1. It was the French who introduced England to the mounted hunt. Even today, some of their hunting cries are in Old Norman. London’s Soho, which was once a royal hunting field, is said to be named after a Norman call that, roughly translated, goes “SoooooHooooo!”

2. The most prominent hunters ride specially trained horses, called field hunters.

3. Fox-hunting is the origin of many traditional equestrian sports and sports derived from them, including the steeplechase and National Hunt racing.

4. In Europe the red fox is hunted, while in North America it's the gray fox or coyote. In America, fox-hunting is sometimes called fox chasing: the animal is simply chased but not killed.

5. Red foxes are widespread throughout Europe, although there are none in Iceland.

6. Englishman Robert Brooke introduced fox-hunting to Maryland, America, in 1650 when he imported his horses, hunt servants and a pack of fox hounds. It has also been suggested that he may have been responsible for importing 24 red foxes from England, as they were not indigenous to North America.

7. In 2002, Scotland became the first part of the UK to ban hunting with dogs, after a debate of more than six hours.

8. In 1999, the then Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe caused controversy when she condemned fox-hunting in an article for the Observer. She had accused hunt supporters of polarising Britain by characterising the dispute as one between town and country. She also said hunting was "cruel" and "rightly doomed".

9. In 1998, several stars - including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir John Gielgud and Richard Wilson - backed a new campaign organised by the RSPCA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the League Against Cruel Sports aimed at winning a government promise to outlaw fox-hunting by the new millennium.

10. Female foxes (vixens) give birth to four to seven cubs in a den.