It's quite amazing how often people come up to our information stall and say "There are no hunts in Derbyshire, are there?". If I was pro-hunt I'd be offended by this statement! Unfortunately it all started in the Midlands and Hugo Meynell is considered by many to be the father of fox hunting. Here's the low-down on our local Derbyshire hunts: Meynell and South Staffordshire Foxhunt South Nottinghamshire Foxhunt Quorn Foxhunt Atherstone Foxhunt Barlow Foxhunt High Peak Harriers DNS Beagles Dove Valley Minkhounds Four Shires Bloodhounds

One of the oldest foxhunts, the Meynell Hunt (set up by Hugo Meynell - see Quorn - when he moved to Hoar Cross) is by far the largest of the local hunts in the Midlands. Due to this, it is one of the few hunts in the area that can hunt foxcubs using the traditional tactics of completely surrounding a wood and sending the hounds in to kill everything that moves. There used to be so many hunt support vehicles, the sheer traffic chaos could shut down one or two minor roads. From the start of the 2001/02 season the Meynell no longer advertised meets because of attention paid to them by hunt sabs. Traffic and numbers of Hunt Support have dropped significantly since then.

They have a reputation as one of the top hunts in the country and their hounds are guaranteed to net awards at the annual national hound shows. Their reputation is reinforced with the honour of regular visits from HRH Prince of Wales.

Our observations: Initially their reputation seemed to be mainly hype. Greenall was a recent appointment when the group started targetting this hunt, and it was relatively easy to pull the hounds away from the huntsman. Five years on, Greenall has now good control of the pack, although the hunt still sometimes tackles terrain which is beyond their capabilities. Violent attacks by hunt staff, the field, and hunt support has increased steadily over the last few years. Oh, by the way Greenall, a fox covert isn't spelt "cover" - as written in your witness statement - you should be ashamed of yourself!

THE SOUTH NOTTINGHAMSHIRE HUNT

Unfortunately we have little information on South Notts. Unusually this hunt only goes out Mondays and Thursdays. It is rumoured this was an arrangement between the hunt and local sab groups when the violence was getting out of hand (one female Notts sab was seriously injured by hunt support and won a civil case against them). In return for not hunting Saturdays (most sab groups can't muster enough people mid-week anyway), sab groups would leave them alone.

South Notts probably have to cope with some of the worst terrain in the area. Besides the hilly terrain, the area is fairly built-up with lots of small (ex) mining towns and main roads. Missing a hunt meet on Saturday, also means the hunt miss out on the public relations bit and the large money-earner of attracting extra support.

Gary Williams moved to the hunt at the beginning of the 2000/01 season from the Albrighton FH. The Albrighton was always the main target for the Wolves Sab Group. Did Wolves finally break his spirit?

THE QUORN HUNT

Although the Quorn Hunt cannot be considered a Derbyshire hunt it is worth a mention as it was the first of the modern lowland foxhunts set up in the 1770's by Hugo Meynell. Since then it has universally been considered the flagship hunt of the country and largest of the Shire Hunts. Due to this reputation local sab groups concentrated on this hunt for many years. Since the turn of the millenium this hunt has shrunk to a size smaller than the High Peak Harriers thanks mainly to a number of significant PR gaffs and of course to the dogged determination of local sab groups. It now no longer hunts on a Saturday and restricts itself to mid-week meets only.

THE ATHERSTONE HUNT

Another one of the original Shire Hunts our first visit to the Atherstone was near the end of the 2002/03 season. This hunt encroaches into South Derbyshire but is more often to be seen in Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Both the huntsman and whipper-in are seasoned veterans and have maintained their positions in the hunt since '89 and '94 respectively. Due to this long service they have excellent control of the hounds. On most of the occasions sabs attempted to split the pack the whipper-in seemed to be able to minimise the disruption effectively. Besides the standard horn they also (bizarrely) use a whistle.

The Hunt and Field are fairly respectable but everytime sabs are successful at disrupting hunting various insane old codgers in the Hunt Support seem to go mental! Communications between the Hunt and Hunt Support are also excellent thereby increasing their chances of blocking the sab vehicle in.

It is interesting to note that the hunt's submission to the Burn's Inquiry stated that they had received little opposition from the anti-hunting fraternity. Well guys we'll have to change that - we didn't realise you missed us! The submission also stated "We have a good relationship with the police." The mind boggles as to what that statement means!

THE BARLOW HUNT

Our first visit to the Barlow in recent times was their first meet in the New Year (2001). Supporters were openly aggressive although most didn't care that much as they stayed in the meet pub! In our view, the local South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire Police are the most pro-hunt police officers we have yet come across and acted like the hunt's personal security force. A Superintendant Williams of South Yorkshire Police actually goes out riding with them!

THE HIGH PEAK HUNT

A small hunt which target hares and uses the smaller beagle for hunting, rather than foxhounds. This hunt is unusual in the fact that the mounted field often outnumbers the support. Terrain and weather is usually their biggest enemy in the winter season with a number of meets cancelling due to snow, fog etc.

Despite this handicap they do hunt effectively, and we have had to step in directly on a number of occasions to prevent a kill. Barry is one of the few huntsmen we have witnessed, who is capable of stopping hounds in mid-cry (although there are quite a few sabs who can!). Barry moved on at the end of the 2000/01 season to the North Staffordshire FH and the standards of control (of hounds and support) dropped significantly in the 2001/02 season. The Dog and Donkey reported that "Barry Cox has carried the High Peak for the last 10 years" - harsh words for a pro-hunt magazine! Interestingly I heard from an internal source that he'd "had" all the women members of the hunt and so moved onto the North Staffs Fox Hunt. The women must have been "easier" there 'cos he moved on again after only a couple of years to the Cheshire Forest Bloodhounds.

DERBYSHIRE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE AND STAFFORDSHIRE (DNS) BEAGLES

A fairly secretive hunt which hunt hares using beagles. No horses are used by this hunt and the redcoats can often be seen puffing away, running to keep up with the beagles in full cry (and from what we've seen - failing miserably!). Meets are not advertised which is understandable, as any half decent sab group could take control of the hounds and disrupt their hunting. If attempting to remain unknown to local sab groups, may I recommend removing the sign off the kennels (of course, it's perhaps a little too late now)?

DOVE VALLEY MINKHOUNDS

Greg Mousley's own little pastime, besides being employed as terrierman for the Meynell, is running this Minkhunt. To give Greg credit, he is the Michael Jackson of beagling and minkhunting, making guest appearances all over the UK and even the USA, and whenever we see him, he seems to have loads of kids in tow! Dove Valley MH has been neglected over the last few years due to a lack of information on them but hopefully this will change in the near future!

FOUR SHIRES BLOODHOUNDS

I feel rather ashamed to have missed this hunt off our list of Derbyshire Hunts for so long. For anyone who doesn't know, the name is rather misleading and this hunt has a lot less to do with blood than the rest of them on this page. Bloodhounds hunt a "Clean Boot" as I think it is referred to by the professionals and is what differentiates it from drag hunting. The pack of bloodhounds chase the subtle scent left by an extremely fit fell or marathon runner as the quarry (instead of a fox or hare).

It is a perfect example of how the social and traditional aspects of a hunt can be retained without the cruelty, and just to show we are only interested in animal welfare with no hidden left-wing political agendas here's a link to their excellent website!