THE British Association for Shooting and Conservation tells Echo readers that foxes are not bred for sporting purposes, Study shows a fall in gun ownership, Letters June 11.

I am surprised that the BASC appear to be unaware that artificial earths may be found in many hunting counties, to encourage foxes to breed by providing them with a suitable habitat.

Furthermore, the Masters of Foxhounds Association (Lord Daresbury) wrote to masters and hunt chairmen in March 2004, complaining about a shortage of foxes and berating landowners who did too little to encourage the animals to breed. The MFA is the governing body of almost 200 fox hunts in the United Kingdom.

Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance in March 2004, wrote to Lord Daresbury warning that the letter sent to masters and hunt chairmen would be damaging if it were made public.

Mr Hart took exception to the suggestion that hunt masters ought to put pressure on members to maintain fox populations: "This can only be interpreted by the outside world as suspicious — the artificial enhancement of a 'pest species' for purely sporting benefit. We would be ridiculed (if the remarks were published) in parliament and the media."

The title of The British Association for Shooting and Conservation is, in my view, absurd. If they are sincere in wishing to conserve our wildlife I suggest the best way to do it is to refrain from shooting birds and animals for sport.

John Phelps

Argyll Road, Exeter