FARMING AND FOXHUNTING I938 



forfeit should be imposed on the Hunt if they failed 

 to catch the fox. It is not only what foxes kill, but 

 they do so much harm in frightening the rest of the 

 poultry. Rabbits should be their menu. I am 

 unhappily fixed in my land as to be between two 

 Hunts, and not either will accept claims for damages 

 or pay up." There are others who are much less 

 tolerant and who seem to cherish a bitter resentment 

 against the local Hunt. 



G. W. W. : Yes, I know there are people like 

 your correspondent who are very bitter against Mr. 

 Reynard and often make suggestions for his exter- 

 mination, but as in the case of your correspon- 

 dent these suggestions are often more romantic 

 than practical. I wonder if they have ever looked 

 at this question from another angle. You know it's 

 not very difficult to establish a good argument that 

 foxhunting is a great assistance to the poultry farmer 

 and not a menace. 



A. H. : Oh, how do you make that out ? I 

 begin to think you are romancing a bit now. 



G. W. W. : No, not at all. Listen for a moment. 

 Some few days ago I was looking up the Meets in 

 The Times, and in doing so I made a calculation of 

 the advertised packs. I find 131 packs of fox- 

 hounds destroying foxes. Give each pack a kill 

 of 100 for the season and I think you will find a 

 total of 13,100 accounted for. Just imagine for a 

 moment the damage another 13,000 foxes could 

 inflict upon the poultry keeper if foxhunting were 

 not kept going in full swing. Steel traps are horrible 

 things, and illegal, and poisoning is also against the 



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