For 35 years I have researched and studied foxes, both urban and rural, from Scotland to Devon.

I have managed a wildlife rescue centre and for the last five years have provided a fox deterrence and wildlife consultancy service in London and the south east.

Naturally I have been following the recent stories, letters and comment in your newspaper and perhaps I could respond to some of the points made.

Firstly, fox attacks on cats are rare. For instance successive generations of a fox family have been born in my neighbour’s garden for 15 years and there has never been any conflict between them and the dozen or so cats which live within five households.

That said, I have been involved in cases where there have been fights between foxes and cats, sometimes instigated by the foxes (usually in defence of cubs) and often instigated by the cats defending their territories.

Fortunately, cases where such conflict results in serious or fatal injuries are extremely rare but I accept that is of little consolation to owners.

Linda Piper (News Shopper, July 16) states “no-one argues foxes are not a pest in the countryside and that they need to be culled humanely”.

On the contrary neither the RSPCA nor any other wildlife protection body accepts there is any need for culling foxes.

At the top of their food-chain fox populations are, and always have been, self-regulating and virtually entirely dictated by the availability of food in defended territories.

John Bryant Humane Urban Wildlife Deterrence