FOX-HUNTING ABROAD 



Channel. Just prior to the beginning of the war, 

 there were some 330 packs of hounds in France 

 with recognised establishments, and no doubt 

 several private packs could be added to that 

 number. 



Although France is a Republican country, there 

 are still some hundred or more of the old nobility 

 who maintain packs of hounds on their own 

 estates. Much of the going is of a woodland 

 nature, and the pomp and ceremony of the chase 

 is still religiously kept up as in the days of old. 



French sportsmen have six recognised beasts 

 of chase, i.e., the red deer, roe deer, wolf, boar, 

 fox, and hare. Some Hunts devote their attention 

 solely to hare, these being in the majority. Fif- 

 teen or sixteen packs hunt red deer, and about 

 twice that number devote their attention to wild 

 boar. Other packs hunt hare and fox, red deer 

 and roe, or deer and boar alternately, while 

 others hunt anjrthing that turns up from hare 

 to boar. Wolves are now scarce in France, and 

 only some seven or eight packs hunt them in 

 addition to other quarry. The wolf is one of the 

 hardest animals in the world to run down with 

 hounds in woodland country, the chase lasting 

 anywhere from three to seven hours. 



French hounds have less dash and drive than 

 English fox-hounds, but they are renowned for 

 their nose and determination in sticking to a line. 

 The fox does not of course hold the same position 

 in France that it does in England, being more 

 often shot than legitimately hunted. Still, it 

 finds more favour in that country year by year, 

 and there are some thirty or more French packs 

 hunting fox in alternation with other beasts of 

 chase. As most of the hunting in France is done 



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