Controversy Erupts Over New Year's Fox Hunts in Bucks County Parkland
By Brad Segall
WARWICK TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- Bucks County officials say they will look into an incident that reportedly occurred on New Year's Day in Dark Hollow Park in Warwick Township, in which a couple walking with their dogs was chased and bitten by dogs involved in a fox hunt.
The county commissioners say they weren't even aware of the fox hunts until this incident.
The New Year's Day tradition, organized by the Huntingdon Valley Hunt, dates back about 100 years, to when the Bucks County countryside was more rural. But now they're being called into question because the area is more densely populated.
County commissioner Rob Loughery says he has instructed the Parks Department to look into the matter, and he wants the department's advisory board to get involved.
"We want to take a look at what procedures are put in place, what was done in the past," he tells KYW Newsradio, "and obviously if anyone is going to make a decision or recommendation to us, it's important to look at all the facts."
Judy Cox told her story to the Warwick supervisors this week. Her husband, who was walking with her, is on the board which voted to call on the county to ban the hunts in county parks.
Loughery called the incident "unfortunate" but also called it "premature" to end anything until they can take a closer look.
