Having followed the attempt to re-introduce the great bustard to Salisbury Plain, I now understand that 20 were released into the wild from a total of 28 chicks that arrived here from Russia during the summer.

What concerns me is David Waters' statement that, "Losing two within a month to foxes is a lower death rate than had been predicted".

The foxes are not going away, and if this continues, by next spring none would remain alive. What I would like to know is what steps, if any, are being taken to protect these birds, and also what happened to the eight that were not released?

B Baggs

Calne