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November 2007 - by Sara Phillis
In the Pink
NagMag tell how the
foot and mouth outbreak may affect the start of the hunting
season - Dogs and owners
alike.
The Crawley and Horsham hunt country lies
entirely in Sussex and covers some 23 miles from Rudgwick in
the north, to the sea at Worthing, and about 20 miles from
Pulborough in the west to Haywards Heath in the east. The Hunt
has existed for many years, but the date of its beginning
cannot be ascertained. In Mr. Stanford’s time the kennels were
first at Warninglid and afterwards at Staplefield, when in 1877
the hounds were moved to their new kennels at West Grinstead
where they are still kennelled
today.
Andrew Phillis has been the huntsman of
The Crawley and Horsham hunt since 1998 having moved from
Somerset where he was huntsman to The Mendip Farmers Hunt
for some seven seasons. Andrew’s job is to care for every
aspect of the hounds’ welfare and oversee the other staff
who are dedicated to caring for these wonderful animals.
One of Andrew’s many roles is being responsible for the
hounds whilst they are out hunting. Assisting Andrew on a
hunting day is Freddie Morby, our whipper in, who joined
us in May 2006 after a season whipping in at the
Hampshire hunt.
Fox hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2004 and now the
hunt exists by trail or drag hunting. All supporters of
foxhunting believe that the ban is temporary and will be lifted
in the near future. We will continue to fight for the ban to be
repealed, until then, we must obey the law and participate in
only legal forms of hunting.
The summer months have been spent grooming and painting the
kennels and keeping the large lawns mown and tidy. It is also
the time when puppies are born and looked after here until they
are given to various puppy walkers at approximately 10 weeks
old to be taught their names and to learn about horses and not
to get too close to them! We must also attend a number of hound
shows across the country where we show our hounds in much the
same way as one shows horses. This year we have won a number of
prestigious titles at both The South of England and Honiton
Hound Shows. Through the summer months we are also invited to
parade hounds and horses at the local agricultural shows such
as The South of England, Edenbridge and Oxted and The West
Grinstead Ploughing Match.
The hunting season traditionally begins in November with the
“Opening Meet” which is one of the highlights of our hunting
calendar, marking the start of the hunting season proper. It
will be one of the many days which Andrew and the other hunt
staff eagerly anticipate and one of the many high profile
occasions they will be expected to prepare for and attend.
The season will continue through the winter until the end of
March when the end of the season is marked by our point to
point, to which Andrew and Freddie must attend on horses to
lead out the jockeys to the start and to catch any loose horses
on the course.
This season is going to be slightly different due to the
current outbreak of Foot and mouth disease in Surrey. The
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has
ordered that all trail and drag hunting be suspended. The main
reason for this is to help prevent the spread of the disease,
particles of which can be carried on cars, animals and people.
Hunting cannot take place for about 60 days after the last
confirmed outbreak, which at the time of writing takes us
nearly to the end of November.
By this time in a normal year we would be well into the hunting
season with fit horses and hounds. This year, we will have to
be out for short periods to begin with because hounds and
horses will need to begin working gently and be built up to
peak fitness before they can go trail hunting for a day. We
will also have young hounds who have never been out hunting
before who will need time to learn the huntsman’s commands and
also to learn to hunt a trail.
Another difficulty caused by foot and mouth disease are the
restrictions imposed on the movement of susceptible animals.
The hunt provide a vital service to local farmers collecting
fallen stock which is used to feed the hounds. With the current
restrictions we are unable to collect, receive or feed any
fallen stock at the kennels. This means all fallen stock can
only be collected by a registered slaughter house with the
appropriate movement licence and must be incinerated. Until the
movement restrictions are lifted, the hounds must be fed on
meal.
We hope that the foot and mouth outbreak can be contained and
that that the countryside can return to normal as soon as
possible. In the meantime our sympathy lies with the farmers
and landowners who are struggling to cope with the effects of
this disease.
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