What evidence is there about the need to control the population of foxes, deer, hares and mink?
Deer: I hope I have explained the need to move and disperse deer, as part of controlling them in my answer to question 1; moving the deer being far more important than the simple matter of numbers controlled / killed. Foxes: We annually lose some lambs to foxes. The greater risk of loss to foxes is to the pheasants belonging to our shooting tenant. Hares: Here my interpretation of control has to include the re-introduction of hares. I am glad to say we have a few more hares on this farm now. We have succeeded in reducing the excess numbers of predators such as crows and foxes (which previously decimated the hares) as part of the function of managing the Shoot and, in the case of foxes, in conjunction with the foxhounds. The main reason there aremore hares about now is that the local beagle pack have introduced hares from other areas in surplus, and these hares are now fortunately breeding and multiplying. I realise however that these hares are only present on this farm because we have
