About Tooth & Claw

For many people, predators are symbolic of a wildness we once knew, they are key to the ecological integrity of our countryside. They embrace notions of nobility and power. They make us feel good. For others, predators represent competition for our game interests and pose a threat to our domesticated animals. They are an inconvenient drain on resources and compromise our leisure pursuits. They have no place in our orderly lives where man has dominion over nature.

Very few of us with an interest in the British countryside remain indifferent about predators. We all have views on how, or whether, they should be managed. Our opinions are influenced by myth, culture, politics and economics. Emotion too plays its role and the fact that predators kill other animals to survive can provoke extreme reactions in us.  

So how does Britain really feel about its wild predators and do our attitudes towards these charismatic creatures afford us a window on our changing relationship with the natural world? These are some of the questions that Tooth & Claw sets out to answer.

Discussions over fox hunting, bird of prey poisoning and even the return of wolves have always been contentious and are dogged by entrenched opinions. Solutions often lack imagination and predators have become political symbols; pawns in battles between different socio-economic or special interest groups. Such divisive debate often ignores biological fact and the animal itself becomes lost in the political melee.

Managing predators in Britain today is really about managing people’s perceptions – what they believe, what they value and how they interact with nature. We are all affected by predator-prey relationships. These natural processes help shape our landscape and the species that live within it. Us included.

Tooth & Claw ultimately asks questions of ourselves: our fears, our prejudices, our inconsistencies. We are reminded of our place in nature - as the most powerful predator of all.

Watch the Tooth & Claw author video

• For an insight into Tooth & Claw from the project authors Peter Cairns and Mark Hamblin watch video»