THE central plank in foxhunting's defence is "pest control," even though they kill only around 3% of foxes. There is little objective evidence that foxes are a significant pest and many hunts have been shown to use artificial earths, and even feed foxes. But the latest revelation demolishes their argument completely.

A leak has shown that earlier this year, Lord Daresbury, chairman of the Master of Fox Hounds' Association, wrote to around 800 leading fox hunters. He complained of a nationwide shortage of foxes and asked them to urge their local landowners to encourage foxes to breed.

What sane person encourages a "pest" to breed? Perhaps His Lordship's shattering own-goal links into the recently publicised fox-dumping tale. This ancient myth is dusted down every time a hunting ban is mooted and never accompanied by any actual evidence. Or perhaps it's the hunters themselves, staging nocturnal round-ups of urban foxes to provide enough for their "sport!"

It's actually just another in a long string of pro-hunt lies, behind which the powerful interests of fox hunting have been happy to hide the equal obscenities of deer and hare hunting, coursing - and the thuggish terrier and lurcher brigades.

Alan Kirby, Protect Our Wild Animals,Churchtown Road, Phillack, Hayle