Kill to conserve
Sir: Paul Johnson's blast against shooting (And another thing, 6 October) overlooks an important fact. The wildlife in our countryside would be far less diverse without the land management which shooting brings. Research shows that where land is managed for game birds, other species thrive. There are more wrens, blackbirds, thrushes, robins, flycatchers, warblers and finches in areas where gamekeepers control foxes, crows and magpies, feed gamebirds and look after woodland, hedgerows and field-margins. Most gamekeepers are knowledgeable and instinctive conservationists. Responsible game management is good for nature conservation as a whole, as more and more nonshooting conservationists and objective commentators appreciate.
Teresa Dent Chief executive, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fordingbridge, Hampshire
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