I've heard of hunts being done without live foxes too. They can drag a scent trail. That way they can also ensure that the route is safe for the riders and horses(and dogs).

I'm not a big proponant of any animal being torn to bits by a dog pack, honestly. I understand folks saying that there's a history behind it, but there's a history behind dog fighting too. So I'm a bit wishy-washy on it myself. My own culture loves coon hunting, where the dogs chase live coons and sometimes the coon IS caught by the pack and torn up(or the dogs can get torn up), although most of the time, the raccoon goes up a tree where it can either be shot out of the tree, or left there, while the dogs are taken away. So.. it's hard to say "No, you mustn't hunt foxes" when I know several of my own family hunt coon. I'm not a fan of hunting coons where they get torn apart by the pack of dogs either though.

Just figured I'd finally post something on here, since it's obviously not of much interest to the general populace.