WHAT IS ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE?  Like spectators and players at football matches (and at other sports and games), people used to foxhunt and now trailhunt to experience the thrills of competition with the limits of their own skills and with each other and to enjoy seeing or using the skills of "The Chase". Here are a few:-    Hounds finding the scent of a fox or a “trail”, often in thick undergrowth and  then following it through all sorts of contamination; cattle dung,  oil from cars etc, while "giving tongue" in a thrilling "cry". When they "check" and lose the scent, hounds "casting"  about methodically to find it again. The Huntsman encouraging two hounds to find the scent of a fox that is to be flushed or several hounds to pick up a trail or to "cast" in the best way; using his voice, his horn and his knowledge of his Hunt’s territory. The Whipper-in gathering up hounds that have become detached from  "the pack" or stopping the pack when they are approaching  land where they are not wanted. The mounted followers jumping fences such as that in the picture. By the way, few are as large as this "drop fence with a ditch on the landing" like Becher's Brook in the Grand National. It is perfectly possible to keep up with hounds on most days by opening and shutting gates without jumping anything. Hunts (even trail-hunts) also have a valuable purpose in helping to maintain  a limit on the number of foxes around farms with property at risk  (e.g. lambs) if there is too high a concentration of foxes. Unfortunately trail-hunts are only allowed to try to kill foxes by flushing them out with no more than 2 dogs so that they may be shot at. Even experienced game-keepers say that this incurs a serious risk of wounding followed by a slow death. From the point of view of sport, trail-hunting is very much less than fox-hunting because it lacks the unpredictability of “where has the fox gone?”. TRAIL-HUNTING is faster than Fox-Hunting and not so suited to young or old riders. It also has much less appeal to foot and car followers. MORE IMPORTANTLY IT HAS LITTLE VALUE TO FARMERS EXCEPT AS A RECREATION. It is a great credit to many farmers, who do not hunt, that they permit the Hunt to cross their farm for the sake of their fellow farmers who hunt. BUT the Labour party will have lost some friends by putting farmers in this awkward position. THE HUNTING YEAR BEFORE TRAIL-HUNTING   Autumn Hunting   Hunting used to start around September 1st, with Autumn Hunting. This is primarily :-   to accustom young foxes and young hounds to the chase.  to distribute or cull any over concentrated populations that could  increase the risk of predation of farmers' property. confined to woodland and areas of cover; such as gorse patches, maize fields etc.  By the start of Autumn Hunting the year's cubs are young foxes, 6 months or more old and have developed into efficient killers. Hounds started by  meeting around 6 AM and going home around 9AM before flies and heat can  create much discomfort for hounds and horses. As temperatures fall hunting becomes progressively later until meets were around 9AM.   The Season  as it was (it is too early to say what it will be like with trail-hunting). Around November 1st the Hunting Season proper started. Packs of Hounds  (Hunts) meet twice a week in Hunting Countries covering a relatively small  area each up to 4 times in larger countries. Meets are usually at 11 AM and hounds go ("call for") home around 4PM. During a good day there will  normally be 3 or 4 "runs" each lasting 20 to 40 minutes. Shorter  runs are quite common but sadly, due to modern traffic and built up areas,  longer runs are rarer. In lowland Hunts the season finishes in March, later in upland countries. A medium sized English Hunt will have been out on about 50 days and will have killed about 100 foxes. The meeting point ("meet") and time of each local Hunt are normally published in the local papers.