GILES Bradshaw, do you really believe that hunting is about chasing the old and weaker fox? Hunting is sport and animal management, Points of view, April 4.

If that is the case, why do hunts have earths on their land so that they can have cubs for hunting? Even in the earliest days, hunts preserved foxes so they could be hunted. Years ago thousands of foxes were imported from the Continent and sold at Leadenhall Market.

Today foxes in Britain are still treated appallingly and it's time to change our attitudes.

Foxes cause few problems and most people like them, so it is rather surprising that we treat them so badly.

There is a vocal minority in Britain that still tries to promote the view that foxes are vermin and as such they deserve all they get. The rest of Europe seems to have much more enlightened views about foxes.

Many European countries have a close season for foxes. They consider it inhumane to kill one or both of the adults and leave the cubs to starve.

We are one of the very few countries in Europe where it is still legal to snare foxes. The level of suffering this involves both to the foxes and other wild domestic animals that get caught in these cruel traps is immense.

Most European countries have competency tests before people are given a licence to shoot. In Britain anyone can shoot a fox. If you wound it, no matter. To many people, a wounded fox is a dead fox because they believe erroneously it will die of blood poisoning.

It's not much of a record for a country that prides itself on its animal standards.

Cruelty to wild animals is no different than to our domestic pets. They suffer and feel pain and fear just the same.

Kathy Moyle

East Budleigh

(by post)