Fox hunting involves the tracking, chasing, and sometimes
killing of a fox. A red fox was traditionally hunted by trained
foxhounds or other scent hounds, a group of followers who were led
by a master of foxhounds on foot or horseback.
Fox hunting originated in this country in the 16th century, but
it practiced all over the world. Over the years, the sport has
become very controversial, especialy here in the UK, where bans
have been introduced.
The use of hounds to track prey dates back to before the
Assyrian, Babylonian and ancient Egyptian times, and was known as
venery. In medieval times foxes were referred to as 'beasts of the
chase', and the earliest known attempt at fox hunting with hounds
was in Norfolk, England, in 1534, where farmers were using the
hounds as a pest control. Fully trained packs of hounds came in the
late 1600's.
Through the years, more land has become used for arable farming,
and the Inclosure Acts brought fences to separate open land into
fields, and by the 18th century necessitated the breeding of horses
and hounds to address the new geography of rural England.
Beware of muggles in this area!