The Duke of Beaufort's Hunt, also called the Beaufort and Beaufort Hunt, is one of the oldest and largest of the

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

packs in England.(Sohelmay)

History

Hunting with hounds Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

in the area dates back to 1640, primarily deer but also foxes, and was led by the

Marquis of Worcester Duke of Beaufort (), a title in the Peerage of England, was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of So ...

. In 1762,

Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (16 October 1744 – 11 October 1803) was an English courtier and politician. He was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. Styled Marq ...

, decided to focus on foxhunting after an unsuccessful day hunting deer. From that point on, the Dukes of Beaufort have participated in the hunt, often acting as Master of the hunt.

Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort Henry Hugh Arthur FitzRoy Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort (4 April 1900 – 5 February 1984), styled Marquess of Worcester until 1924, was a peer, landowner, society figure and a great authority in the fields of horse racing and fox-hunting. ...

held the position for 60 years, gaining a reputation as "the greatest fox-hunter of the twentieth century", and was eventually known simply by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

, 'Master'. The present master of the hunt is

Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort (born 22 May 1952), styled Marquess of Worcester between 1984 and 2017, also known as Harry Beaufort or Bunter Beaufort, previously as Bunter Worcester, is an English peer and landowner, with est ...

Hunt

The hunt country covers a area of land between

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

to the north and south and between

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the u ...

and

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a popula ...

to the east and west, although only of land was usable by 2013. The hunt goes out on four days of the week during the hunting season, which continues for about 125 days of the year.

Legal background and controversies

Although "hunting wild mammals with a dog" in its traditional form was made unlawful in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Engl ...

by the

Hunting Act 2004 The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the Ac ...

, which came into effect in 2005, the Beaufort Hunt continues to hunt, taking advantage of exemptions stated in Schedule 1 of the Act, which allow some previously unusual forms of hunting wild mammals with dogs to continue, such as "hunting... for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal".

Trail hunting Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine (most commonly fox) is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers ...

and mounted exercising of hounds are both unaffected by the Act and consequently are favoured by many hunts in Great Britain. In 2005 the Beaufort changed its rules to ensure that it would hunt within the new law. In October 2021, the Beaufort sparked widespread revulsion when footage shown on UK television depicted the hunt killing its own dogs by shooting them in the head.

Tracey Crouch Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (born 24 July 1975) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she gained the seat from Labour's Jonathan S ...

, a Conservative MP and co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for animal welfare, said the footage was "absolutely heartbreaking" and "distressing", while Mike Jessop, a fellow of the

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the v ...

, said that from the footage, "There was no evidence of he shooterbeing veterinary trained or veterinary surgeons. The lack of use of any veterinary equipment that one would expect such as stethoscopes to ascertain the dogs were dead was just lacking."

References

{{reflist History of Gloucestershire Sport in Gloucestershire Sport in Wiltshire Fox hunts in the United Kingdom Fox hunts in England