Hunting

Although the majority of hunting with hounds takes place between September and April, the calendar is a busy one all year round.

The year officially begins on 1 May, when mastership and staff changes take place. The summer months is the time for puppy shows, hound shows – culminating in the Festival of Hounds at Peterborough in July – as well as other hunt events. Much time is spent improving areas of the hunting country and access to it, while in kennels it is often a frenzy of repairing, cleaning and painting.

Autumn trail-hunting, when the young hounds are introduced to the field, starts at the beginning of September, harvest allowing.

Opening meets happen around the beginning of November, and then it is full-tilt until the end of the season, which may be as early as February in some areas and as late as mid-April in others, depending on the types of farming that take place there.

Since the 2004 Hunting Act came into force in 2005, hunts in Britain use a variety of exemptions under the law, including trail-hunting, hound exercising and the use of a bird of prey. The Labour party announced its intention for a full-ban prior to being elected to govern the country in 2024.

Horse & Hound magazine reports on days with packs across Britain and Ireland giving you behind-the-scenes access to hunts of all types, from foxhounds to beagles and harriers, staghounds, bassets and minkhounds, as well as drag hounds and bloodhounds.

The hunting world is a rich and varied one – discover its history and culture with H&H.