NO surprise at what happened to Chris Packham in Malta, arrested and held for five hours because of filming evidence of how shooters are killing thousands of our migrating birds, the charge being it is infringing on their privacy.

Sounds familiar, like the mounted fox killing fraternity in the UK still killing foxes yet claiming they are trail hunting, accusing anyone getting evidence of harassment.

These groups who enjoy killing for fun think they own the wildlife to do as they please with it and talk about rights.

This is absurd, our wildlife and its habitat is biodiversity to be treasured and understood, respected not treated as some object to abuse for a day’s fun.

Supporters of such people make all manner of mealy-mouthed claims that they oppose badger-baiting, yet demonise the badger regarding bovine TB and killing songbirds etc etc, giving badger-baiters and terrier men some sort of justification that they are dealing with vermin, a convenient term used to justify persecution of any of our wildlife.

The reason there are not many prosecutions for badger-baiting is that even if caught around badger setts, they claim they are after foxes, so as long as the fox is persecuted and used as a scapegoat for human failings and to give the fox killing fraternity their excuses, badger-baiting will never be tackled seriously.

I do not use the word hunting with any of these groups because they are not true hunters but people who enjoy killing for fun.

What I call a hunter is what I saw in Africa 60-odd years ago. A villager goes out and tracks an animal for hours, often walking many miles then, when the opportunity arises, kills his prey with a sense of respect as food for his family and village, not like the soft living people we have who inflict cruelty and suffering on our wildlife for the sheer pleasure of it .

David Thomas, Hisomley, Dilton Marsh