The Duke of Beaufort's Hunt (the Beaufort) is one of the oldest and largest of the fox hunting

Fox hunting

Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...

 packs in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was founded by the 1st Duke of Beaufort

Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort

Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC was an English peer. He was styled Lord Herbert from 1646 until 3 April 1667, when he succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Worcester....

 in 1682 and under the auspices of this family. When the sport of foxhunting was made illegal

Fox hunting legislation

Fox hunting legislation refers to various laws and legislative history related to fox hunting in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.-History:Hunting has been regulated for many centuries, most often for the benefit of the upper class. The word "paradise", for example, comes from a Greek word for...

 by Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 in 2005 the pack changed its rules to hunt within the law

Hunting Act 2004

The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...

.

The Beaufort hunts some 760 square miles (1,968.4 km²) in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

 and Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, centered on the Duke's estate at Badminton

Badminton House

Badminton House is a large country house in Gloucestershire, England, and has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century, when the family moved from Raglan Castle, which had been ruined in the English Civil War...

. Hunting occurs on about 125 days per year, usually 4 days a week during the season.