This may come across as completely silly, but i really don’t know the answer. I foxhunted on the west coast growing up, but they were drag hunts. In the years I lived there, I never even saw a fox. Obviously I know it isn’t called foxhunting for nothing, but I thought that even hunts that chase actual foxes attempt to not actually kill the fox, since you need to chase that fox again 
Is this untrue? Please enlighten me
I ask, since a property nearby has a dead fox hanging on their fence. It has been there for a few days… And starting to not smell so great.
The dead fox was probably shot because it was harassing the property owner’s livestock. Sometimes they’ll hang a dead fox or coyote from the fence because they think it scares the others off. Why do you think it has anything to do with foxhunting? If hounds had gotten it you’d be able to tell.
In my part of California I see red, grey, and San Joaquin kit foxes on a regular basis.
The fox is hanging on the fence of the farm with hounds. Guess I should have said that 
You are very lucky! My area was too suburban I guess. We saw a lot of coyotes…
Our kennel man picked up a fox that was road kill. They will use it to train the new entry by dragging it around, leaving the fox scent on the ground and getting the hounds to follow a short while later.
I’m not sure why the kennel is hanging it on the fence.
Virginia–hunts do sometimes catch (and kill) foxes, sometimes coyotes. Sometimes the point is to catch one, although not so often any more–these days farmers will go out with a gun, rather than spending a lot of extra time and money on hounds &c. We have plenty of both foxes and coyotes, even in more suburban areas, and hunting doesn’t make a dent in the population, just weeds out some of the dumbest ones.
We don’t worry about predators (our neighbors keep their chickens in something I call “the henitentiary”) but have hung up dead crows and groundhogs to try and keep wildlife out of the vegetables. It is moderately effective? Somewhere around the same effectiveness as staking out Ivory soap…also about the same amount of stink, just a different stink.
I can’t see the hounds benefiting from a decomposing fox carcass–not good for their noses to be taking that all in either.
But to answer your question, each hunt is a bit different as far as hunting live quarry. Some may have the intent to hunt to kill each time out, but most are pretty content to leave the fox once it goes to ground. I think the new PC term is “Fox chasing”
Our hunt takes very good care of our foxes --at last count there were 8 separate dens. Huntsman keeps track of where they are and makes sure the foxes are happy and healthy. No fox, no chase. In my opinion (as someone who has done both), live hunting is a million times more fun than drag hunting --but any hunting is better than no hunting. But then when I did the drag hunt, I was the one who set the drag (youngest whip gets the job). It was kind of dull to always know where the hounds would go next. . . .
Foxglove
oh, and terribly amusing story --the first time I set the drag, the other whips gave me the scent and the burlap bag to put a few drops of scent on after I started the drag line. They told me it needed to be weighed to make the hounds feel as if they were after an actual fox. They must have put 100 horse shoes in that burlap bag. It was all I could do to drag it, and after taking it over hill, dale, around trees, through swamp, over fences, I was exhausted. And later I found out that one horse shoe is all that’s needed. It was a joke they played on every new whip. The next day I could barely lift my arms.
[QUOTE=Foxglove;8308440]
Our hunt takes very good care of our foxes --at last count there were 8 separate dens. Huntsman keeps track of where they are and makes sure the foxes are happy and healthy. No fox, no chase. In my opinion (as someone who has done both), live hunting is a million times more fun than drag hunting --but any hunting is better than no hunting. But then when I did the drag hunt, I was the one who set the drag (youngest whip gets the job). It was kind of dull to always know where the hounds would go next. . [/QUOTE]
Yes, this is what i thought most hunts did. A friend of mine told me about how a hunt she knew killed their foxes, and eventually the foxes wised up and moved away. The hunt couldn’t find any foxes to chase for a while
Haha, love your story! I never set the drag. Sounds like that is a good thing
[QUOTE=Foxglove;8308440]
Our hunt takes very good care of our foxes --at last count there were 8 separate dens. Huntsman keeps track of where they are and makes sure the foxes are happy and healthy. No fox, no chase. [/QUOTE]
I remember reading in Rita Mae Brown’s memoir that she would set food out for the foxes in her fixtures that was laced with distemper medicine, etc. to ensure that they stayed healthy. I was impressed with her care and concern for the animals her club hunted.
This is something I’ve always wondered about. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I thought fox hunting was all drag hunts these days.
I have an opportunity to (finally!) join some fox hunts this fall and winter, and I’m getting the impression that they don’t do drag hunts. Now I feel a little conflicted. I don’t want anything to get killed. :no: I’m afraid to ask what happens to the fox…
I would ask and look up the applicable laws in your State. In my State there is no fox hunting just fox chasing. However there is a huntman’s who I personally observed stay way too long at the earth letting the hounds dig with adverse consequences. They also keep the field well away from where the fox goes to ground so the field is clueless. Disturbing the den of a fur bearer with the intent to hunt/injury is illegal in my State, so I would assume allowing hounds to dig/mark especially if it ends up bolting or digging up /killing the fox is not within the “rules”.
While one hunts at the pleasure of the club (and therefore can be told to leave if you wrinkle your nose at any “practices” unless you are extremely wealthy and substantially support the club), the club hunts at the pleasure of the landowners and frankly the public (as they gallop down/stand in the middle of the public road) which I think is sometimes forgotten by some.
