Fox, Coyote

Fox hunting is an activity involving the location, chase, and killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a team of hunters led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the dogs on foot or on horseback. more...

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Fox hunting originated in the UK in the 1500s, but is practised all over the world, including Australia, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Russia, New Zealand, and the United States. In Australia, the term also refers to the hunting of foxes with firearms, in a manner very similar to deer stalking or spotlighting.

The sport is controversial, particularly in the UK, where a ban was introduced in November 2004. Proponents see it as an important part of rural culture, vital for conservation and pest control, while opponents argue that it is cruel and unnecessary.

History

The use of scenthounds to track prey dates back to Assyrian, Babylonian, and ancient Egyptian times, and is known as venery.

Europe

Many Greek- and Roman-influenced countries have long traditions of hunting with hounds. Hunting with Agassaei hounds was popular in Celtic Britain, even before the Romans arrived, with their Castorian and Fulpine hound breeds which they used to hunt. Norman hunting traditions were brought to the UK when William the Conqueror arrived, along with the Gascon and Talbot hounds.

Foxes were referred to as beasts of the chase by medieval times, alongside the red deer (hart & hind), martens, and roes, but the earliest known attempt to hunt a fox with hounds was in Norfolk, England, in 1534, where farmers began chasing down foxes with their dogs for pest control. The first use of packs specifically trained to hunt foxes was in the late 1600s, with the oldest fox hunt likely to be the Bilsdale in Yorkshire. By the end of the seventeenth century, deer hunting was in decline. The Inclosure Acts brought fences to separate open land into fields, deer forests were being cut down, and arable land was increasing. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, people began to move out of the country and into towns and cities to find work. Roads, rail, and canals split hunting countries, but also made hunting accessible to more people. Shotguns were improved during the nineteenth century and game shooting became more popular. Fox hunting developed further in the eighteenth century when Hugo Meynell developed breeds of hound and horse to address the new geography of rural England.

Read more at Wikipedia.org