How did changes in landownership affect foxhunting in Britain?

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A person wearing an orange vest and holding a shotgun walks through tall grass with a hunting dog ahead in a field with scattered trees. — hunting Bird hunting with a dog.

Changes in rural landownership significantly impacted foxhunting in Britain during the 20th century. As the traditional system of great landowners declined, they were replaced by a larger number of smallholders. This shift in land management, combined with the widespread introduction of barbed-wire fencing, created new logistical challenges for the sport, which had previously reached its peak popularity before World War I.1

These structural changes, alongside the hardships of the World Wars and growing public opposition based on animal welfare concerns, forced the sport to adapt throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Ultimately, these pressures contributed to a changing landscape for the tradition, culminating in legal restrictions in the early 21st century that outlawed the killing of wild mammals in hound-led hunts in England and Wales.1