SIR - L Spiteri spreads a deal of confusion regarding the shooting of game and foxes.

Game birds such as pheasant are easily brought down by just three or four pellets from the many fired from a shotgun cartridge. Should a bird not be killed instantly, it will be rapidly retrieved by a dog and dispatched.

Shooting a fox poses a number of problems which L Spiteri fails to understand. To begin with, the fox is nocturnal, which places the shooter at great disadvantage. Using a high-powered rifle is effective but requires a large area free from public access to be safe. The shotgun avoids this problem because it has a short range but can be off target by a few centimetres. Consequently, a fox can escape carrying three or four pellets wounds from which it will later die.

The fox will continue to be controlled by farmers and gamekeepers. They have the skills needed with firearms and field craft to do the job - but none would guarantee a clean kill. The only method that never left a wounded fox suffering was hunting, but this has now been banned. In simple terms this Government made hunting a criminal offence in spite of animal welfare, not because of it.

JON BURGESS,

Malvern.