Gamekeeping legend Geoff Garrod explains how foxshooting has moved on in his lifetime, from the days of the fox drive, via the birth of lamping to modern thermal and night vision.
This is the third in our series of Keeper's Diary Revisited, where Geoff looks back at DVDs he made with John Pyle 15 years and more ago, to see how the job has changed - and reflects on what will change over the next 20 years.
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Why shoot foxes?
The British red fox is widespread across the whole of mainland Britain and Ireland. The best estimate of the current British fox population is 240,000 adults in spring, to which a production of 425,000 cubs is added annually. The fox has no natural predator and for the population to remain stable, 425,000 foxes must therefore die each year.
Fox numbers need to be managed and controlled to prevent the predation of lambs, piglets reared outdoors, free range and domestic poultry. Foxes can also have a significant impact on vulnerable species of ground nesting birds such as black grouse, partridge, lapwing and curlew (Bealey, Green, Robson, Taylor & Winspear, 1999).
In order to protect such species while they are breeding, conservators and gamekeepers aim to control fox numbers, particularly from late winter to early summer. Foxes are also controlled around pheasant and partridge rearing and release pens in late summer and autumn. Overall, the direct cost to UK agriculture from fox predation has been estimated at £12 million annually (UK Government figures)
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23 авг 2022
