A farming couple in United States acquired a property. They soon found it was infested with rats. Despite visits by the Pest Control Officer twice a year, the problem didn't go away. As the Pest Controller said, even if he completely cleared the farm of rats, probably impossible anyway, the very next day, a swarm from another area would move in. A farm is very attractive to rats.

Then, the farmer said, a wild FOX decided to incorporate his farm in its territory. The farmer encouraged the fox by feeding it each evening and now, two years later, he never sees a rat. The Farmer said the Pest Control Officer inspected the farm and said the only place he found signs of rats was in the ceiling of the dairy and milking area. This area had been denied to the fox. After hearing this, the farmer left the doors to the dairy open for a couple of nights. Thereafter there was no sign anywhere of rats.

This particular farmer has since persuaded eight other farmers to take injured or orphaned foxes onto their property. As a consequence, these people too are now free of rats.

This is a true story. It illustrates the value of each species and how the balance of Nature works... Broadly speaking, the natural world is divided into predator and prey - each keeps the other to a healthy and manageable size. When a prey species becomes too numerous, it eats out the foliage which xustains it and in the end starves. When a predator species becomes overblown, as our species is, particularly if it is powerful, greedy, and destructive, as our species is, the system breaks down another way.. Our system is breaking down fast.