152 WILD ANIMALS WORTH STALKING 



he was about a year old he took to killing poultry^ 

 and got so bad at this that it was sudden death to 

 any fowl that went within reach of his chain ! One 

 day some one on the estate was passing through 

 the yard when his Terrier (who was very keen on 

 Cats) hustled one of the farm Cats near Reynard's 

 kennel. It proved too near, for he sprang out, 

 seizing her across the shoulders and killing her 

 instantly. My friend told me he had lost five or 

 six Cats in the same way, and I have heard since 

 that this Fox got so bad at this kind of thing that 

 his kennel has had to be enclosed with wire. 

 Although he was well and regularly fed his love of 

 slaughter seemed as if it could not be resisted 

 when the opportunity came. 



Tame, or so-called tame, Foxes are by no means 

 rare. There is always a demand for them in most 

 of the Midland hunts, not only for litters of cubs, 

 to turn down in the Summer for the Winter's 

 hunting, but also for old Foxes to release late in 

 the hunting season, where the supply has become 

 exhausted through too many being killed by 

 hounds, or more likely still, where some shooting 

 man, who has kept his coverts closed to hounds 

 until the end of the shooting season, and who never 

 keeps a good wild Fox if he can help it, through 

 fear of losing some of his game, does not like to 

 have the reputation of being drawn blank when 

 his coverts are open to hounds. 



