The Duke of Beaufort's Hunt, also called the Beaufort and Beaufort Hunt, is one of the oldest and largest of the fox hunting packs in England.
The Duke of Beaufort's Hunt, also called the Beaufort and Beaufort Hunt, is one of the oldest and largest of the fox hunting packs in England.
Hunting with hounds in the area dates back to 1640, primarily deer but also foxes, and was led by the Marquis of Worcester. In 1762, Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, decided to focus on foxhunting after an unsuccessful day hunting deer. From that point on, the Dukes of Beaufort have participated in the hunt, often acting as Master of the hunt. Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort held the position for 60 years, [1] gaining a reputation as "the greatest fox-hunter of the twentieth century", [2] and was eventually known simply by the nickname, 'Master'. [1]
The present master of the hunt is Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort. [3]
The hunt country covers a 760 square miles (2,000 km2) area of land between Cirencester and Bath to the north and south and between Malmesbury and Nailsworth to the east and west, although only 500 square miles (1,300 km2) of land was usable by 2013. The hunt goes out on four days of the week during the hunting season, which continues for about 125 days of the year. [1]
Although "hunting wild mammals with a dog" in its traditional form was made unlawful in England and Wales by the Hunting Act 2004, which came into effect in 2005, the Beaufort Hunt continues to hunt, taking advantage of exemptions stated in Schedule 1 of the Act, which allow some previously unusual forms of hunting wild mammals with dogs to continue, such as "hunting... for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal". [4] Trail hunting and mounted exercising of hounds are both unaffected by the Act and consequently are favoured by many hunts in Great Britain. In 2005 the Beaufort changed its rules to ensure that it would hunt within the new law. [5]
In October 2021, the Beaufort sparked widespread revulsion when footage shown on UK television depicted the hunt killing its own dogs by shooting them in the head. [6] Tracey Crouch, a Conservative MP and co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for animal welfare, said the footage was "absolutely heartbreaking" and "distressing", while Mike Jessop, a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, said that from the footage, "There was no evidence of [the shooter] being veterinary trained or veterinary surgeons. The lack of use of any veterinary equipment that one would expect such as stethoscopes to ascertain the dogs were dead was just lacking." [6]
The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting rabbit or hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, the beagle is the primary breed used as a detection dog for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. The beagle is a popular pet due to its size and good temper.
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds", follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.
The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and animal fighting. The charity helped bring about the Hunting Act 2004 and Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which banned hunting with hounds in England, Wales and Scotland.
Beagling is mainly the hunting of hares and rabbits by beagles using their strong sense of smell. A beagle pack is usually followed on foot, but in a few cases mounted. Beagling is often enjoyed by 'retired' fox hunters who have either sustained too many injuries or lost the agility to ride horseback, or who enjoy the outdoors and the camaraderie of the hunt. It is also traditionally a way for young men and women to learn how to handle hounds on a smaller scale before they go on to hunt with foxhounds.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is a United Kingdom organisation that uses hunt sabotage as a means of direct action to stop fox hunting. It was founded in 1963, with its first sabotage event occurring at the South Devon Foxhounds on 26 December 1963.
Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, as well as by commoners with sighthounds and lurchers. In its oldest recorded form in the Western world, as described by Arrian—it was a sport practised by all levels of society, and it remained the case until Carolingian period forest law appropriated hunting grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility, and other landowners. It then became a formalised competition, specifically on hare in Britain, practised under rules, the Laws of the Leash'.
Badminton is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The only settlement in the parish is Badminton village, sometimes called Great Badminton to distinguish it from the hamlet of Little Badminton, about one mile to the north in Hawkesbury parish. The large country house called Badminton House is close to the north end of the village, and its surrounding deer park lies to the north and west.
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.
Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to the sport of badminton, is set among 52,000 acres (21,000 ha) of land. The gardens and park surrounding the house are listed at Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
David Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort GCC, known as David Somerset until 1984, was an English peer and major landowner.
Henry Hugh Arthur FitzRoy Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort, styled Marquess of Worcester until 1924, was a peer, landowner, society figure and a great authority in the fields of horse racing and fox-hunting. He held the office of Master of the Horse for over forty years (1936–1978), the longest to hold the position. He founded the Badminton Horse Trials and was deemed "the greatest fox-hunter of the twentieth century"; his long tenure as Master of the Beaufort Hunt led to his being universally nicknamed Master and his car bore the private numberplate MFH1. In 1980 he published the authoritative book Fox-Hunting.
Legislation on hunting with dogs is in place in many countries around the world. Legislation may regulate, or in some cases prohibit the use of dogs to hunt or flush wild animal species.
The Berkeley Hunt is a foxhound pack in the west of England. Its country lies in the southern part of Gloucestershire, between Gloucester and Bristol.
In the United Kingdom, the term hunting generally refers to hunting with hounds, e.g. normally fox hunting, stag (deer) hunting, beagling, or minkhunting, whereas shooting is the shooting of game birds. What is called deer hunting elsewhere is deer stalking. According to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) over a million people a year participate in shooting, including stalking, shooting, hunting, clay shooting and target shooting. Firearm ownership is regulated by licensing.
The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act was an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in February 2002, making Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to ban traditional fox hunting and hare coursing. It was repealed in 2023.
The Quorn Hunt, usually called the Quorn, established in 1696, is one of the world's oldest fox hunting packs and claims to be the United Kingdom's most famous hunt. Its country is mostly in Leicestershire, together with some smaller areas of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
The Cottesmore Hunt, which hunts mostly in Rutland, is one of the oldest foxhound packs in Britain, with origins dating back to 1666. Its name comes from the village of Cottesmore where the hounds were kennelled.
Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers; on foot, horseback, or both.
A montería is an ancient type of driven hunt endemic to Spain. It involves the tracking, chase and killing of big-game, typically red deer, wild boar, fallow deer and mouflon. A number of "rehalas" along with their respective "rehaleros" will stir up an area of forest with the aim of forcing the game to move around and into the shooting pegs, where hunters will be able to fire.
The Staghound, sometimes referred to as the English Staghound, is an extinct breed of scent hound from England. A pack hound, the breed was used to hunt red deer and became extinct in the 19th century when the last pack was sold.