YP Letters: Alternatives to hunting far crueller to the fox

I WRITE in answer to Derek Russell (The Yorkshire Post, December 30) on the subject 
of foxhunting. I’m a keen champion of the fox and have studied foxes in the wild for over 30 years.

All the alternative control methods are, in my view, far more effective and far more cruel than hunting with hounds.

Mr Russell and other well-meaning people seem to be under the ludicrous delusion that if hound hunting is completely outlawed the wild country fox will live happily ever after. Not so.

Shooting often results in wounded foxes dragging themselves away to die of gangrene several days later. Poisoning can result in great sickness if a non-lethal dose is ingested.

Gassing often involves a pipe from a tractor exhaust being put into a blocked foxhole and the occupants slowly suffocated by carbon monoxide.

If Mr Russell can set aside his class war references to ‘toffs’ (a ridiculous slur that no longer applies), which of these alternative control methods would he prefer?

Many foxes effectively escaped from the hunt.

The alternatives are far more efficient and are heavily decimating the wild country fox population.