No guarantees with this most wily foe

Over the years, fox shooting kit has become very hi-tech but many of the basic principles for success remain the same, says Liam Bell

- Liam Bell

It will come as no surprise that foxes are the UK’s biggest predator of both ground-nesting birds and released game.

Because we don’t have large apex predators to assist with their control, as they do in some other parts of the world, it is down to us.

If we don’t control foxes — and control is the key word here, not exterminate — our returns on released birds will drop and wild partridges — if you are lucky enough to have any — won’t survive. Foxes should be controlled year round and at the very least in spring and summer if you rely on reared birds. Not forgetting, of course, that foxing to protect gamebirds protects other ground-nesting birds such as lapwings and curlew too.

Add on issues for free-range egg producers and for those who lamb outdoors, and you can see why foxes need to be controlled.

Shooting with a rifle is the most common method. You can snare foxes but snares don’t suit everyone; people don’t always have the time to run snare lines or there may be worries about the catching of nontarget species.

You can catch them in cage traps but I don’t know of anyone who has had any real success with this method. You might catch the odd one but rarely enough to make any tangible difference. You can drive them to standing Guns, but you need to be super organised and have a crew of people to help. Using terriers can be effective but only for seasonal control.