Fox Hunting in the US
At last count there where over 150 active dog packs in the US. While still called fox hunting packs, the majority of them actually tend to hunt coyotes. The quarry may be different, but the practices are very similar to those employed in the UK before the supposed ban. Animals are chased for hours and eventually ripped apart. At the bottom of this page you will find links to many of the active packs. Most “fox” hunting occurs on private land. Check first so you are aware.
Hunting with Hounds
For a successful hunt with a pack of dogs, the chain of links between the hunter and the dogs and between the dogs and the victim should not be broken. Thus sabbing concentrates on breaking those links.
At the start, the lead dog will find and follow the victim by scent. At this stage, it may be possible to distract from the scent of the real victim (with items such as fox urine, bedding, and/or feces freshly taken from your nearest wildlife hospital or sanctuary) or to mask his or her scent with strong smells (e.g. diluted citronella or eucalyptus smells or anti-mate sprays).
False trails are generally laid either before the hunt arrives (if you know where they will go) or while they “draw” or seek out a new victim. The trail is laid in line, along hedgerows and the edge of the woods, ideally in a large circle around the immediate vicinity of the hunt.
The technique of masking scents is best used when sabbers can both see the victim flee and manage to be on his or her trail before the hounds arrive. In this case, it is important NOT to mask the trail in a line, but to cover a whole area, as a human hunter following the dogs will immediately take the hounds past you and onto the proper line again.
Another very effective way to break the link between dogs and quarry is to crack dog whips in the air to get the hounds to stop chasing. Hunters do this if the dogs follow the wrong quarry, and they are well trained to respond to such commands. Hence cracking whips doesn’t just save the particular victim, but also serves to confuse the hounds so they will not know which animal to follow. Also, if done repeatedly and aggressively enough in the right time and the right place, whip cracking will easily halt the pack.
Many additional fox hunting tactics can be found at the Hunt Saboteurs Association website from the UK.
A partial list of Packs in North America
CANADA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Fraser Valley Hunt
NOVA SCOTIA
Annapolis Valley Hunt
ONTARIO
Beaver Meadow Foxhounds
Eglinton and Caledon Hunt
Hamilton Hunt
Lake of Two Mountains Hunt
London Hunt
Ottawa Valley Hunt
Toronto and North York Hunt
Wellington Waterloo Hunt
QUEBEC
Montreal Hunt
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ALABAMA
Full Cry Hounds
Hard Away Whitworth Hounds
Mooreland Hunt
ARKANSAS
Misty River Hounds
ARIZONA
Grand Canyon Hounds
CALIFORNIA
Los Altos Hounds
Santa Fe Hunt
Santa Ynez Valley Hunt
West Hills Hunt
COLORADO
Arapahoe Hunt
Bijou Springs Hunt
Roaring Fork Hounds
CONNECTICUT
Fairfield County Hounds
FLORIDA
Four Winds Foxhounds
Live Oak Hounds
Lonesome Palm Hounds
Misty Morning Hounds
Palm Beach Hounds
South Creek Foxhounds
GEORGIA
Bear Creek Hounds
Midland Fox Hounds
Shakerag Hounds
ILLINOIS
Cornwall Hounds
Fox River Valley Hunt
Mill Creek Hunt
River to River Hounds
Shawnee Hounds
Wayne-duPage Hunt
Wolf Creek Hunt
INDIANA
Traders Point Hunt
IOWA
Moingona Hunt
Nodaway River Hounds
Wabash Hunt
KANSAS
Coal Valley Hounds
Fort Leavenworth Hunt
Mission Valley Hunt
KENTUCKY
Camargo Hunt
Iroquois Hunt
Long Run Hounds
Woodford Hounds
MARYLAND
De La Brooke Foxhounds W
Elkridge-Harford Hunt
Goshen Hunt
Green Spring Valley Hounds
Howard County – Iron Bridge Hounds
Marlborough Hunt
New Market – Middletown Valley Hounds
Potomac Hunt
Wicomico Hunt
MASSACHUSETTS
Myopia Hunt
Nashoba Valley Hunt
Norfolk Hunt
Old North Bridge Hounds
MICHIGAN
Battle Creek Hunt
Metamora Hunt
Waterloo Hunt
MINNESOTA
Long Lake Hounds
MISSISSIPPI
Chula Homa Hunt
MISSOURI
Bridlespur Hunt
NEVADA
Red Rock Hounds
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mt. Cardigan Foxhounds
Wentworth Hunt
NEW JERSEY
Amwell Valley Hounds
Essex Fox Hounds
Monmouth County Hunt
Spring Valley Hounds
NEW MEXICO
Caza Ladron
Juan Tomas Hounds
NEW YORK
Genesee Valley Hunt
Golden’s Bridge Hounds
Limestone Creek Hunt
Millbrook Hunt
Old Chatham Hunt
Rombout Hunt
Smithtown Hunt
Windy Hollow Hunt
NORTH CAROLINA
Flat Branch Foxhounds
Green Creek/Greenville County Hounds
Mecklenburg Hounds
Moore County Hounds
Red Mountain Foxhounds
Red Oak Hounds
Sedgefield Hunt
Tryon Hounds
Yadkin Valley Hounds
OHIO
Chagrin Valley Hunt
Grand River Hunt
Magnolia Waynesburg Hunt
Miami Valley Hunt
Rocky Fork Headley Hunt
OKLAHOMA
Harvard Fox Hounds
PENNSYLVANIA
Andrews Bridge Foxhounds
Beaufort Hunt
Huntingdon Valley Hunt
Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds
Pickering Hunt
Radnor Hunt
Rolling Rock Hunt
Rose Tree Foxhunting Club
Saxonburg Hunt
Sewickley Hunt
SOUTH CAROLINA
Aiken Hounds
Camden Hunt
Edisto-Mt. Vintage Hounds
Middleton Place Hounds
Whiskey Road Foxhounds
Why Worry Hounds
TENNESSEE
Beech Grove Hunt
Hillsboro Hounds
Longreen Foxhounds
Mells Fox Hounds
Oak Grove Hunt
Tennessee Valley Hunt
Wildlife Manor Hounds
TEXAS
Brazos Valley Hunt
Cloudline Hounds
Hickory Creek Hunt
Independence Foxhounds
Kenada Fox Hounds
Longacre Hunt
VERMONT
Green Mountain Hounds
North Country Hounds
VIRGINIA
Bedford County Hunt
Blue Ridge Hunt
Bull Run Hunt
Caroline Hunt
Casanova Hunt
Colonial Fox Hounds
Commonwealth Fox Hounds
Deep Run Hunt
Fairfax Hunt
Farmington Hunt
Fort Valley Hunt
Glenmore Hunt
Keswick Hunt
Loudoun Hunt
Loudoun West Hunt
Middlebrook Hounds
Middleburg Hunt
Oak Ridge Fox Hunt
Old Dominion Hounds
Orange County Hunt
Piedmont Fox Hounds
Princess Anne Hunt
Rappahannock Hunt
Reedy Creek Hounds
Rockbridge Hunt
Stonewall Hounds
Warrenton Hunt
WASHINGTON
Woodbrook Hunt
WYOMING
Knoxville Hunt
You may want to avoid the individuals on the PDF available at http://www.mfha.com/pdf/uspc-contacts.pdf . They are apparently members and supporters of Masters of Foxhounds of North America.