REGARDING Tim Bonner’s letter concerning hunting where he claims that many packs now follow a trail. In reality, based on hundreds of reports from wildlife crime investigators, we are seeing very little evidence of genuine trails being laid or followed and for the most part we believe trail hunting is used as a false alibi to avoid prosecutions for illegal hunting.

In relation to ‘managing’ wildlife populations, foxes are predators that play an essential part in maintaining a healthy eco-system and in fact benefit farmers.

They predate on animals that damage human crops and in doing so are estimated to save British crop farmers £7 million per year (McDonald et al, 2003).

Mr Bonner hoped that the proposed amendments to the Hunting Act earlier this year would have been successful.

In reality, these proposed amendments would have resulted in a return to hunting by the back door. Being able to use more dogs would have made it almost impossible to prosecute the illegal hunting of foxes with a pack of hounds – the opposite of being ‘more humane’.

IFAW was very pleased to see that cross-party political support for protection of the Hunting Act again defeated plans for amendments to be introduced.

It is important to remember that the ban on chasing or killing foxes with a pack of hounds was introduced because the overwhelming majority of the UK public find such cruelty abhorrent.

A return to legal hunting of foxes with hounds would serve only one real purpose – to satisfy the bloodlust of the minority.

PHILIP MANSBRIDGE

UK Director International Fund for Animal Welfare