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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to fight for the ban to be repealed, until then, we must obey the law and participate in only legal forms of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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