Sir, The problem of big carnivores in towns (June 4) is not new. At a small upcountry station in Uganda in the 1950s our house was surrounded at night by hyenas. Our dachshund decided one night to drive them off. He lasted about ten seconds. A week later our labrador disappeared: late at night we heard a yelp and a scuffle. At dawn I searched the donga behind the house and found signs of dog and leopard. We were not surprised. We were in the hunters’ territory, not they in ours.
James Lang Brown
North Brewham, Somerset