Fox hunting is a traditional 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", follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.
Master of foxhounds leads the field from Powderham Castle in Devon, England.
The Fox Hunt, Alexandre-François Desportes, France, 1720
The Rev. William Heathcote (1772–1802), on horseback (son of the 3rd Baronet); Sir William Heathcote of Hursley, 3rd Baronet (1746–1819), holding his horse and whip; and Major Vincent Hawkins Gilbert, M.F.H., holding a Fox's mask. The Heathcote's family seat was Hursley House. Daniel Gardner portrayed the three gentlemen on the hunt in 1790.
Lithograph. Tourism travel poster issued 1922–1959 (approximate)
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species".
Red fox
Juvenile red foxes are known as kits.
Skull of a northern fox
Skull of a southern grey desert fox
