Fox Hunting

Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of unarmed followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.

Fox hunting originated in the form practised until recently in the United Kingdom in the 16th century, but is practised all over the world, including in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy and the United States. In Australia, the term also refers to the hunting of foxes with firearms similar to spotlighting or deer hunting. In much of the world hunting in general is understood to relate to any game animals or weapons (e.g., deer hunting with bow and arrow); in Britain, "hunting" without qualification implies fox hunting (or beagling, stag hunting and mink hunting) as described here.

The sport is controversial, particularly in the UK, where it was banned in Scotland in 2002, and in England and Wales in November 2004 (law enforced from February 2005), though shooting foxes as vermin remained legal. Proponents of fox hunting view it as an important part of rural culture and useful for reasons of conservation and pest control, while opponents argue that it is cruel and unnecessary.