Fox 1 : Hounds 0

Hound near Sonachan Photo: Jon Haylett

Fox and hounds route : Jon Haylett

Foxes have been killing sheep again, not lambs but adult ewes so a fox shoot was organised yesterday. In Scotland it is legal to use hounds to flush out the fox and then drive it towards the guns. The fox must be shot and not killed by the hounds.

Soon after the hounds started at Achosnich they picked up a fox in a patch of woodland at Garbh-dhail, this was the start of a marathon drive over the hills to Sanna, along the shore to Portuairk, up the Streathan Breigh burn , over to Sanna once more and then back to Grigadale.


When I measured it on the map the fox and hounds must have run 16km in about four hours.  Jon's map of the route is as I saw it and is not necessarily accurate

The result......  Fox 1 : Hounds 0.

I imagined the fox or a tag team of foxes sitting in the bar at the Sonachan Hotel having a pint in the evening well pleased with themselves.