If Dr Kenneth Tinker (Letters page, 19 November) had his way and the Hunting Act 2004 was scrapped and the ridiculous concept of fox hunting with packs of hounds really happened in urban areas, thousands of cats, small dogs and other pets would be slaughtered by rioting packs of hounds, children would be terrified and endangered, gardens wrecked and scores of hounds killed on the roads and railway lines.

The idea is totally stupid. The Government and London councils spent 40 years (from the 1940s and into the 80s) and millions in tax and rate-payers money, quietly attempting to exterminate London's foxes.

Finally the idea was abandoned because there were more foxes at the end of the exercise than when it started!

The operation was originally felt necessary because of the risk of rabies entering Britain and getting into the urban fox population. Now that risk has virtually disappeared and as foxes are not dangerous and are not a heath risk, there is no reason to kill foxes.

Dr Tinker's ignorance of fox behaviour is appalling. I have studied foxes for more nearly 40 years and I suggest that he, and any other anti-fox ranter, takes a look at the new web site thefoxwebsite.org set up by Bristol University's School of Biological Sciences, the world authority on urban foxes. The polls indicate that 80 per cent of Londoners are happy to share their environment with foxes, despite the occasional nuisance.

John Bryant
Humane Urban Wildlife Deterrence
6 Royal Avenue
Tonbridge
TN9 2DA