Organised foxhunting plays an important part in rural life not only as a recreation but it also plays a critical role in habitat management and preservation. Through foxhunting many small bogs, coverts and hedgerows, which provide habitats for foxes, small mammals, birds and insects, are protected and preserved. This voluntary conservation role goes largely unrecognised as most of the coverts, bogs and hedgerows that are preserved belong to farmers and supporters of the hunt.
Foxhunting contributes enormously to the local economy, as the study (The Economic Significance of Field Sports in Ireland) carried out by U.C.D. in 1998 detailed. Amongst the many trades and professions that earn some of their income through hunting are the farmers and feed merchants who sell hay, straw, haylage and oats to local horse owners, equestrian centres who provide hirelings, livery or who sell horses, farriers, saddlers, vets, hoteliers and publicans. To some degree each of these trades depend upon the activities of the Hunt Club as part of their income.
Foxhunting was never more popular or better supported than it is today and the main concern of most hunt clubs is maintaining the balance between the demand to go hunting and the need to restrict followers to a reasonable number.
Galway Blazers, Coorheen. Photo © Noel Mullins.
The Quarry
Surprisingly few people have seen a fox close up and others are mislead by its cuddly appearance. After 140 years of organised foxhunting in Ireland, the red fox can be found all over the country and in very good shape. The fox is a well-conserved species. While the fox commands respect, it should not command sentimentality. Left unchecked, fox populations would expand and destroy the delicate balance of nature and cause widespread damage.
Being an opportunistic predator, the fox will kill poultry, wildfowl, newborn lambs and piglets beyond the needs of its staple diet of small wild mammals, insects and worms.
The fox is a hunter and covers considerable distances hunting for food or in search of a mate. Like all wild animals when threatened, the fox attempts to put up an adequate "flight distance" between itself and a potential enemy. This is a natural survival instinct. It is worth bearing in mind that the other methods of fox control - snares, traps, gassing and poisoning - all carry a high risk of a lingering death not only to the fox but to other mammals, while the hunted fox is either killed outright or gets away.