Reading – Fox hunting in Britain

Warm-up task – serching-for-grammar-mistakes (7)

Fox hunting have been occurring in different guises worldwide since hundreds of years. Indeed the
practise off using dogs with a keen sense of smell to track prey has been traced back to ancient Egypt
and many Greek and Roman influenced countries. However it are believed that the custom for a fox
to be tracked, chased and often killed by trained hunting hounds (generally those with the keenest
sense of smell known as ‘scent hounds’) and followed with the Master of the Foxhounds  and his
team by foot and horseback, originated from a Norfolk farmer’s attempt to catch a fox using farm
dogs at 1534.

Reading task – True-False-Doesn’t say

Fox hunting has been occurring in different guises worldwide for hundreds of years. Indeed the
practise of using dogs with a keen sense of smell to track prey has been traced back to ancient Egypt
and many Greek and Roman influenced countries. However it is believed that the custom for a fox to
be tracked, chased and often killed by trained hunting hounds (generally those with the keenest
sense of smell known as ‘scent hounds’) and followed by the Master of the Foxhounds  and his team
on foot and horseback, originated from a Norfolk farmer’s attempt to catch a fox using farm dogs in
1534.

Whilst foxes were widely regarded as vermin and farmers and other landowners had hunted the
animals for many years as a form of pest control (both to curb their attacks on farm animals and for
their highly prized fur) it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that fox hunting developed into it’s most
modern incarnation and was considered a sport in its own right as a result of the decline in the UK’s
deer population.

The decline in the deer population and subsequently the sport of deer hunting, or stalking as it is also
known, occurred as a consequence of the Inclosure Acts passed between 1750 –1860, particularly
the Inclosure (Consolidation) Act of 1801, which was passed to clarify previous acts of inclosure.
These acts meant that open fields and common land where many deer chose to breed were fenced
off into separate, smaller fields to cope with the increase in the demand for farm land. The birth of
the Industrial Revolution saw the introduction of new roads, railways and canals which further
reduced the amount of rural land in the United Kingdom, although conversely this improvement in
transport links also made foxhunting more popular and easily accessible for those living in towns and
cities who aspired to the life of the country gentleman.

For those hunters who had previously tracked deer, which required large areas of open land, foxes
and hares became the prey of choice in the seventeenth century, with packs of hounds being trained
specifically to hunt. England’s oldest fox hunt, which is still running today, is the Bilsdale Hunt
in Yorkshire, established by George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham in 1668.

The sport continued to grow in popularity throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and
in 1753 the 18-year-old Hugo Meynell, often called the father of modern foxhunting, began to breed
hunting dogs for their speed and stamina as well as their keen scent at Quorndon Hall, his estate in
North Leicestershire. The speed of his pack not only allowed for a more exciting and extended hunt,
but it also meant that the hunt could begin later in the morning, which made it immensely popular
with the young gentleman in his social circle amongst whom late nights were de rigueur.
Foxhunting continued to grow in popularity throughout the nineteenth century, particularly because
of the inroads made by the Great British Railway which provided rural access to the masses. Despite
the banning of the sport in Germany and other European countries from 1934 onwards, foxhunting
in the United Kingdom remained popular well into the twentieth century. Indeed a shortage of foxes
in England led to a demand for foxes to be imported from France, Germany, Holland and Sweden.

These days however, foxhunting in the UK is much better known for the controversial views of those
who champion the sport and those that oppose it. The debate between hunters and anti-hunting
campaigners, who believe the sport to be cruel and unnecessary, eventually led to a Government
inquiry in December 1999 into hunting with dogs, named the Burns Inquiry after the retired civil
servant Lord Burns who chaired the inquiry.

Whilst the Burns Inquiry report noted that hunting with dogs “seriously compromises” the welfare of
the foxes, it did not categorically state whether or not hunting should be permanently banned in the
UK. As a result of the report, the Government introduced an ‘options bill’, so that each House of
Parliament could decide on whether the sport should be banned or subject to licensed hunting or
self-regulation. The House of Commons voted to ban the sport and in contrast the House of Lords
voted for self-regulation.

So whilst in many parts of the world such as Australia, Canada, France, India and Russia the sport is
still going strong, the resulting Hunting Act 2004, passed in November 2004, saw the outlawing of
any hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005 (the Scottish Parliament had
already banned foxhunting in Scotland in 2002 and in Northern Ireland the sport is still legal).

The controversy surrounding the sport doesn’t end there though. Conversely, despite the ban, hunts
have seen an increase in membership and the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) currently
represents 176 active foxhound packs in England and Wales and 10 in Scotland. And whilst the
suggested amendment to the Hunting Act 2004 to permit licensed hunting was rejected, despite
support from the former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Lord Burns himself, many anti-hunting
campaigners have complained that countless hunts have flaunted the ban and illegally continued
hunting with hounds, whilst the hunts have maintained that they follow artificially laid trails.

Whatever your views on the sport (and there are clearly many), its affect on popular culture is
undeniable. For instance the Parliamentary name “Chief Whip”, which is given to the MP whose role
it is to keep the Prime Minister informed of any back bench revolts and general party opinions and to
ensure party members toe the party line refers to the role of the “Whipper-in”, who has the
responsibility of keeping the hounds in check during a hunt. The iconic ritual of smearing ceremonial
blood on the cheeks of a new member of a clan or society which is depicted in many books and films
also has its roots in the sport, whose act of ‘Blooding’ was introduced by King James I in the sixteenth
century and involved the Huntsmaster rubbing the blood of the prey onto the cheeks of newly
initiated member of the hunt.

Source: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Fox-Hunting-in-Britain/?
fbclid=IwAR0pHPq6mIArVBQ98Oh8H2ySZ7BdX222eV1OI2t8GWFciGnGLZdWWxRinPs

1. The origin of fox hunting goes back until the ancient times.
2. Fox hunting became a sport approximately a hundred years ago.
3. The Industrial Revolution had a decreasing effect on the amount of foxes.
4. The first English fox hunt has been running since 1668.
5. Breeding of hounds has been started mainly because of the agility and strength.
6. There was a connection between the growing popularity of fox hunting and the development
of transport.
7. By now the controversial problems and conflicts have been handled and solved in connection
with fox hunting.
8. At last the report of the Burnst Inquiry could make the issue of fox hunting clear.
9. There’s still a major popularity of fox hunting in bigger countries such as Germany.
10. In spite of the restriction, the number of people who are involved in hunting is getting bigger.