Letter: Cruel to be kind

Sir: It's difficult to understand the fuss over alleged attempts by the Sinnington Hunt to increase the fox population by building artificial earths (report, 11 February). All hunters desire a plentiful quarry species whether they be shooters, anglers or fox-hunters. Shooters go to extraordinary lengths to breed as many game birds as possible.

The problem for fox-hunters is that the farming communities they rely on regard their quarry as a pest. Therefore hunts need to strike a balance between quarry conservation and pest control. Could it be that the antipathy of the farming community is more to do with the hunt's enthusiasm for breeding foxes rather than reducing their number?

GEOFF STOVOLD

Tunbridge Wells, Kent