Manners maketh hunters
From Mr J. N. P. Watson Sir: David Welch (`Cruel, cowardly and boorish', 23 March) is indeed unfortunate if, when at home in Somerset he informs fox-hunters that they are not welcome, 'I am usually abused, sometimes threatened and invariably told that I do not understand the ways of the countryside.' During my 22 seasons (1969-91) as hunting correspondent of Country Life, when I travelled throughout the British Isles attending meets and riding (or running, in the case of beagles) with the various packs of hounds — fox, deer and hare — I very rarely encountered rudeness, arrogance or bad manners. Nor did I observe such dialogue between Masters, hunt staff and followers and landowners, farmers and smallholders. Indeed, I would say that the hunts are celebrated for their courtesy.
J.N.P. Watson
Horsham. West Sussex
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