Mike Powell recounts the busiest spell of a foxer’s calendar – the age-old practice of pest control during the lambing season

There was a time, many years ago, that practically all the farmers in my area kept sheep in varying numbers, though it was in fact a predominately dairy region – now things have changed, however. Dairy has all but disappeared and sheep farming has been taken over by a small number of farmers who still keep relatively large numbers for this part of the country. In the old days, most lambing was carried out in the spring and in the open. This, like so many farming methods, has changed and, generally, lambing takes place a little later and is generally carried out indoors. This helps to prevent fox attacks, but where young lambs are about in numbers and the ‘by products’ of the birthing process are there for the taking, there will always be foxes that will try their luck.

There is one farmer, over whose land I have carried out fox control for 60-odd years, who carries on the old ways, but it is uncertain how much longer this will continue. The farm is located in an idyllic valley, very much as you would imagine a Devonshire farm to be; thatched cottages and a fairly laid-back way of life that has been much the same for generations.

However, as with most things, change occurs, and as we shall see, this farm and the way of life there is no exception.