MUCH energy and column inches have been expended in the feverish debate about the Hunting Act since it was passed by Parliament eleven months ago. But established Westcountry artist Virginia Pope who is well known for her paintings of horses and other countryside subjects has written a new book tackling the issue not from the human point of view, but by imagining it through the eyes of the horses, hounds and foxes involved. Huntin? Bill is a mix of verse and prose, paintings and sketches and reflects on the implications of banning hunting from the point of view of the animals. The first book on European hunting was written by Gaston Febus, Count of Foix in 1387. Over the following six hundred years, much more has been written about the subject. Now, Virginia Pope has become one of the first to speak up, as a new era in the history of hunting literature opens. For riders with the hunt and their supporters, February 18, 2005 ? when the disputed law came into force ? was an historic day and this book captures the sense of turmoil they must have felt on that day well. The centrepiece of the book are the adventures of a bright fox called Russet Brown, a fable for hunt supporters which celebrates the tradition of fox hunting, culminating in a dramatic depiction of the chase at one of the last legal meets. Through Russet Brown the reader also takes a journey in a fox?s day taking in craftily snatching a light breakfast from the farmyard, a jaunt into town contemplating life as an urban fox and a summit meeting with his furry kin. The story is well-written with each of the foxes given individual characteristics, the simple illustrations are a joy. As well as the fox?s tale, the book also contains prose devoted to the ?ounds and ?osses and the author?s pen and ink sketches and four colour plates with a hunting theme. Explorer and author Robin Hanbury-Tenison describes the story as being ?told with great passion and beautifully illustrated.? l Huntin? Bill is published by Withe and Whortle and is available for £10 (including P & P) from Dornaford Studio, Exbourne, Okehampton, EX20 3QS. Please make cheques payable to Withe and Whortle.

RICHARD WEVILL