I often wondered if it was disease that killed the rabbits or whether a passing fox thought it was a good restaurant.
The hunt had never been allowed on the land although they did try once in the 20 odd years I was there.
I've walked my bounds and glanced back to find I was being closely followed by a fox quite often and once by a beautiful big stoat.
We were overrun with voles - they were everywhere. After the snow had covered the fields for a long time if it was a slow melt the voles extensive tunnels under the snow were revealed.
I had about 200metres of river which had fed 6 mills before it got to us, so was more of a stream really, though it had a name. There were bank voles and when we first went there Dippers.
I saw a vole squeezing the water out of his fur, on the opposite bank. So did one of the swans who tried to give him a bit of and enquiring nibble. The little vole launched an attack and drove the swan away with a flea in his ear.
Those fields were not cut or fertilised, just grazed by a variety of animals and supported such a lot of wildlife.
It was a lovely place, though the house was horrible.
We have had at least one albino continuously for around 20 years, I have an old picture of four on the bank at the back of my house at the same time.
I have no objection to a farmer giving one a quick end with a shotgun if its becoming a problem, but a load of hurray Henry's chasing it with dogs and then ripping it to pieces does not quite fit my thoughts on wildlife control. Its a bit like gassing Badgers to control TB, all that they are doing is potentially eradicating a healthy badger set only to allow what may be TB carrying Badgers to move into the vacant territory, it must be easier to just vacinate the cattle. 