[QUOTE=ISR;8308260]
I can’t see the hounds benefiting from a decomposing fox carcass–not good for their noses to be taking that all in either.
But to answer your question, each hunt is a bit different as far as hunting live quarry. Some may have the intent to hunt to kill each time out, but most are pretty content to leave the fox once it goes to ground. I think the new PC term is “Fox chasing” :)[/QUOTE]
When I tell people I fox hunt, I then correct it and say it really is coyote chasing. In all honesty, I’m a soft soul and just want to run around the countryside jumping. If I had front row view of the kill, I would give it up. Our hunt rarely catches anything. I guess part of the benefit is if you harass the predators twice a week, they find new territory and leave the farmers field who allowed you to hunt on.
My club hunts without the intent of killing although I’m sure if we came upon a sick or wounded fox or coyote they might be in peril. We often know who we are chasing by the pattern they run. They do not pack up and move…they seem to understand the game, pop out and give us a turn about their territory then go back to ground. Our huntsman puts out food, wormer and medications and we have some of the healthiest most beautiful game I’ve ever seen. I have hunted for over 40 years and have never witnessed a kill during a hunt.
Zz
[QUOTE=attabelle;8314267]
This is something I’ve always wondered about. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I thought fox hunting was all drag hunts these days.
I have an opportunity to (finally!) join some fox hunts this fall and winter, and I’m getting the impression that they don’t do drag hunts. Now I feel a little conflicted. I don’t want anything to get killed. :no: I’m afraid to ask what happens to the fox…[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind that foxhunting is hunting. It is a hound sport even more than a horse sport. Sporting and country life is a big part of the South. Shooting, stalking, hounds are all part of that, as much a part as our wonderful food, which includes game.
Foxhunting is HUNTING. Yes, we kill foxes.
HOWEVER, it is highly selective. Healthy foxes get away every time without a scratch. They run around, then go down their holes and are safe.
The only foxes that get killed are old or sick foxes. The hounds kill them quickly, and spare them the ordeal of dying naturally, which is a long, slow, painful, miserable process that takes hours or days. They die alone, and unappreciated.
With gun hunting, IF you get a clean shot, the animal dies quickly. If you don’t get a clean shot, the animal is wounded, runs off, and dies slowly and painfully. Moreover, gun/bow hunting is NOT selective. The animal you’re shooting could be young, old, healthy or sick.
Mounted foxhunting simply replicates what apex predators like wolves or Cougars used to do, before they were wiped out. They fed on foxes that couldn’t get away.
There is no reason to apologize for Foxhunting. It does not benefit the individual fox. It benefits the overall population, by culling the sick, and teaching them to avoid people, so they’ll be less likely to become pest foxes and attacking pets and livestock.
I was also wondering this the other day when I saw all of the “saboteur” videos on the web.
Many people were jumping in and saving foxes which were about to be torn limb from limb by the hounds. Some might say that is a merciful death, but I can think of 1 million ways I’d rather die.
I think, OP, if you want to hunt that you should check out clubs which just drag a scent. I’m sure there could be other cross-country events which are more well thought out and include no hounds (which I think is great, they make an awful sound when they howl/yap). Here we have hunter paces, where a set time is made and you jump over safe obstacles in an orderly fashion.
And I’m not sure if culling works the same with foxes as it does coyotes, but here the hunters always use the excuse of “population control” when in reality, it does the opposite. Studies show that when many coyotes are killed, it disrupts the hierarchy which causes the females to be able to breed with more males, therefore more pups in coming months/years etc. The packs just shift to fill the gaps. There is little impact on the population, if any.
The dead fox hanging from a fence would never fly here where I live, we love foxes and getting a chance to see one is a wonderful experience.
Again, more misinformation…
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Hounds are just like any other predator. They do not want to be injured taking prey. There is no fooling around with ripping a living fox apart. They clamp onto the fox’s neck from behind, and shake violently, breaking the fox’s neck and ending the struggle. It is over in seconds. Far preferable to dying slowly, from dehydration and hunger, in pain and misery up to the very end. I’d rather go quick than slow. I’m not very masochistic…
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“Population Control” isn’t just about numbers. Foxhunters want a large, healthy fox population. Key word: healthy. If a population gets too large for an area, they go hungry and start getting sick. Hunting culls the sick, and disperses the population to spread it out, which limits the spread of disease, and increases available food access for the foxes.
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Again, the best thing that can happen to foxes IS to be hunted. Foxhunters want something to chase, and it’s illogical to think that hunters want to wipe out their foxes. They want a nice, healthy population to provide good hunting. If nobody cared about foxes, nobody would care about preserving habitat for them. Hunters care, and actively look after their fox populations. The same goes for deer hunters and duck hunters. The tree huggers in Britain, having stopped mounted hunting, have now walked away from the foxes they so passionately “cared about” previously, and now the unmanaged, expanding fox population is moving into the cities and becoming pests. I personally saw a fox hanging out by the London Eye. Of course, it never really was about saving foxes. It was straight up class warfare, nothing more.
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Stop getting hung up over poor, widdle foxy-woxy and look at the big picture. What matters is the entire population, not some Disney-esque depiction of cute woodland creatures.
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Don’t like it? Don’t hunt.
