Letter: Foxhunting

Sir: Foxhunting consists of nothing more wicked than the use, under controlled conditions, of the fox's natural predator to maintain a natural balance. The aspect that seems to cause squeamish town dwellers so much anguish, the fact that once killed the fox is torn to pieces and eaten by the pack, is in principle no different to what happens around 90 per cent of dinner tables up and down the land every Sunday, at about midday.

Is it possible that the two sins of the hunting, shooting and fishing brigade are: conveying the mistaken impression that they are all "toffs"; and tearing away the comforting veils of abattoir, supermarket and clingfilm and giving town folk an uncomfortable glimpse of what homo sapiens really is - the most ruthlessly successful of all the predatory omnivores.

J A DAVIS

Bookham, Surrey