Here's how hunting shapes the countryside

Andrew Sallis looks at how hunting's commitment to conservation continues to shape the countryside even though the quarry has changed. This article was first published in My Countryside magazine.

Image credit: Hattie Austin Photography

Times are hard for trees. For millions of years they thrived, covering a vast proportion of the earth, providing an unparalleled environment for an incalculable number of species, many lost in the mists of time, never known to mankind. But so-called human development – logging, agriculture, homes and infrastructure – has removed over a third of what was global forest 10,000 years ago, half of which has disappeared since 1900; a time when the earth has needed its 'lungs' to soak up excess carbon dioxide. Startlingly, the Brazilian Amazon is currently vanishing at a rate of 5,000 square miles per year.

By contrast, for centuries, British sportsmen have been champions of a biodiverse environment, long before such terms were commonplace. For all of its perceived reactionary connotations, hunting has a progressive effect on the environment. Areas of the UK which celebrate hunting are rich havens for flora and fauna, though not trumpeted from the tree canopy, a tended panoply of hedgerows and woodland, often produced through private funding and local manpower.

Given the proliferation of native and non-native deer which are now greater in number than pre-Norman levels, it is ironic that modern foxhunting was borne out of dissatisfaction with deer-hunting, mainly because of a lack of quarry as a result of poaching, over-hunting for food and sport, and the destruction of deer parks and forests by Cromwell and other forces. A complex web of social, political and economic factors caused the British countryside to change dramatically through the middle of the last millennium. Open arable fields, commonland and patches of wasteland were gradually being formalised and fenced with the Enclosure Act 1773 and much was laid to grass, partitioned by thorn hedges which were eventually cut and laid.

This development revolutionised riding to hounds and fox hunting, which hitherto had been a pedestrian affair. Sporting landowners then planted huge numbers of coverts, strategically placed, many of which eventually fell into the ownership of the local hunt who were charged with their maintenance. The emerging countryside across many counties in the 18th and 19th centuries was crafted to suit a hard-running fox who leaves covert pressed by increasingly agile hounds, across a sea of grass.

Hunting folk jealously guard their memories of great hunts from famous coverts such as the Belvoir's Hose Thorns and John Ball in the heart of the Fernie country. Covertside anticipation would send a ripple of goosebumps throughout the mounted field. These crown jewels, 'fox coverts', predominantly of thorn, were planted by the great benefactors of hunting, often bearing their names or that of a local character. It wasn't just in the fashionable shires that sportsmen crafted nature. Away from the hedges, hunting 'purists' also judiciously planted woodland with all the contiguous benefits to native wildlife, between which hounds could run and be viewed in open fields or vast hillsides, uncorrupted by the frivolous distraction of leaping fences.

However, hunt countries change, often beyond the sportsman's control and many renowned woodlands planted to enhance the local flora and fauna have become redundant, even compulsory purchased or sold by sporting farmers and hunts, due to inaccessibility from urban encroachment and infrastructure.

Many hunts, however, have been able to buck the trend. As part of their annual scheme of covert laying and country maintenance, the Beaufort Hunt staff and a crew of dedicated countrymen have planted a new four-acre covert on the Badminton Estate. Hunting may now be conducted differently to comply with the Hunting Act – following laid trails instead of the traditional quarry species – but that doesn't stop the desire for hunts to continue with conservation.

Matt Ramsden, Joint Master and Huntsman, wanted the hunt to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. "During lockdown I really enjoyed going off on my own to cut and replant laurel and many other trees as part of our regenerative programme," says Matt. "I rather like coverts named after people so this will be called Elizabeth. I hope she'd approve."

When Polly Portwin, the Countryside Alliance's Campaign for Hunting Director, retired from the Mastership of the Bicester with Whaddon Chase in 2013 after 11 seasons she recalls that she "insisted to Arthur Hall, one of the wonderful farmers in my 'Thursday country', that the retirement fund being gathered should be put back into the country for everybody to enjoy for years to come". Her desire to plant a small covert to benefit the countryside soon became a reality when the Price family from Poundon generously donated a plot of land, of around three acres, on their farm near Godington. Julian Price coordinated the tree purchasing and planting which consisted of a wide variety of trees and hedging plants and his conservation work throughout the farm, carried out with Forestry Commission funding, has been praised by woodland specialists.

The Belvoir Hunt, which owns and manages 15 woodlands in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, holds an annual hedgelaying competition every autumn. The British sportsman generally resisted the government sponsored ripping out of thousands of miles of hedgerows in post-war Britain so there are still plenty to keep the hedgelayers busy. Hounds always hunt in the locality of the competition and lay their trails to conclude the day at the event, which reinforces the age-old link between the hunter and the land, even in this age of the Hunting Act. Two dozen skilled hedgelayers from across the Midlands each lay a 10-yard section in a traditional manner with stakes bound with willow. Tom Kingston, joint-master of the Belvoir, explains: "A prize is also given for the best regrowth section from last year's competition which rewards the skill of creating a strong, living fence and decent habitat."

On his Thurlow Estate in Suffolk, Robin Vestey, joint-master of the Thurlow Hunt, has planted a broadleaf woodland. "Crucially, the local community will be able to enjoy access to the new woodland which was planted to celebrate the Jubilee," enthuses Robin. The hunt is key to the effective management of 1,500 acres of woodland on the estate, including nearly 600 acres designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Recent British governments have been resolute in reversing international trends. Through the Forestry Commission, the government's aspiration of 12 per cent of land covered by trees by 2060. This will require 180,000 hectares of tree-planting by 2042 alone to satisfy demand on English-grown timber and biodiversity targets by creating new forests and native woodlands, including planting on private land and least productive farmland, where appropriate. Priority is given to the preservation and benefit of ancient and native woodland. Funding schemes are available for tree planting and maintenance and substantial grants are available to landowners in excess of £10,000 per hectare under the England Woodland Creation Offer.

The link between country pursuits and modern forestry and woodland management is worth fighting hard to maintain. Through the motto, 'Promote, Preserve, Protect,' the MFHA of North America trumpets its vision where 'emphasis is placed on animal health and habitat conservation'. Given that hunting has shaped the British countryside, the new governing body of hunting could learn from American directness of their message to the public. After all, hunting helped to mould our countryside into a glorious natural theatre, a species-rich environment and working countryside which is a delight to the nation.