Hunting the clean boot, also called clean boot hunting, is a term that has been used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to refer to the use of packs of

bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, rabbits, and since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is ...

s to follow a natural human scent trail. The term 'clean boot' refers to the absence of either an artificial scent such as

aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...

, as used in drag hunting, or animal urine, as used in trail hunting.Brian Lowe, ''Hunting the clean boot: The working bloodhound'', Blandford Press, Poole, 1981, . Whilst today the term has become synonymous with the use of bloodhound packs, most breeds of dog can be taught the skill individually with varying degrees of success.L.C.R Cameron, ''Minor field sports: Including hunting, dogs, ferreting, hawking, trapping, shooting, fishing and other miscellaneous activities'', G. Routledge & Sons, London, 1920. Typically, clean boot hunts are run along similar lines to

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

(now prohibited in Great Britain), with a field of mounted riders following a pack of bloodhounds which trails the scent of a runner. Like other forms of mounted hunting with hounds, hunting the clean boot usually occurs in the autumn, winter and early spring.Nicholas Goddard and John Martin, "Drag hunting", ''Encyclopedia of traditional British rural sports'', Tony Collins, John Martin and Wray Vamplew (eds), Routledge, Abingdon, 2005, . In order to improve the speed, agility and pack hunting instincts of the bloodhound, the Dumfriesshire Hound was used by several packs as an outcross.

References

External links

Masters of Draghounds and Bloodhounds Association, ''bloodhoundhunting.co.uk''
, retrieved 17 August 2017.

, retrieved 17 August 2017.
Belgian Clean Boot Hunting, ''cleanboothunting.be''
(only available in Dutch and French), retrieved 17 August 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunting the clean boot Dog sports Equestrian sports Hunting Hunting with hounds

See also

References

External links