Bloodhounds the new breed of hunting

With an evermore politically correct society putting pressure on the hunting community in Ireland a new breed of hunt has emerged, although it has not been welcomed by all.

The Down Bloodhounds are one of only two bloodhound hunts in Ireland and have been in operation since July 1994.

They hunt what is know as 'the clean boot' which is a human runner. The hounds are acquainted with the runner before the start and track the scent.

With a set course laid out by markers the hunt follows a pre-determined route minimising damage to land and giving the huntsman full knowledge of what they will encounter on their day out.

Current master John Rafferty has been a member for ten years and believes that it is the way forward for hunting in this country.

“It definitely works - the hounds hunt well.

“It's amazing to see the hounds in action when we let the runner off. They are hard on his trail and if he went into every corner of the field so would they.

“They hunt the scent on the skin cells. They are not pure-bred bloodhounds as they would be too slow across the land but are crossed with foxhounds. They still have the same instincts to follow the scent.

“It takes quite a while to set up. I would be out on the Wednesday and depending on the weather, once we have a few farmers on board, I'd set up the markers on Friday for the hunt on Saturday.

“The runner is let off and we pick him up on the other side. We would cover between 10 and 15 miles of land and there is also hacking down the road between fields. We could be out from 12.30pm to 4.00pm.

“You don't have the fears you would with a live hunt. If you went into a field with a pack of hounds and it was full of pregnant ewes and you even made them run you could get into trouble.

“A lot of the land we cross would be used for sheep or cattle and would be mountainous grazing land.

“The way things are going you can't just cross land at will anymore. People are getting big grants for fencing and there might be three or four rows of wire on it. You can't go damaging that.

“The type of hunt we do is relatively safe as we are not jumping blind. We know what is behind every jump. If people stick to the markers they will be safe. And if there is a particularly big fence there will be an alternative way out.

“It's not exactly drag hunting. They both have a runner but the drag hunt will follow a scent laid down out of a bag whereas we are tracking the human.

“We have 25 to 30 people out on a hunt so it's pretty popular and would be similar to some of the other hunts in the area.”

Rafferty admits the idea of 'drag hunting' splits the rural community and he has encountered plenty of opposition as well as support.

“When we go into an area we canvass several people. We speak to the farmers who are pro-hunt and they say where we can go.

“To be honest the traditional hunt people don't like us much. We asked to cross ground in Newry once and the owner said no because he didn't want to get involved in promoting drag hunting.

“There are a certain amount of farmers who support us and they might keep an odd horse. But for as many farmers that like the idea as many don't.

“I made a mistake earlier in the year going into a field and the farmer made it clear he didn't want me there. But his neighbour beside him was more than happy to have us.

“John Kidd, who used to be Chairman of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, has let us cross quite a bit of his land.

“He has some very valuable mares on his land and I don't know how that would work with live hunting.

“I'm not saying the days of live hunting are over but it's getting a lot harder.”

The Down Bloodhounds are somewhat an outsider in the hunting community and as such aren't part of the point-to-point set up.

“We are registered to the bloodhound and drag hunt association in England so have no connections with the hunting in Ireland and therefore would not have a point-to-point.

“We raise revenue through out member subs and the caps. We also have a few fund raising events such as barn dances, hunt ball and calendars.”

The recent publicity surrounding stag hunting has brought the whole issue of hunting into media focus and Rafferty believes the coverage did a lot of damage.

“There is still a stag hunt in this country. The only one in the British Isles as far as I know. I wouldn't be one for stag hunting. It's fairly cruel.

“The stags don't know where they are going when they get released and if they are in a field surrounding with wire they'll get out should it mean ripping themselves to shreds.

“We've seen a few stories in the media and I don't think they've come out of it well.”

Gary Carson