THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. XV.] SEPTEMBER, 1891. [No. J 77. 



THE FOX, VULPES VULGARIS. 

 By the Editor. 



Plate II. 



Against all British wild animals that are not edible, with one 

 exception, the hand of man is constantly raised. Against Polecats 

 and Stoats, Martens, Weasels, Otters, Badgers, Hedgehogs, and 

 Squirrels, to say nothing of Rats, Mice, and Voles, an unceasing 

 warfare is carried on, and the wonder is that the list of British 

 mammals is so long as it is. The Bear, the Wolf, and the Wild 

 Boar have already succumbed, and the day probably is not very 

 far distant when the Wild Cat and the Marten will also be 

 extinct. 



The one exception is the Fox. He alone is protected ; not by 

 any written law, but by custom and common consent ; and the 

 man who would kill a Fox in any other way than by hunting him 

 with hounds, would be regarded as guilty of a crime, branded as 

 a " vulpecide," and held up to obloquy by all sportsmen. 



Why is not the same consideration shown to the Otter ? He 

 also is hunted with hounds, of which there are at least a dozen 

 packs in the United Kingdom ; but alas ! he is also shot, trapped, 

 or worried to death upon every opportunity; nor is there, at 

 times, humanity enough displayed to spare even the female Otter 

 and young if they happen to be encountered. It is strange that 

 those who pride themselves on supporting what is termed the 

 legitimate sport of hunting wild animals with hounds, do not 

 insist as much on the protection of Otters as they do of Foxes, 



ZOOLOGIST. — SEPT., 1891. 2 P 



