When the Hunting Act 2004 came into force, the Masters of Draghounds and Bloodhounds Association were particularly concerned that illegal hunting, under the guise of hunting an artificial scent trail, would have a detrimental effect on the sport of drag hunting. To prevent their sport being brought into disrepute, the Masters of Draghounds and Bloodhounds Association insisted that the term drag hunting remained their exclusive property, which is why the organisations that hunted live quarry invented the term “trail hunting”.

Drag hunting and bloodhound hunting does not involve the pursuit of a wild mammal so the activity is legal. However, these activities can be confused by the claims of some hunts to be trail hunting and it is important that the differences between the two different activities are understood clearly.

How is Drag Hunting carried out?
In this type of hunting the quarry is the ‘drag’, normally consisting of a piece of material to which the scent is applied and dragged along the ground. This can be done by a mounted rider or by a runner and is laid along a pre-arranged route. Scent is repeatedly applied to the material en-route. The most popular scents are made of either animal urine, sometimes with the addition of aniseed oil, or chemicals.

The drag man will set off a short time before the hounds (usually foxhounds) are released – usually about half an hour. After a distance of two or three miles the drag man will usually lift the scent article. A short time later the drag man will set off again. Generally around five lines will be laid. The route will avoid roads or other hazardous obstacles but may include jumps and natural obstacles.

The route may or may not be known by the followers though the huntsman and field master will know the general area over which the drag will be drawn. Drag hunts do not usually last more than about 2 ½ hours.

Hunting with Bloodhounds
The quarry is a runner or group of runners who follow a pre-arranged course and no artificial scent is used as the hounds follow the scent of the human. This activity is often referred to as hunting the boot. The procedure for bloodhound hunting is much the same as that for drag hunting, with a pre-determined course set by the runner.

Hunt followers
Draghunts and bloodhound packs attract small numbers of foot or car followers. Spectators will usually position themselves so as to get a good view of the hunt, especially where there might be a challenging obstacle. Because drag hunting and bloodhound packs engage in relatively short, fast pursuits the activities do not tend to attract large numbers of followers.

This account of draghound and bloodhound hunting is based on the submission given to the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs by the Masters of Draghounds and Bloodhounds Association.