Fox hunting: The issues

More than 200,000 people take part in fox hunting in the UK - but it remains one of the most divisive issues among the population. Click on the stories to learn the facts, fiction and history of the controversial activity.

Would a hunt ban work?

Head to head: Banning hunting

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How does a hunt work?
What makes a hunt? The answer is more than just a few men and women on horses with lots of hounds.

Three centuries of hunting foxes 

Deer, hare and mink

Fox hunting worldwide 

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Is fox hunting cruel?
The crux of the debate is, for many people, cruelty. Supporters say hunting is kinder than the alternatives. Opponents say hunting causes suffering.


First person accounts:

Out with a hunt, by Alex Kirby

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Fighting for the fox
The history of the hunt is well recorded - but the anti-hunt lobby has been active for many years.

Attempts to ban fox hunting: A timeline

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A way of life 'under threat'
The servants of the hunt and the tradesmen and women who depend on it to make their living feel scared, angered and betrayed.

• How many livelihoods at stake? 

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