Beagling

It is also traditionally a way for young men and women to learn how to handle hounds on a smaller scale before they go on to hunt with foxhounds.

[2] There are currently over sixty packs of beagles registered with the Association based in England and Wales.

In the last thirty years there have been a number of amalgamations between packs, mostly brought about by the reduction in the amount of country available for hunting due to roads and associated urban development.

This means that some packs, particularly in more built up areas of southern England, cover parts of several counties.

Despite being less thorough and "checking" less frequently, bassets work more slowly than beagles, but are admired by many for their strong and deep voice, and for their considerable stamina.

Most packs have opted to breed the 'English Basset', which is considerably longer in the leg and lighter boned than the traditional variety.

This gives them greater speed and endurance when hunting, but many also have a slightly higher pitch when speaking on a line (scent).

The proportions are now reversed, largely because many packs of harriers have changed to hunting foxes over the last 80 years or so.

Some packs in the first part of the 20th century used a heavier, more old-fashioned type of hound to hunt hares, and were followed on foot.

This continued to some extent until the Second World War, while the last pack of foot harriers, the Windermere, which hunted in the Lake District, disbanded in the early 1990s.