TWO surveys of UK hunts show that the hunting suspension brought about by foot and mouth resulted in significant financial loss to farms from fox predation.
The surveys found that: Normal fox cull numbers were reduced by 4,900 (including gun packs); there were 4,700 calls from farmers asking for assistance with fox damage;
Welsh farms in sheep-rearing areas lost an average £500 in stock through additional predation; some 2,240 days hunting were lost.
Simon Hart, director of the Countryside Alliance Campaign for Hunting, said: "The suspension of hunting has led to many more lamb and poultry losses and to increased fox populations. Other methods of fox control have also been suspended due to foot and mouth so the overall effects will be substantially greater."
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