Foxhounds uninvited appearance

[Rhodesianjess]

Just testing the waters here fellow members. Our local hunt drew us on Tuesday, running through six woods along one boundary of the estate I'm employed on. Been told to stay off until end of pheasant shooting, I understand from the boss this was in writing too.
Needless to say, with five days plus beaters day left to go, I'm somewhat less than happy. Question is, what can we do about this, doubtless the boss will have his own way of dealing with them. Just wondering what you guys suggest, the pool of experience on the forum may well suggest something that we haven't considered.
Many thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[Stalker62]

Let the Boss deal with it.

 

[willie_gunn]

You say they ran through "six woods along one boundary of the estate I'm employed on."

Were those woods actually on your land?

If not, there is not much you can do other than to see if you can come to some agreement with your neighbour to also ask the hunt to refrain from drawing those coverts until 1st Feb.

If the woods were on your land, get the boss to speak with the hunt masters immediately. Ideally, get him to warn them - in writing if necessary - that any repetition will mean they are no longer welcome on the estate.

Just had the same happen here with a good friend of ours. Unfortunately hunt masters seem to change with the seasons these days. You can get great ones, and useless ones. With the great ones there can be some fantastic relations between the hunt, the farmers, and the keepers. The problem is that the useless ones can so easily cause disputes that mess up hunting for years.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

All owned by my boss, timber land and sporting rights. Trespassed onto us from a meet some distance away.

 

[willie_gunn]

All owned by my boss, timber land and sporting rights. Trespassed onto us from a meet some distance away.

Then, if you can, get the boss to call the masters and give them a right Royal rollocking! If you know who the hunt Field master was that day, I'd start there.

 

[VSS]

Fox hunts seem to be a law unto themselves where boundaries are concerned, always falling back on the argument that the hounds were on a scent and couldn't be stopped.
I had repeated problems over a number of years with the hunt entering parts of my farm where I'd specifically asked them not to go (generally these were fields containing heavily pregnant ewes that I did not want disturbed). Every year my request was ignored, and the same old excuse given. In the end I lost patience and shot one of the hounds. I have had no problems since.

 

[landkeeper]

Just testing the waters here fellow members. Our local hunt drew us on Tuesday, running through six woods along one boundary of the estate I'm employed on. Been told to stay off until end of pheasant shooting, I understand from the boss this was in writing too.
Needless to say, with five days plus beaters day left to go, I'm somewhat less than happy. Question is, what can we do about this, doubtless the boss will have his own way of dealing with them. Just wondering what you guys suggest, the pool of experience on the forum may well suggest something that we haven't considered.
Many thanks in advance for your replies.

Been there have multiple t shirts , let your boss sort it out is my advice , hounds are hounds not robots and unfortunately will follow fresh scent

 

[Eric the Red]

All owned by my boss, timber land and sporting rights. Trespassed onto us from a meet some distance away.

Tell them (having agreed with your boss) that any further transgression will result in an immediate 3 (5) year ban. "We're just following the hounds" is not any excuse.
If you think the quality of the days you're delivering is affected by the hunt, then this is the line the landowner needs to take, expecting to seek recompense if necessary.

On your part, I would try to work with them a little. They do have their uses. On us, we now seek to direct them to areas we cannot easily cover with rifles etc - and we often pick up animals out of their comfort zone in the days immediately following a hunt that we might not otherwise have done. But - any transgression of agreement - or aggression re: "rights"- immediate ban. Some are struggling for hunt country and it is they who have to come to terms with the fact that it is their activity that us on the fringes of the law, not yours

 

[User00035]

Fox hunts seem to be a law unto themselves where boundaries are concerned, always falling back on the argument that the hounds were on a scent and couldn't be stopped.
I had repeated problems over a number of years with the hunt entering parts of my farm where I'd specifically asked them not to go (generally these were fields containing heavily pregnant ewes that I did not want disturbed). Every year my request was ignored, and the same old excuse given. In the end I lost patience and shot one of the hounds. I have had no problems since.

