A dog's breakfast

Ed Cook is unimpressed with the Scottish government's Hunting with Dogs Bill, which he says will prevent him and others doing essential control in good time

For years I’ve dreamed of moving to Scotland. I love the terrain and the sea, especially to the west. I hoped that one day a croft would be mine. I spend a lot of time in Scotland for work and for my hobbies; it offers a lot for me. Then I heard the news.

Scotland has been kind to me and I’ve worked across quite a bit of the country over the years while controlling rabbits. Needless to say, my dogs have played an important role in me doing my job properly. They ensure that my work is carried out effectively – cost effectively and ethically – without the need for chemicals such as cyanide or when other methods are likely to fail.

In the combat against pests, both native and introduced, dogs are without a doubt the most valuable tool and have supported man from day dot. They are much more important than any other tool in my arsenal and are truly versatile. They are focused on the job and have the best lifestyle anyone could wish for them.

Attribute

The most important attribute is their ability to find the rabbits, which can be in thick cover that I can’t access or in a warren, pile of rubbish or suchlike. The next quality is being able to catch rabbits while working alongside ferrets and nets, which speeds up affairs and enables me to complete a job more efficiently. The next talent I value is having a dog that can flush to gun or hawk, or simply run the rabbit down and make a retrieve live to hand.

Many think that hunted animals are ripped limb from limb. Not so. The rabbits the dogs catch are let go and it’s us who despatch them — we want a whole, saleable product, not a bag of bits.