The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
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Otter Hunting on Dartmoor
The Eastern Counties Hunt unleashes otterhounds on a Dartmoor river
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Overview
An otter hunt on Dartmoor sees Eastern Counties hunters and otterhounds search the river bank for otters. The otters prove to be elusive. Otters have been hunted for pelts since the early 1700s and became to be seen as pests due to the damage caused to fish stocks. Ancient fish ponds holding reserved fish would attract otters and to protect stocks landlords encouraged hunts. The sixties saw a rapid decline in otter numbers.
The use of darts, arrows, traps are early hunting methods before the introduction of dogs and rifles. Otterhounds are a breed of dog which have been bred from water dogs and scent dogs. A true breed of otterhound is recorded in 1880 and today it is on the Vulnerable Breeds List. Otters and otter habitats are protected since 1978 and successful reintroduction has increased numbers. Otter hunting is now regarded as part of our hunting heritage past.
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