My poll ...

[Ereiam_jh]

"Red fox's predators are bears, coyotes, lynxes, dogs, hawks, and eagles."

http://www.edu.pe.ca/vrcs/grassroots/1999/grade4/animalngill/laura/food.html

population in Scandinavia during the last 50 years has in part been an effect of the lack of natural fox predators, mainly lynx and wolf Canis lupus

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00172.x

Fox predators. include wolves, coyotes, lynx, wolverine, and eagles

http://www.nps.gov/aplic/ourWildNeighbors.pdf

Fox predators include wolves,. coyotes, lynx, wolverine, and eagles.

http://www.nps.gov/wrst/forteachers/upload/PathwaysToDiscovery.pdf

 

[endymion]

Opportunistic hunts do not control numbers. It's hunts that occur continually that control numbers!!

Seriuosly do you really believe that because you live in the countryside you are somehow equiped with an entire knowledge of the rural history of the U.K at birth?

Some people :grin:

 

[Ereiam_jh]

We were discussing the predation of sick and diseased animals by opportunistic hunters. My point had nothing to do with numerical control of animals.

My point was that wolves, bears and lynx being opportunistic hunters will all take out a sick fox even if foxes are not their main prey animal.

You deny that wolves lynx or bears would catch and kill anything so small as a fox. The fact is that all three species hunt catch and kill animals far smaller than foxes.

The study in Sweden involving the same species also showed that lynx can significantly effect fox numbers, something you deny.

No I don't think I know everything but I can tell complete rubbish when I see it.

 

[k9h]

I enjoy watching the hounds work on the scent (any scent) but when they get to the end of the line & then it suddenly disapears they are confused & rightly so. They dont get rewarded for their work. I know with normal hunting they werent rewarded everytime when they hunted properly but at least they did sometimes.
Fox population will go down as gamekeepers use to "put up" with a certain number of foxes due to theestate being associated with the hunt somewhere. Now that the hunt cant hunt foxes they will just shoot them all & then the ones they do not get a clean kill with, we can then hunt!!
Yes sounds very well thought out the ban to me. 700 hours & tat was the best they could come up with!!

 

[endymion]

We were discussing population control and I said that wolves ect picking off a sick or diseased fox does NOT constitute population control.

Sometimes Giles i think you live in a complete fantasy world.

 

[Ereiam_jh]

We were discussing opportunistic hunters taking out sick and diseased animals with reference to whether that is a more 'natural' and kind death for a fox than dieing of starvation and disease.

That isn't population control.

Maybe you should read people's posts a bit more before replying to them.

Or is it that YOU constantly come back to population control because you don't want to talk about the welfare and health effects of fox predation.

 

[endymion]

See For Endymion.......there's no point having the same debate over two threads.