Fox rot about Charlie

Patrick Hook responds to claims that fox numbers are dangerously on the wane

- Patrick Hook

An article that caused some concern among shooters in my area of the south-west was recently published in The Telegraph. It claimed that since the Hunting Act 2004 came into effect, fox populations have been in catastrophic decline and that urgent action was required to remedy the situation. It said the solution was to overturn the act and allow dogs to hunt foxes again.

While they were at it, the people quoted in the article made lots of other assertions, including that since "foxes are small, agile and often shot at a distance, wounding rates can be high". They also said that they didn't like snaring.

Letter

Apparently 103 vets signed the letter sent to ministers, but as there are currently nearly 25,000 registered vets in the UK, that means that 99% didn't sign it. The article was clearly written by someone who doesn't know much about shooting (apparently most of us are equipped with thermal weapon sights), which to my mind doesn't give it much credibility. It also states that landowners are "killing some of the fittest animals and vixens with cubs, which is contrary to good conservation practice" and that "the welfare of foxes could be affected adversely unless dogs could be used".