MILLIONS SPENT ON FOX-HUNTING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10957, 27 April 1907, Page 5 (Supplement)

MILLIONS SPENT ON FOX-HUNTING

THE COST OF HORSES AND HOUNDS.

SUCCESSFUL SEASON.

The fox-hunting season of 1906-7, now drawing to a close (says the London express) will be memorable, as far as England and Wales are concerned, for its open weather, its large fields, and speaking generally, its first-class sport. Except for a brief period just after Christmas, and again a few weeks later, frost has not seriously hindered hunting. On the whole foxes have been fairly plentiful, and then, is hardly a hunt which cannot tell of s.veral fine runs. Here and there m the eastern counties and parts of the midlands mangy foxes have' been killed, but the disease nus been comparatively scarce. Local prejudice against hunting has resulted m the loss of hounds and foxes m several counties by poisoning. The most -recent cases have occurred m MidEssex and >on the Suffolk side of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, where the viet.ms were foxes, and m the' South Dorset Hunt, which has lost four valuable hounus. Ihe increasing popularity of hunting is reflected m the increased entry of hunters at the forthcoming show of th-. Hunters' Improvement Society, where, apart from the thoroughbreds, there will be 219 horses exhibited as against 193 last year. REMARKABLE FIGURES. From figures given to an Express vepresentative by a well-known authority on fox-hunting it is possible to realise the enorurpns sums of money iuyolved m hunting finances. This expert asserted that during the last fifty years the cost of hunting has more than doubled. Whereas^ half * a century ago the expense for a three days' a week hunt was about £1500, it now requires £3000 a year and possibly something from the master's pocket to make the accounts balance. There are about 170 packs of foxhounds, consisting of about 6000 couples, m England and Wales, and as the average number of days hounds are out is about three a week, the cost of the packs alone is at least £000,000 a year. This is taking no account of Ireland's twenty-six packs, with about 1100 couples, arid Scotland's eleven packs of 390 couple8 v ''-,■-'"■'' The capital value of the hunters employed is an enormous figure. Probably 200,000 are used iri the England and Welsh hunts alone, and at a low average value of £60 they are m the aggregate worth not less than £12,000,000. At a very modest estimate .they cost their owners nearly £8,000,000 a year to keep. The price of a hunter is usually something between £40 and £129, though sometimes the figure, for a horse of surpassing qualities runs into several hundreds. The record price was the 2000 guineas paid m 1902 for the "hunter gelding Tennis Ball, then champion at the Islington Show.