1 62 Otters and Otter-Hunting. 



It must be confessed that the science of hunting 

 the Otter is not yet an ''exact" one. It would 

 be presumption on my part to pretend to teach the 

 '' Old Masters " of the sport their business. But 

 old Masters die or resign and young men come 

 forward to fill their places, and if the presently- 

 increasing popularity of Otter-hunting continue it is 

 likely that we may see a multiplication of new 

 packs, for there is certainly room for quite double 

 the present number in the British Isles, to the great 

 benefit of the sport — whatever the members of those 

 hunts that spread themselves over several counties 

 are pleased to think. It is therefore to the Masters 

 of the future that the subsequent portion of this 

 chapter must be addressed. " I do not mean to say 

 that these are rules, for no man can hunt a fox by 

 rule," said Colonel Anstruther-Thomson in his in- 

 valuable ''Hints to Huntsmen," "but I want to 

 make you think about them." I wish to apply 

 this remark to my own suggestions as to the methods 

 of finding and killing Otters that are most likely 

 to prove successful. 



In the first place, the man who aspires to become 

 a successful Master of Otter-hounds must study the 

 natural history of his quarry. He will, of course, 

 read with precaution all the matter that has been 

 printed about the Otter in the recognised books on 

 natural history. It is not much, and contains not a 



