Buckhound
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The Buckhound was a
breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
of
scent hound Canton_of_Bern.html" ;"title="Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Canton of Bern">Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of h ...
from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
; they were used to hunt
fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...
in packs.


History

From the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the hunting of deer in England varied depending on whether the quarry was the large stag or
red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...
or the smaller buck or
fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...
. The use of different hounds for the hunting of different deer species was known from at least the reign of Henry III (1216–1272), with packs of Staghounds maintained for the hunting of stag, whilst the hunting of the smaller buck was conducted with packs of Buckhounds. By the 15th century, stag hunts and buck hunts had diverged significantly; during a stag hunt, stag were tracked and located using limers and then hunted using the deep-scenting Staghounds, whereas buck hunts were more of a fast-paced par-force hunt, with the hounds hunting by both sight and scent, and emphasis being placed on the pace of the hunt. Buck hunting held a special place in England during the reign of
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
(1327–1377) when the Royal Buckhounds pack was established and the title Master of the Buckhounds was allocated to the Brocas family. The English and later British monarchs maintained the Royal Buckhounds until the 20th century. When Queen Anne became too infirm to follow the hounds on horseback, she had paths cut through Windsor Forest so she could follow the hunt in a carriage. Due to scarcity of deer to hunt, by the time of
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
's reign (1760–1820), the Royal Buckhounds was one of the few remaining Buckhound packs in England. Buck hunts became hunts for carted deer. A semi-tame deer was released and hunted by the hounds and accompanying riders, but the hounds were prevented from harming the deer, which was recaptured and returned to its deer park unharmed to be hunted again later. In 1868 the hounds ran through
Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough ...
and the hunt ended at Paddington Goods Station. The
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
rode home to
Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...
wearing his pink coat.
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
appeared as a spectator at only one meet of the Queen's Hounds in 1874. Until 1878 the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
hunted fairly regularly with the Buckhounds. However, there was talk of abolishing the Buckhounds and turning them into a royal fox hunt. Reverend Joseph Stratton spearheaded the humanitarian campaign against the Buckhounds in 1852. He worked tirelessly, walking ten or twenty miles a day, to expose the hunting of the carted deer as a "spurious" sport. Eventually, in 1901, the pack was dissolved as a cost-saving measure by
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
. Buck hunting was subsumed by stag hunting and Buckhounds died out.


Description

Artistic depictions show that the Buckhound's appearance was quite similar to that of the Harrier, a hound used for hare hunting in packs, being noticeably smaller and lighter-framed than the Staghound. Richard Barrett Davis described Buckhounds in this way: "The buck-hound, in the days of George III, was tall, loose and ill put together, with a well formed head and large ears, not rounded: its colour was yellow pie, more in spots than is usual in hounds. Its pace for half an hour was very fast; after the first stop there was little difficulty in keeping up with them."


See also

*
List of dog breeds This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties and dog type, types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds ...
*
List of extinct dog breeds The following is a list of extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capa ...


References


External links

* {{Extinct breeds of dog Dog breeds originating in England Extinct dog breeds Scent hounds