Blooding
(f.) The tradition of blooding originated in ancient times as a historic ritual to honor the hunted animal. It is the position of the MFHA that this practice not be encouraged, as it is too easily misunderstood and misinterpreted.
Our hounds usually catch the fox and invite it to a tea party. The pack is gathered and the fox is the guest of honor. Scones and clotted cream and marmalade are passed with the hot tea and a grand time is had by all.
I’ve sent you a PM:) !
[QUOTE=Foxhunt4me;2027481]
Our hounds usually catch the fox and invite it to a tea party. The pack is gathered and the fox is the guest of honor. Scones and clotted cream and marmalade are passed with the hot tea and a grand time is had by all.[/QUOTE]
Now there is the definition of “tongue in cheek”…
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Very funny. 
True. We’re what, “scent chasing”? I guess.
It’s fast, furious and you ride to your best ability.
Which for me is the entire appeal.
It’s also possible a pack of hounds on a drag hunt could find real scent and get prey . So to say that you only drag hunt means that you’ve not hunted long enough. Your hounds will at some point go after live prey and the show will stop and the reality of what you do will be in your face.
Actually, it happened recently.
But I’ve also seen incredible action on the coyotes part. … one goes into deep cover, another comes out. One came out into the opening and ran down a drainage ditch to thwart the hounds. It’s just amazing and frankly quite scarey … what smart incredible creatures they are.
They are. :yes:
zips into flame suit
I eat meat (avoiding anything factory farmed and staying local as much as possible), wear leather, and own sheep. I have no trouble with hunting deer, turkey, etc.). No trouble with killing something to save my own animals.
The reason I wrote that I think I’ll always stick to drag hunting is because I have trouble with the prolonged chasing of the critter. The chase, not the kill. I read with extreme interest and open mind the other thread that Badger (who wrote some of the best entries there I’ve ever seen on a bulletin board ever :)) linked to, and was most intrigued by some of the descriptions of the foxes almost casually loping along, and of the theory that there is some genetic programming that might have a healthy fox indeed view being chased as some sort of tag game. It certainly gave me pause and widened up that grey area of possiblity that not all quarry are necessarily super-stressed, panicked, terrified beasts.
But I’m not sure that I, with the way I view animals and my relationship to them and my responsibility to uphold what I think of as important, would ever be comfortable intentionally live hunting.
Me. Those are my views. I understand they are not shared by all, and yes, I know about foxes indiscriminately killing chickens (who were no doubt panicked, stressed, and terrified), and such, and I understand the Darwinian selection aspects of the ones who get away and the ones who are caught. I’m just not comfortable with intentionally potentially stressing a critter (and yes, any worked animal experiences stress, I mean the life-or-death sort of stress) for a few hours fun for myself.
But I will keep reading and listening and learning, and I thank everyone on this board for providing some of the best discussion I’ve seen on the topic anywhere.
Well said!!!
I would much prefer a fox meeting his end to hounds than on the highway. I see so many dead on the road.
Here in VA, the intent is to chase, not to kill. If the fox turns back into the hounds or if they do happen to catch it, it’s over very fast.
Foxes do carry rabies. Last year a lady was bitten in MD by a rabid fox correct on the side of a highway correct? I remember a story about this.
I have no problem with it. I believe that every intent is made to let the fox live another day here, and to preserve a healthy population.
try it
I can’t speak for other hunts I can only speak from my own experience. Most of the time the hounds are on a line/scent from an earlier passage. So the 2-3 hour screaming runs can happen but often the scent is picked up and lost a few times with an occassional direct view. Our pack is primarily PMD’s with deep rich voices. To me PMD’s are the diesels of fox hounds. Not known for racing and speed but known for heart and a true work ethic.
I found I was disappointed on the drag hunts I’ve attended. I love the sound of hounds so I rode first flight each time. However, what was I waiting for? looking for? After 2 hours it to me was a hunter pace with a team of 50…
The comradery, the fun of riding with people you like is definately part of it. I know there were parts I enjoyed but not enough to join and participate on a regular basis.
Anyway… you can unzip your fire suit. If you come down our way (cross the state line and take a left at springfield do consider joining us. I personally was quite disappointed when I drove 3 hours to a centennial hunt and no one from the north came down. I understand but was still disappointed especially after a lovely day. It would have been nice to reciprocate.
Enjoy your hunts. I hope the hounds enjoy a few live days, it keeps the whips from becoming complacent LOL!!
dec 13 1999
the first and last kill while I was hunting
a very stupid coyote decided to turn and fight with the hounds
this was over in 2 seconds
it does not mean there will not be a kill, only that it is very rare.
we would much rather give chase another day.
re blooding: isn’t it kind of dangerous because of the possibility that the fox may be carrying rabies? Even if the chance were very remote, it would be so devastating if the person caught rabies that it seems touching wild animal blood would be very unwise.
