urban fox cull-get a grip

[elaine2206]

hi all, i dont believe it was a fox at all.. and why did it take them so long to come to aid...maybe they went out and dont know themselves what happened?? Quite fishy if you ask me.

[STYRBJORN]

I have been doing some elementary arithmetic. Consider the following, all taken from relatively neutral sources.
Rural fox population:- app 225,000
Urban fox population:- app 33000
There is consensus that this is a bit of a guesstimate so round down to
Total fox population 250,000
Total dog population:- 10.4 million, round down to 10m. Thus we have some 40 x as many dogs as foxes, and other things being equal should expect 40 x as many recorded attacks by dogs as by foxes.
Of course things are far from equal. Dogs live in close proximity with people while even urban foxes largely keep out of our path. As against that, foxes are wild animals, dogs (supposedly) domesticated.

Next I looked at recorded attacks by both species.

Total recorded attacks by foxes since 2000:- 4
Total recorded fatal attacks by foxes:- 0

In 2000 234 people were hospitalised as a result of dog attacks. The figure shows a year on year rise to 373 from March 2008 to March 2009. I could't find a total for the decade but averaging out gives 300 per year.
Total recorded fatalities from dog attacks:- 6 in the last 5 years. All under 6 years old.

So multiplying the number fox attacks by 40, we would expect to see around 160 attacks by dogs in the last 10 years. We see double that number every year. Dogs are 20 x as dangerous to people as foxes per head of population of each.

Now, I consider a that gross overstatement but the figures make a complete mockery of any demand for an urban fox cull. Some rural foxes will kill chickens, new-born lambs, even new-born calves, and create havoc with ground nesting birds. They need to be controlled in such cases. But urban foxes? Don't be so blurry silly.

STYRBJORN

[STYRBJORN]

PS I should have made clear that taking the numbers overall you are 800 times as likely to be injured by a dog as by a fox. 20 x the risk x 40 x the population.

STYRBJORN

[Adrian Vygus]

I agree with the sentiment here but! once Reynard and his family had finished going through the bins, leaving bits of dead animal, poo and pee all around the place the wisdom of having the Fox moved on would have looked better.

[Adrian Vygus]

Okay so a trawl through news paper reports shows that this is becoming or has become more common, a fox bit a pensioner in Edinburgh among other stories. My brother had his trousers bitten by a wounded Fox he tried to rescue, but thats another story . If lights go on in a darkened room any critter will stare first, to clear it's vision, and why would the Fox be scared if people had been feeding it? remember the song about the woman and the Snake?

Some folk are openly inviting wild life into their homes, how is a Fox going to know the differance twixt a 'freindly' house and a hostile one? and why the hell would you expect a Fox to enter your house? Did it go through the door or enter through an open window?

Before those less versed in the abilities of a Fox to jump and climb scoff at this don't bother. I'm not anti Fox but I am procaution!

[chittling boy]

AV you talk sense but then again I see you live north of the border so more of a real world up there.Not down yer nowadays.Too many Bunny Huggers and Armchair Environmentalists brought up on Walt Disney.Styrbjorn,a nice lot of
facts and figures but normal logical folk can work that out in seconds without
all that rigmarole.Elaine2206,sorry,it happened and who knows,it could happen again.Eeyore,don't pamper the kids more than what they are now.Too
soft and mamby pamby.Just listen to the kids even in their thirties and forties
who whinge and moan if they got to work up a sweat or get dirty.Thank Christ there are still some with guts to do the dirty work in Afghanistan etc.Yes being brought up in the forties and fifties far better than now.No electric so no
telly or computers to distract yuh.Books,books,books.All holidays spent camping or sleeping in barns.I can assure yuh,you get a great love and affinity with nature that way even if you are eating it as well.None of us got bit by fox either but we realised what they could be capable of.

[STYRBJORN]

Chittling Boy -
We may be getting at cross purposes here. On the one hand, I find the idea of a "cull" of urban foxes just plain dam' silly. Control of local foxes is a whole different ball game, and perfectly acceptable to me. If your garden is being raided by smelly flea-ridden mangy ratbags by all means get rid.

Once you lose the local feral teenagers, then take out the foxes . . .

STYRBJORN

[Purplepixii]

Originally Posted by styrbjorn

once you lose the local feral teenagers, then take out the foxes . . .

Styrbjorn

hahaha love it!

[faz]

Originally Posted by posie

hi faz, see post no 46 onwards on page 2 of this thread...Posie..

thanks posie i missed that lol

[kaytee]

There are two sides to every story as we all know,
On one side the babies injuries would have distressed any mother. There was a baby monitor and they did hear the cries and probably had a slight delayed reaction as any parent would tell you when the unexpected happens - you freeze a bit at first then act.lots of people leave doors open and we often think we are immune to things until our oblivion is shattered by something.
On the other side, a cub probably took a wander out of curiosity, saw an arm sticking out the cot and gave it a tug..
The large piblicity is probably related to the babies' dad being head of finance of the production company that made the film but if you have connections you use them.He also said on the film that he's not out to bring back fox hunting
So I am sitting firmly on the fence on this one!