Ummm, OK, I know I'm about to be shouted at here - and lord knows I'm used to it - but I'd just like to make a small factual observation.
Cubhunting does not consist of throwing foxcubs to hounds. The way it works is this:
In late August/early September the young hounds come back to kennels from being 'walked' at the homes of local hunt supporters. They are taught to operate as part of the pack by being kennelled and exercised with the mature hounds.
At roughly the same time, foxcubs (generally born Feb - Apr) are leaving the family den and learning to hunt for themselves and support themselves. They are often all still in the same close geographical area, though - perhaps the same large wood.
This can create a problem for stock farmers or shoots, since domestic poultry is generally a softer target for young foxes so having three or four of them in close vicinity is asking for trouble.
So those farmers that support hunting will ask hunts to come and disperse/kill some of the young foxes in areas they know there are a number of them.
This gives the chance for the hunt to train young hounds and do the farmers a favour (which is part of their raison d'etre).
These are small, informal meets before the main season starts. From September, perhaps twice a week, the pack (and any followers who can be arsed to get up at 6.00 am) will meet and go to 'draw' (ie run the hounds through) the area which has the foxes in. The hounds will flush out the foxes and catch some. The hunts will generally be shorter (in distance) than full blown hunts later in the season, for several reasons: the young hounds aren't fit for a full hunt and because there are still crops in the ground so you can't go as far. The hunt staff stop the hounds running on for more than perhaps a half mile or so, perhaps confining them to the limits of a large wood.
Typically, the whole thing will be over by about 10.30. The hounds may catch one or two young foxes per week using this technique.
By the way, what we are talking about here is the fox equivalent of adolescents, not children. Obviously that doesn't make any difference to the morality of the exercise - if you believe it's cruel, it's cruel to a fox whatever age it is - but I do think it's worth getting the image of a small cub being thrown to a pack of hounds out of your head, because that is definitely not what happens.
There you go. Form an orderly queue on the left, ladies, to take a pop at me. No pushing at the back