Originating in England in the 16th century, fox hunting is an activity which involves the tracking, chasing and potentially the killing of a fox(traditionally a red fox). The fox is hunted by trained foxhounds and a group of unarmed hunters, either on foot or on horseback. Right now the sport is banned in Great Britain, but takes place in other places in the world.
The use of scent hounds to track prey can date back to Babylonian and ancient Egyptian times. In Europe, the earliest known attempt to hunt down foxes with hounds was in Norfolk, England in 1534, for the purpose of pest control. The first use of packs specifically trained to hunt foxes was in the late 1600s, with the oldest fox hunt being, the Bilsdale, in Yorkshire. Fox hunting was developed further, when Hugo Meynell developed breeds of hounds and horse made especially for the new geography of rural England. Other places around the world also introduced fox hunting. In Australia 1855, the European Red Fox was introduced for the purpose of fox hunting, and in the United States, Robert Brookes imported hunting hounds into the States in order to introduce fox hunting.
Fox hunting uses 3 types of animals, the fox, the hounds and most of the time, horses. The Red fox is normally used in Europe and the United States as the main species of fox, mainly due to the "pest" that it is, and because of the fur, although other animals such as coyotes, gray foxes and jackals can be hunted too. When it comes to dogs, foxhounds are mainly used, due to the fact that they are specially bred for fox hunting. Other "Scent hounds" can be used too, like Beagles and Grey Hounds. These dogs use the scent and their nose to track down the foxes. Horses called " field hunters" are used. Although there is no specific type of horse, people use horse that are athletic, well-mannered and must have good stamina.
The hunting itself begins when hounds are "cast" or put into rough or brushy areas called "coverts", where foxes often live during daylight hours.
