Forward with Hounds Mission Statement

Forward with Hounds was launched at Peterborough in July 2024 where it received a warm and enthusiastic reception. 

The indispensable role of the BHSA, as our sport’s regulator, is to ensure that modern hound work is conducted according to the highest standards at all times, and never more so than now with a potentially hostile Labour government in power with a large majority in parliament. As we explain below, Forward with Hounds has a different role. 

We are deeply conscious of the fact that, with a few notable exceptions, the hunting of laid scent lines has long been viewed as an unloved necessity, a stopgap measure to be endured rather than enjoyed until repeal is achieved. It is this perception, above all else, that we seek to change. We believe that hunting laid scent lines, imaginatively conducted, can continue to evolve into a much-loved sport that can provide all the best experiences of a traditional day with hounds.

Furthermore, imaginatively conducted line hunting can help to bring the joy of following hounds back into the very centre of rural life without any of the controversy or antagonisms of recent years.  With this in mind, Forward with Hounds will focus on two main activities. 

The first is to stimulate a vigorous exchange of ideas and an ongoing debate on how the hunting of laid scent lines can evolve in all the different environments where it is practised, from the shires to the fells.

The second is to introduce an FWH Excellence Award, something like a Michelin Star for restaurants, with the aims of 1) inspiring true excellence in the planning and execution of a day's line hunting, 2) helping the best practitioners to promote their packs to subscribers, supporters, and the wider community in which they operate, and 3) helping packs to defuse opposition to their activities by showing that such opposition is entirely unjustified.

There will be no significant costs to packs for participating in the award scheme, but there will be substantial benefits both from a practical and a promotional point of view. 

The award scheme will involve participating packs inviting Forward with Hounds to review all aspects of a typical day hunting laid scent lines, including both the preparation and the practice. Although the exact criteria for the FWH Excellence Award have yet to be finalised, they are likely to include:

-  The preparatory work for a typical day, covering everything from the planning of the day’s sport to the communications with all the key stakeholders such as subscribers, landowners, and the local community.

-  The practice of a typical day, with a particular emphasis on:

• The skill and imagination in the laying of scent lines
• The test for huntsman and hounds
• The dynamics of how the whole day unfolds, from the meet through to blowing for ‘home’, and how closely it resembles the dynamics of a traditional day’s hunting
• How well the hounds hunt and stay loyal to the laid scent lines
• The impact on the wider community of the day’s activity.

At this stage, we are looking for packs to express their interest in being a part of the Forward with Hounds campaign for excellence, both through participating in the exchange of ideas on how to further evolve the practice of hunting laid scent lines and through joining in the award scheme as a way to demonstrate excellence and to promote our wonderful sport.