to have more members and supporters than before the ban, and the great majority of hunts are hunting just as much. Barney White-Spunner, executive chairman of the Countryside Alliance, said, “The Hunting Act was an attack on rural people rather than an attempt to improve animal welfare, which is why it has failed so spectacularly.” He said that in the uplands the Hunting Act has made it nearly impossible for farmers to control the fox population and protect their livestock. Meanwhile, the League Against Cruel Sports has pledged to intensify its campaign against illegal hunting by recruiting more hunt monitors—many of them ex-police officers. Posted December 26, 2012

The Heythrop Hunt, former huntsman Julian Barnfield, and ex-Master Richard Sumner all pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful hunting in Oxford Magistrates’ Court. The charges were brought by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The guilty pleas were made after the court was shown film taken by anti-hunt monitors during the 2011/2012 season. The hunt was fined £4,000, Barnfield £1,000, and Sumner £1,800. The court also ordered the hunt to pay £15,000 towards the RSPCA’s legal costs. This is said to be the first case in which a hunt organization was found guilty and sentenced. After pronouncing the sentences, Judge Pattinson turned on the RSPCA exclaiming surprise at the “staggering figure”—£330,000—that the RSPCA spent to bring the case. It was ten times what the defense spent and begs the question: Can justice be served by the ability of a heavily-funded organization to overpower a defendant that cannot match the funding it would take to defend itself? Ian Anderson, ex-MFH of the Ashford Valley Foxhounds in Kent, England and a frequent contributor to Foxhunting Life said this: “The RSPCA clearly has very different agenda from its Royal statute and hopefully something will be done about this as it is now clearly in the political lobbying arena. “It is amazing that with all the attempts to bring convictions, the only ones that they can achieve are when they put their considerable funds raised for animal welfare against the very small resources of the hunting community. No hunt could possibly fight a case where the potential liability is between three and £400,000. Hence, they have no alternative but to plead guilty.” In the wake of Judge Pattinson’s comments in court, several politicians across party lines have called for the Charity Commission to investigate if the RSPCA has breached its obligations to its charitable donors. All the media reports of the case were quick to point out that current British Prime David Cameron had previously ridden with the Heythrop, leading Barnsfield and others to suggest that the prosecution was politically motivated to embarrass Mr. Cameron. Click for more details as published in The Telegraph and in the Cotswold Journal. Posted December 21, 2012