Hunting ban leads to ‘catastrophic’ decline of foxes
There is little evidence that backs up the ‘most humane way to control fox numbers’, vets warn
FOX populations have plummeted in the wake of the hunting ban, vets have warned, as they called for the Government to launch a scientific review. More than 100 professionals have written to ministers warning that “despite decades of intense debate”, there is no research which backs up the arguments on most “humane way to control fox numbers”. They said that the need for a scientific review is pressing as numbers have plummeted since the 2004 ban and, in some rural areas, red foxes are now approaching extinction.
The vets warned this is because landowners have resorted to shooting to control the population, killing some of the fittest and vixens with cubs which is “contrary to good conservation practice”. “Advocates of the 2004 ban on hunting would not have expected their efforts to protect foxes to result in this catastrophic decline,” the letter added.
Signed by 103 vets from across the UK, led by Louisa Cheape of the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management, the letter noted that all major landowners accept that fox numbers have to be controlled.
The letter comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed that Daniel Greenberg, the barrister, who drafted the Hunting Act 2004, has raised concerns the law was driven by “moral outrage” rather than concerns for animal welfare.
The Burns Inquiry, which was set up to examine the facts before the ban was introduced, concluded there was “very little by way of scientific evidence” about the best method of control, while a similar report for the Scottish Government said the evidence was “inconclusive”. The vets added that there is little evidence on which methods cause the foxes the least harm and note that the Burns Inquiry found that “the welfare of foxes... could be affected adversely, unless dogs could be used”.
The letter added: “Compounding the need for research is the decline in rural fox numbers since the hunting ban was introduced.
“The 35 per cent fall in the overall fox population over the last 10 years masks the extent of the even sharper fall in rural fox numbers because [of ] a rapid rise in urban numbers.
“In some parts of the countryside, red foxes are approaching extinction. Environmentalists believe they should be considered ‘a species of conservation concern’.” Developments in technology such as thermal telescopes and “a tougher ‘zero tolerance’ attitude among land managers, is behind the plunge in rural fox populations”, the letter said.
It suggested that “the most humane method of controlling fox numbers should be based on selection for the weakest animals, minimising the possibility of wounding, and preventing the orphaning of dependent young”.
“Perversely, hunting with hounds was much better at achieving this than any of today’s legal methods,” it adds.
The number of foxes killed by hunts was limited, and the hunt dispersed the foxes that survived from sensitive areas, the vets said. “This issue is urgent because the welfare of foxes is being badly compromised. Environment departments must ensure this is assessed scientifically – away from the noise generated by political campaigners,” they concluded. “It is dispiriting that two decades ago the debates on fox hunting were driven overwhelmingly by political instincts. Today’s politicians need to recognise that the Hunting Act has failed to gain acceptance among rural communities.”
The Environment Department declined to comment when approached by
‘Two decades ago the debates on fox hunting were driven by political instincts’