Case Study - The New Forest Beagles

As a foot pack, the trail layer for the New Forest Beagles works on foot, rather than laying a trail from a quad or horseback like a mounted pack might do.

Around three quarters of the pack’s country was made up of the Crown Lands of the New Forest, which are completely open access and managed by the Forestry Commission. 

The New Forest Beagles developed their trail hunting as soon as the Hunting Act came into force. Their scent is based on aniseed, cut with vegetable oil, and the pack have one main trail layer – as well as a couple of others who can do the job if needs be. The trail is laid using a felt rag, tied to the end of a walking stick. 

A hunting day is planned a few days in advance. Whippers-in, trail layers and anyone else who is going to be involved on the day is sent a map, with lines denoting where they expect to lay the trails, and in which order. The paperwork also outlines who is going to be doing what on the day, as well as mobile numbers and information on anything that they need to look out for; roads and railways for example, or a field with livestock in which a farmer has asked them to avoid. 

The trail layer – they normally only use one per day – sets off as soon as he arrives at the meet, and lays the trail while the followers enjoy the meet! The trail layer usually runs in a hare-type circle which he has adapted to make sure that the hounds ¬– and their followers – don't go anywhere they shouldn’t, or anywhere that there is a risk of something going wrong. “A modified natural trail” is how one of their Masters describes it. When the trail layer is caught he hands out biscuits, or a bit of meat as a reward to the hounds. The hounds are then gathered up, the trail layers heads off again, and in 10 minutes or so, the hounds are off and hunting again. The process is then repeated until the end of the day. 

While with a mounted pack, the planned route might want to lay a trail in a way that allows the riders plenty of jumping, there is no need to do that for a foot pack. However, the trail layer might modify the route to ensure that there is good and easy viewing, although this would only be a slight modification; they wouldn’t just go up and down a valley simply to provide a spectacle for those standing up top! When they first started hunting this way, the view is that they probably shed a few supporters, but gained others. The cadre of followers who they have now enjoy it for what it is. In some cases, they have gained followers who due to their own jobs or responsibilities enjoy being able to follow hounds in a way they know is entirely legal and legitimate.