Dr Bradshaw and Professor Bateson reply: We replayed slowly the video of the hounds catching up with the stag which fell during a hunt on 29 August 1995. After many viewings we were convinced that the hounds did bite the stag, although we have stated repeatedly that the control of hounds is generally impressive. Since we submitted our paper to Animal Welfare, a much clearer case of hounds biting a stag has been videoed. This was at Marsh Bridge on 3 April 1999. We doubt very much if this case can be denied or explained away. We do not think this matter of biting is central in the debate about the welfare of the hunted deer, but if it is to be settled, both videos should be analysed by independent experts nominated by the stag-hunts and ourselves.