Royal Rock Beagles by John Dalby, 1845. | |
Hunt type | Beagling |
---|---|
Country | ![]() |
History | |
Founded | 1845 |
Disbanded | 2015 |
Hunt information | |
Hound breed | Beagle |
Hunt country | Wirral Peninsula |
Quarry | Hare |
The Royal Rock Beagles was a pack of beagles founded at Rock Ferry in 1845. [1] The pack was used to hunt hare in the Wirrall and subsequently in Wales as the character of the Cheshire countryside changed. [2] It was for a long time the oldest beagle pack in the UK but ceased to hunt in 2015. [2]
The beagle is a breed of small hound that is similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle is a scent hound, developed primarily for hunting hare (beagling). With a great sense of smell and superior tracking instinct, the beagle is employed as detection dog for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. The beagle is intelligent but single-minded. It is a popular pet due to its size, good temper, and lack of inherited health problems.
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the 2001 Census, the population of Rock Ferry was 13,676, increasing to 14,298 at the 2011 Census.
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares are classified in the same family as rabbits. They are similar in size and form to rabbits and have similar herbivorous diets, but generally have longer ears and live solitarily or in pairs. Also unlike rabbits, their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth (precocial) rather than emerging blind and helpless (altricial). Most are fast runners. Hare species are native to Africa, Eurasia, North America, and the Japanese archipelago.
The Harrier is a medium-sized dog breed of the hound class, used for hunting hares by trailing them. It resembles an English Foxhound but is smaller, though not as small as a Beagle.
Beagling is the hunting mainly of hares and also rabbits, but definitely not foxes, by beagles by scent. 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.
A lone wolf is an animal or person that generally lives or spends time alone instead of with a group. The term originates from wolf behavior. Normally a pack animal, wolves that have left or been excluded from their pack are described as lone wolves.
The Kerry Beagle is one of the oldest Irish hound breeds, believed to be descendant from the Old Southern Hound or the Celtic Hounds. It is the only extant scent hound breed native to Ireland.
The Southern Hound was a breed of dog that existed in Britain probably until sometime in the 19th century, now extinct. The exact date of its extinction is not known; it is likely that it was gradually interbred with other breeds until the genuine Southern Hound bloodline ceased to exist.
The North Country Beagle, Northern Hound or Northern Beagle was a breed of dog that existed in Britain probably until early in the 19th century. The exact date of its extinction is not known; it is likely that it was gradually interbred with other breeds, particularly the modern Beagle, until the genuine North Country Beagle bloodline ceased to exist.
HMS Beagle was a Bulldog class coastal survey vessel of the Royal Navy and was the ninth to bear the name.
The Airedale Beagles is a beagle pack founded in 1891.
The Old Berkeley Beagles, or The OBB, is a beagle pack.
The Emlyn Beagles is a Welsh beagle pack founded in 1966.
The Westerby Basset Hounds is a working basset pack.
List of beagle, harrier and basset packs of the United Kingdom
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