Hmmmm Clive - "The synergy of man and dog is one reason why we have evolved" - what is a fox- so it's not a dog? Have you seen a tame fox? if so what is the difference apart from it's scent gland to any other dog? As for disease ridden you are just quoting the pro hunting lobby - not all foxes are disease ridden, just as all humans aren't. Regarding Badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis, there are just as many vets who can furnish proof that it's the badgers who are the victims, catching it off cattle, hence Bovine Tuberculosis and not Meles Tuberculosis. A lot of the early badger corpses on the road were the result of badger baiters hitting them over the head with spades once they saw their terrier was coming off worse, also if the badger managed to get away they would shoot it in the hind legs so the dog had a better chance. I've seen dogs with their lower jaw torn off from fighting a badger, not a pretty sight. The badger still lost its life though with a fractured skull from the spade. I'm not a hunt protester but I do find it amazing how Mother Earth managed all those eons without mans intervention. The worse part was man evolving to become top of the food chain, nothing wrong in that until they crossed over from killing for food to killing for pleasure. BTW Clive, most hunts people ARE townies as the pro hunters like to call protesters as if they are a sub human species with no intelligence. For the record the Animal Liberation Front are a species of sub humans because they dont even think out their actions like releasing Mink into the wild or digging up a persons grave and stealing the bones.