158 THE FOX 



other. Public opinion is changing about foxes in 

 some districts. Formerly, as I have said, the fox 

 represented the farmer's recreation : now he merely 

 means fewer rabbits and hares to shoot. We may 

 injure a man in his business, and he will forgive us ; 

 but interfere with his sport, and his enmity is aroused. 

 The fox is forgiven the damage his pursuit occasions, 

 but the partridges, rabbits, and hares he consumes 

 and drives away are not forgotten. And no doubt 

 it is true that a fox does more damage in an open 

 shooting than in coverts. The animal that can stalk 

 and catch a wild duck can probably catch a pheasant 

 now and again, and is no doubt likely to take a few 

 partridges. We have seen that he can catch hares 

 cleverly, and we know that rabbits are one of his 

 favourite foods. There is, in fact, more excuse for 

 dislike to foxes in the owner or tenant of a small 

 shooting than in the case of those who own or rent 

 many acres. 



But there is one aspect of the fox that saves him 

 from becoming an outlaw, and that is his economic 

 value. If it costs a sovereign to shoot a pheasant, it 

 costs fifty times as much to kill a fox. 



Thus the fox is a valuable animal to the district 

 in which he lives, and his value is increasing. 

 Forty years ago every fox killed in a certain country 