Dang, folks, dogs and cats exist to kill other animals for humans. My premises are kept free of rats by terriers and dalmatians. My cat is blessed because she is a good mouser. I’ve had my dogs kill armadillos and, lord knows, they try and kill skunks. Rabbits don’t stand a chance. I’m always thrilled when my animals exhibit the traits of a good hunter/killer. They are showing that they are still useful animals to a rural dweller.
Sooner that dogs live up to why humans have wanted them around for and have bred for for millennia, than that they turn those instincts on the people they live with.
If a dog catches any wild animal, it will try its damnest to kill it. For that, I am grateful.
I hunted in NC for about seven years or so as a kid, every Saturday (and the occasional weekday when mom would pull me out of elementary school for an appointment with ‘Dr. Fox’). I was only present at one kill, and was consequently blooded. (Mom was the first woman at a kill during the week once, and was presented with the tail.). Kills did not happen very often. At all. Galloping full blast thru the woods was the intent, not killing the fox!
Yes, I was a bit disturbed that a fox was actually killed. Everyone assured me the fox was most likely sick, and in my mind, it was the way it would happen in nature, so that made it ok. Animal against animal is natural. Animal against gun, trap or highway is cruel.
[QUOTE=citydog;2027963]
The reason I wrote that I think I’ll always stick to drag hunting is because I have trouble with the prolonged chasing of the critter. The chase, not the kill. …[/QUOTE]
At least you’re out there! We’re all in this together and I think it’s great.
It does seem that in the States the fox just pops underground when it’s had enough and that’s that.
I really appreciate your open-mindedness. That’s getting all too rare in all ways today and I just wanted to mention how great it is to see it again!
You wrote: [QUOTE] most intrigued by some of the descriptions of the foxes almost casually loping along, and of the theory that there is some genetic programming that might have a healthy fox indeed view being chased as some sort of tag game. It certainly gave me pause and widened up that grey area of possiblity that not all quarry are necessarily super-stressed, panicked, terrified beasts.[QUOTE]
I’ve only car followed a couple of times so can’t count myself a hunter, nevertheless as for myself live hunting would be the way to go, simply because the thrill is in you go where the fox goes and you never know where that will be. The fox won’t always take the best ride - he’ll go in rough country, through water, in crazy places straight up or down a mountain, dashing down boulder-strewn slopes, even swimming rivers. It gets pretty wild and wooly and truly only the brave horses and riders can stick it. So I understand how drag and live are two totally different things.
I’m intrigued by this discussion. I have only hunted a handful of times myself, and I was struck by a few things:
Foxhunters are most decidedly animal lovers. Part of what attracts people to fox hunting is the opportunity to spend a day with horse and hound. It is CRAAAAZYYYY fun. I’ve never seen a kill… and I wonder if I ever did, whether it would bother me so much that I wouldn’t go anymore. (I too am a leather wearing beef-eater… but I’m also one who can’t even cook a lobster because I don’t like to be personally involved in any animal’s death… I know that makes me a hypocrite)
I think many foxhunters (including myself, although I am hardly a foxhunter) feel a bit of remorse on the rare occasions that a fox is killed. Even if it was old or sickly, they are beautiful animals. So I think U.S. hunt clubs are being honest when they tell the public that kills are very rare.
Which brings me to my question. When the U.K. banned hunting several years ago, I was a bit puzzled, because the Brits has always struck me a more “practical” out-doors-ey people the Americans. But, it seems that in Britain, kills were regular occurences.
Can anyone (who has hunted here and in the U.K.) shed some light on the differences in hunting both places, and perhaps explain what the kill-percentage was in the U.K., and why (assuming it was higher) it was higher?
Mostly just curious.
Fox is admired everywhere for its beauty and cunning abilities. Fox in the UK have no natural predators other than man. Fox in the UK do not have rabies, a significant factor controlling populations west of the Atlantic. UK farming practices create ideal habitat for fox. Fox are formidable predators on young and helpless domestic lambs, fowl, and other wildlife. Farm owners need to keep fox populations in balance. Local UK hunts are expected to eliminate problem fox so that farmers do not have to resort to poisons and guns. Using poison has collateral damage. There are wounding issues using guns and the UK government has made using guns very restrictive. Using trained foxhounds is very selective and there is no wounding issue; the fox is either killed or it escapes. Killing several fox with each days effort is appreciated by farmers that host the hunts. The fox population has thrived on this management practice for hundreds of years. My understanding of the Burn’s Report has found that guns, poison, and hounds are adverse to the health of each individual fox involved, but could not determine that any particular method left any particular fox less dead.
