PMB: your source for that? Written contemporary records, or a modern guess? People's motivation for their actions always seems to me a difficult one to assess, particularly as it is a subject most people might not always be totally honest about, or even aware of.And how many fox hunters, or wood planters, actually recorded their opinions on their motivation, anyway? My impression is that coverts were generally for game preservation, not for foxes, but that is not based on any particular evidence. Could you enlighten us?