If I had land I wouldn't let any hunt anywhere near it. Absolute law unto themselves, has been my experience unfortunately.
Hounds tearing through woods flushing out every living thing with stalking and commercial shoots disrupted, holes cut in hedges, gateways and tracks blocked with vehicles, crops trampled, and laughter and the middle finger from kennel staff when you ask them what the hell they think they're doing when you find them in your woods on quad bikes without permission at 6:00 in the morning. And then the unwelcome attention of the local sabs and antis they bring with them.
And when they've gone, you get the wives of the London Ruperts who've migrated to the village from the city to live the dream, riding their hacking nags through the middle of a field of winter wheat, following the hoof prints of the hunt because they "thought it was a path".
Never again.

 

[VSS]

If I had land I wouldn't let any hunt anywhere near it. Absolute law unto themselves, has been my experience unfortunately.
Hounds tearing through woods flushing out every living thing with stalking and commercial shoots disrupted, holes cut in hedges, gateways and tracks blocked with vehicles, crops trampled, and laughter and the middle finger from kennel staff when you ask them what the hell they think they're doing when you find them in your woods on quad bikes without permission at 6:00 in the morning. And then the unwelcome attention of the local sabs and antis they bring with them.
And when they've gone, you get the wives of the London Ruperts who've migrated to the village from the city to live the dream, riding their hacking nags through the middle of a field of winter wheat, following the hoof prints of the hunt because they "thought it was a path".
Never again.

So glad I'm not a lone voice!

 

[old keeper]

A great deal depends upon your relationship with the hunt. When I was keepering, the local hunt and myself got on really well, even to the extent of comparing shoot/meet days before the season so that there was no clash. That relationship worked really well and we never had a problem.
Many years ago I was doing some work on the shoot and the hounds came through the large wood I was in, it was very interesting to see how the birds reacted, in the main, they either just ran off or flew a very short distance. Within an hour all was back to normal, something, to be honest, I wouldn't have expected.
It's very sad to hear that in some areas the hunt and shoots don't get on, we are all in the countryside and especially in these difficult times surely it pays for anyone involved in country sports to get on, there are enough antis giving us grief without the locals falling out!

 

[cyberstag]

If you think the foxhounds disturbing your pheasants is a problem try having the staghounds coming through your deer farm! You can ban the hunt but it probably won't stop them. Shooting hounds as @VSS says is a good way to get their attention as is shooting the stag before they get to it. Ultimately they will be the authors of their own demise, times are changing and people will not put up with this kind of behaviour for much longer I feel. Mind you that could apply to pheasant shooting too.

 

[Tazz]

Just testing the waters here fellow members. Our local hunt drew us on Tuesday, running through six woods along one boundary of the estate I'm employed on. Been told to stay off until end of pheasant shooting, I understand from the boss this was in writing too.
Needless to say, with five days plus beaters day left to go, I'm somewhat less than happy. Question is, what can we do about this, doubtless the boss will have his own way of dealing with them. Just wondering what you guys suggest, the pool of experience on the forum may well suggest something that we haven't considered.
Many thanks in advance for your replies.

Shoot their fox

 

[Ade8mm]

I am reminded of years ago when my Mom hunted with The Atherstone. The hounds went through some one's garden. The garden had an outdoor swimming pool. The muddy hounds all got in for a swim
We knew the homeowner - a colleague of my Father's . He was generally disliked by all. Everyone who knew the man thought it was hilarious - as did I
The homeowner was puce with rage.
(Sorry to go a little off topic )

 

[JMikeyH]

If you think the foxhounds disturbing your pheasants is a problem try having the staghounds coming through your deer farm! You can ban the hunt but it probably won't stop them. Shooting hounds as @VSS says is a good way to get their attention as is shooting the stag before they get to it. Ultimately they will be the authors of their own demise, times are changing and people will not put up with this kind of behaviour for much longer I feel. Mind you that could apply to pheasant shooting too.

