Hounds on hunt for fans
You may have thought that the sight of red coated riders and a pack of baying hounds carving through the countryside had been banished to the past by the hunting with dogs ban.
But the traditional spectacle continues although the hunters are no longer chasing foxes but instead are on the trail of human quarry.
Hunting the clean boot, as the sport is called, is growing in popularity and The South Downs Bloodhounds, based in Froxfield, has held its first full meet of the season in front of record numbers of followers.
But joint master of the hunt Jeremy Whaley insists their meets are no simple subsititute for the foxhunts of the past.
“Fox-hunting is completely different from hunting the clean boot with bloodhounds,” he said. “It is a much older sport than people realise.
“The only similar things are the clothes we wear and the way we meet. We get an enormous mix of different sorts of people, some people have been fox-hunting before and some have never done it – it is a very different sport.”
Contrary to popular belief, hunting the clean boot with a pack of bloodhounds is not a new sport and dates as far back as 1811, when William Bullock had a pack of part bred bloodhounds, based in Rothbury.
Unlike foxhounds, which are currently only legally permitted to follow an artificial scent either as drag or trail hounds, bloodhounds hunt the pure and unenhanced scent of a human quarry.
Mr Whaley said: “A fox leaves scent through glands on its feet, a drag hunt uses scented rags. But when you are hunting human quarry you are hunting the scent falling from his body and the scent of the broken ground which creates a different scent from unbroken ground.
“If the falling scent is blown away by the wind the hounds can still follow the scent of broken ground where the quarry has run.”
Hunting with bloodhounds is growing in popularity with riders and landowners, largely because the quarry, has a broadly pre-arranged route to run. The ability to control the route of the quarry makes it easier to avoid sensitive areas like game crops and vulnerable stock and it is possible to hunt in areas which might be unsafe for foxhounds.
“The quarry has a route to follow which sometimes allows for some flexibility for them to try and throw the hounds off the scent. A good quarry will double back on his own line, he will run through mud and water, over ploughed fields or even gravel, if he can find it, to confuse the hounds.”
Mr Whaley said people are increasingly drawn to the sport. “People enjoy being out in the countryside and it is a great social occasion. It is a great spectacle as we had about 25 riders and more than 100 followers at the first meet. We’re in our third season and we had a record turn out, both in riders and followers.”
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Weather for Petersfield
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
