Editing Beagling (section)

== Beagle packs in the UK ==

At one time, many famous public schools and universities had packs of beagles. Now, however, only four schools ([[Eton College|Eton]], [[Radley College|Radley]], [[Stowe School|Stowe]], and [[Marlborough College|Marlborough]]) have a pack, whilst only three university packs remain (the Christ Church and Farley Hill Beagles of [[Oxford University]], the Trinity Foot and South Herts Beagles of the [[University of Cambridge]], and the [[Royal Agricultural University]] Beagles). Some packs of beagles also have associations with the British armed forces, such as the Purbeck and Bovington Beagles (Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps); the Pimpernel ([[Royal Signals]]) Beagles; the Catterick Garrison Beagles; the Colchester Garrison Beagles (amalgamated with the Sproughton Foot Beagles in 1994 to form the Stour Valley Beagles); Per Ardua Beagles ([[RAF]]) and Britannia Beagles ([[Royal Navy]]). The harrier and beagle packs are represented by the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles (AMHB).<ref name="Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles">{{cite web|url=http://www.amhb.co.uk|title=Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles}}</ref> 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.

Following the 2004 Hunting Act, packs of beagles, bassets and harriers have switched to hunting artificial (rabbit or hare scent) pre-laid trails, hunting rabbits, flushing hares to guns or birds of prey or retrieval of injured hares following hare shoots (the last three are legal under exemptions within the Act).