You perhaps don't realise how true that is. I'm younger than most on here and the common feel certainly among my own circle of outdoor-minded folk who go out stalking and shooting is that fox hunting is not to be defended - too many callous aspects of it and difficult to justify it's existence as "pest control". My fear is that while it exists, in it's death throws it may take other activities with it. And yes, you can a similar spin on pheasant shooting too. Not necessarily the small syndicates or small, local game days but big commercial outfits releasing thousands and thousands of birds a season definitely

 

[Ade8mm]

If you think the foxhounds disturbing your pheasants is a problem try having the staghounds coming through your deer farm! You can ban the hunt but it probably won't stop them. Shooting hounds as @VSS says is a good way to get their attention as is shooting the stag before they get to it. Ultimately they will be the authors of their own demise, times are changing and people will not put up with this kind of behaviour for much longer I feel. Mind you that could apply to pheasant shooting too.

We had two heavily in-foal mares when the fekkers went through the field. The mares went mental. Luckily no harm done but like I say "luckily".They didnt have the courtesy to say they would be meeting locally . The arrogant prats probably thought we should have known?
Neither did they apologise.
I appreciate I have been hypocritical on this thread - see my earlier post above.
I make no apology.
I come from a hunting family but have no time for "the hunt" at all anymore. YMMV

 

[Dave Lakes]

While we’ve got the tarring brush out, just remember that anti’s (i.e the people who push and lobby for changes to our ways of life) see hunting in the same light as pigeon control and deer stalking.

While hunts in whatever form exist, they absorb a huge amount of attention and effort from those who would see us all done away with. Be under no illusion that sab groups will just hang up their balaclava and call it a day once all hunting finishes.

No excuse for badly behaved hunts, but be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Divided we fall.

 

[JMikeyH]

While we’ve got the tarring brush out, just remember that anti’s (i.e the people who push and lobby for changes to our ways of life) see hunting in the same light as pigeon control and deer stalking.

While hunts in whatever form exist, they absorb a huge amount of attention and effort from those who would see us all done away with. Be under no illusion that sab groups will just hang up their balaclava and call it a day once all hunting finishes.

No excuse for badly behaved hunts, but be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Divided we fall.

I'm not sure if the death by a thousand cuts thing is holding water for this specific topic, in my own experience of talking with the uninitiated (of which I once was and still have many friends who are), fox hunting and pest control, deer stalking etc are not viewed as the same. Granted, my sample size isn't exactly massive

 

[Ade8mm]

While we’ve got the tarring brush out, just remember that anti’s (i.e the people who push and lobby for changes to our ways of life) see hunting in the same light as pigeon control and deer stalking.

While hunts in whatever form exist, they absorb a huge amount of attention and effort from those who would see us all done away with. Be under no illusion that sab groups will just hang up their balaclava and call it a day once all hunting finishes.

No excuse for badly behaved hunts, but be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Divided we fall.

"Just remember" !
Yes I do. I remember how they said shooting foxes was inhumane and that they were "often only wounded" by shooters.
Happy to throw us lot under a bus.
I remember it well.

 

[Dave Lakes]

I'm not sure if the death by a thousand cuts thing is holding water for this specific topic, in my own experience of talking with the uninitiated (of which I once was and still have many friends who are), fox hunting and pest control, deer stalking etc are not viewed as the same. Granted, my sample size isn't exactly massive

I know what you’re saying and again, I’m talking anecdotally as well. I do red squirrel conservation, which of course involves the removal of grey squirrels. A genuine correlation as we have both species in the area.

Now you would think that trying to save red squirrels would be the least contentious thing you could do in the realms of ‘field activities’ for want of a better term, but we have had equipment destroyed, signs torn down, I know people who have received death threats and had businesses targeted.

If people think trying to help red squirrels warrants death threats, that probably indicates the scale of the problem!