Foxed

So, urban foxes are now a problem, are they? Well, whose fault is that? Why are there now so many more foxes than the countryside can feed?

Pretending to ban foxhunting was what New Labour did instead of redistributing wealth in the right direction, and in order to cajole disgraceful MPs into voting for the Iraq War. Mind you, there had been majorities to ban it in the Major years. And its heartlands are Yorkshire, Wales, the Midlands, Devon and Cornwall, which until last year returned few or (in the Cornish case) no Conservative MPs for three successive General Elections, and continue to return too few for that party to command an overall majority.

Things might finally hit home when stags and hares start to wander the streets of London and other conurbations. I don’t know if you have ever eaten fox, although I suppose it is perfectly possible, and killing foxes is of course absolutely necessary if you eat lamb, chicken or eggs, or if you wear wool. But I have certainly eaten both venison and hare many, many times. And very delicious they are, too. So city-dwellers might soon come to see the most obvious practical reason to kill them. That, and deer on the roads during the rush hour.