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jinnyfizz said:I hope you don't take offence at me asking this, Lin, but have you ever witnessed a foxhound killing a fox? For real, that is, not on a media video.
Foxhounds are very large animals and the fox is dispatched swiftly with one bite to the back of the neck by the lead hound. In the same way as a whippet will kill a rabbit.
Rabbits scream as they are caught and will also struggle until they are dead.
The other hounds are never far behind, and if the huntsman is not right with them, the pack will eat the fox then and there. But that fox is already dead.
The other thing you have said which I find bemusing is that you think the mounted followers are "hunting down" the fox.
The foxhounds hunt the fox, with the Huntsman in charge of the pack to direct them with his voice and with the hunting horn. All the hounds are trained to respond to different tones and sounds of the hunting horn so that control can be kept from a distance. There are also two or three "whips", who ride shotgun, so to speak, to the pack in order to keep them on the correct line and to avoid them running onto land where they are not allowed to go.
The followers, whether mounted or on foot, are led by the Field Master whose job it is to ensure that the followers do not cross the line of the hounds or foul the job in hand. The main reason that people go fox hunting is to have a chance to ride their horses over farmland which is otherwise private and out of bounds to horse riders. Both the horses and their owners enjoy this and, quite frankly, it has nothing to do with killing a fox!!!
Of course there will be some people who hunt and wish to watch hounds work and see the skill of the huntsman in directing his pack to an effective conclusion but IMHO they are the minority.
There are always two sides to every situation in life and if you think a fox doesn't stand a chance then you need to watch a real hunt (although now it's banned you can't :- " )! I have hunted on and off for the last 30 years and I have not seen a fox killed yet. But I have seen alot of foxes sitting on top of hedges watching the hounds go past and jumping up into hay barns where they can't be found!!! And they sit there and laugh!!! Believe me, a strong healthy fox is more than a match for a pack of hounds :thumbsup:
crafty little beggars . eh