There are an estimated 18,000 mink in England and Wales. Because of fecundicity and high level of dispersal hunting does not have any significant effect on the mink population. The issues of cruelty and animal welfare are central to the debate about hunting. Animal welfare is concerned with assessing the ability of an animal to cope with its environment. This judgment is distinct from any ethical or moral judgments.
Most scientists agree that deer are likely to suffer in the final stages of hunting.
The available evidence does not enable us to resolve at what point in the hunt the welfare of the deer becomes seriously compromised. In the case of killing, death is not always effected by a single bite to the neck by the lead hound. In a proportion of cases it results from massive injuries to the chest and vital organs. There is a lack of firm scientific evidence on the welfare of a fox pursued, caught and killed above ground by hounds. We are satisfied that this experience seriously compromises the welfare of the fox.