The ban had NOTHING to do with saving foxes. Proof:
Only mounted hunting of foxes with hounds was banned.
Poisoning, gassing, and shooting were not banned, and in fact were listed as the now socially acceptable way to kill foxes.
So the ban was against mounted foxhunting ONLY. Spread the word. It’s amazing how many people don’t know this.
In addition, a study recently came out that since the ban, instead of being killed rapidly, around 50% of the foxes are only wounded if shot, thus dying a prolonged, horrible death. So. You tell me who is cruel?
whoa - I hope I didn’t offend with my post.
I didn’t mean to imply that British hunters are a bunch of animal-hating pigs.
I knew that only hunting with packs of hounds was banned (correct?)
and I’m not trying to defend the U.K. ban at ALL. I think its a terrible travesty.
I am just trying to understand how hunting worked in the U.K., and how the hunters ended up on the wrong side of a PR war. I would hate for anything like that to happen here, and merely was hoping for some information to analyze:
whether there was a substantial difference in the hunting culture, if so why…
if no difference, how the British hunters got so shafted while we still get to hunt.
It sounds like, Anne, that for some very legitimate reasons, the hunting “culture” in the U.K. was more closely tied to the “kill”, whereas in the U.S., it is more tied to the chase. Do you think that’s a fair statement?
I think–don’t know, I’ve never even hunted before (but would love to)–that in the UK some hunts would send terriers down after the fox had gone to ground. So that might have accounted for some increase in numbers compared to the US.
The emphasis in the UK has always been on good hound breeding, training and good hound work. A kill is merely a courtesy to the landowner. There are many US landowners who want that courtesy extended to coyote.
??? I didn’t take offense, rileyt, not at all. I think that yes, in England, it is more true hunting and foxes are more often caught and killed. I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with that. It’s “hunting,” after all, and that’s what that means.
In the States, foxes aren’t the predation problem there are in England so we don’t care to kill them. In England, if the hounds don’t kill them, they’ll be killed nevertheless - they’ll be poisoned, gassed, and/or shot and wounded. Much, much more horrible deaths than from hounds.
Hunters ended up on the wrong side of a PR war, indeed. It’s like in the States where over the past several years Republicans have been painted in a VERY narrow minded way, as though no Republican would ever be pro-choice, and Democrats are painted in a VERY narrow way, as though no Democrat would ever own a gun. Ridiculous on both counts. But in England it became very much a city vs. country, toffs vs. ordinary folk debate, which was ridiculous, since foxhunters come from all walks of life and all economic levels. But the animal rights movement very effectively used horse = rich = cruel = not like you & me with great success.
Another thing: England has been much better at controlling suburban sprawl than the U.S. This is good because there’s city and farm, not like here where we swallow up our entire country in suburbia, which is neither. This is bad because now in England you have 90% of the people city and 10% country, and the 90% city are totally clueless when it comes to country life and the reality of life and nature.
I read on a msg. board awhile ago about these farm people in England who would bring schoolkids to their farm to show them where things really came from and she told how the kids were horrified and disgusted when they saw the cows standing about in spring mud and swore they’d never drink milk again. These kids were so alienated that when they actually saw the animals it all seemed so base and dirty to them, not clean and antiseptic like the supermarket. I think this happened to mounted foxhunting: everyone could latch onto the picture of horse, hound, and fox, but could never really relate, because they never saw, the hoses pumping gas into dens, or never saw traps, or never saw wounded, gangrenous foxes, or foxes suffering from poison. But images of (rich) people on horses galloping about? THAT they saw. And the fluffy, cutesy-wootsy foxes must be saved! Of course as foxes began moving into people’s backyards looking for food, that freaked them out and they didn’t like it one bit.
A perfect example of this mindset is the late Linda McCartney. She gave a lot of money to a wildlife rehab place for raptor rehab. Sang it’s (and her own) praises about this worthy cause. Eventually someone pointed out to her that her money went to buy mice to feed the raptors. Quelle horror!!! This must be stopped. This idiot actually tried to get the wildlife people to feed the raptors a vegetarian diet, since her money simply could not be used for such an evil purpose as supply meat to hawks, eagles, and owls. The wildlife people pointed out to Ms. McCartney that her idea would not work; the raptors NEEDED to eat meat. In the end she arranged to have her money go to provide other things like housing or other needs but made sure none ever went to purchase the poor mousies. Just the fact that she tried to get the raptors on vegetarian diets said it all: “it’s not about the animals, it’s about ME.” Same thing with animal rightists everywhere: it’s never about the animals, it’s about THEM. Example: running a dragline along railroad tracks in the hopes hounds will be killed by a train. That’s caring about animals? Don’t be fooled.
Very good points, Anne FS. :yes:
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