Time has come to cull urban foxes: News Shopper comment

9:49am Wednesday 13th February 2013 in Lewisham

Should urban foxes be culled? Should urban foxes be culled?

A HORRIFIC attack on a baby is what News Shopper warned would happen when we called for urban fox hunting 10 years ago.

Now, as one-month-old baby Denny Dolan lies recovering in hospital, we say something like this must never be allowed to happen again.

Badgers are set to be culled in two pilot areas this summer with the eventual aim of protecting cattle by wiping out bovine tuberculosis. But nothing is being proposed to stop the menace of foxes.

They have been responsible for countless incidents in the News Shopper area in recent years and after the attack on Denny we say enough is enough.

Now it is time for the foxes in our towns to be trapped and humanely killed so their existence on our streets becomes a thing of the past.

We believe urban fox hunting is the best solution to an ever more menacing problem.

After he suffered one of the country’s worst-ever fox attacks, Denny Dolan’s parents kept a constant vigil at the one-month-old’s hospital bedside.

Denny’s head was stitched and his hand bandaged after surgeons completed a lengthy operation to reattach a finger which had been reportedly bitten off by a fox.

His mother Hayley Cawley, of Dagonet Road, Downham, said she found the fox with her newborn son’s hand in its mouth after she went to investigate a noise.

What do you think about culling urban foxes? Are you in favour or against? Add your comments below and vote in our poll.

Comments(41)

Chrisbitz says...
10:14am Wed 13 Feb 13

Family Dogs are a much worse problem - They're attacking kids every week. Fox attacks are once in a blue moon.

Surely you'd manufacture more controversy by calling for a cull of dogs?

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PaulErith says...
10:14am Wed 13 Feb 13

By this ridiculous argument being put forward by the anti-fox editor, surely we should also cull dogs. There have been way more cases of attacks by dogs than there have been foxes over the last 10 years!

Obviously I don't believe that dogs should be culled, but just trying to get some perspective on it. Fox attacks remain extremely rare.

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PaulErith says...
10:19am Wed 13 Feb 13

Chrisbitz wrote:
Family Dogs are a much worse problem - They're attacking kids every week. Fox attacks are once in a blue moon. Surely you'd manufacture more controversy by calling for a cull of dogs?
Great minds think alike! :)

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joertmclark says...
11:02am Wed 13 Feb 13

Agreed. The amount of dog attacks outweighs those of foxes. We keep building on foxes territory - what do you expect?

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the wall says...
11:15am Wed 13 Feb 13

I agree with both the above comments ( PaulErith and Chrisbitz ). This anti fox propaganda is straight from the gutter press. Yellow journalism at best, they presents little or no legitimate well-researched information and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers and get people hyped up into a blood frenzy.

Has no one at the NS listened to what any of the experts are saying?
Put your money where your mouth is NS and offer to pay for the cull. Then you will have every animal lover in this country on your door step.

This reminds me of the scene in Jaws when every man dog and monkey go out to kill the shark. The NS want their revenge and any fox will do.

Shameful!

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Gypo.Joe says...
11:29am Wed 13 Feb 13

The Shopper could start its own fox hunt pack. Horse and hounds etc.
Big buxom broad arsed ladies in jodpurs and boots on Sunday mornings galloping down Petts Wood Road.

I would deffo turn up to watch in me wax coat and green wellies.

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Colin.smith says...
11:30am Wed 13 Feb 13

Foxes are a menace! Im all for a cull - and there will always be some hippy animal lover saying its wrong - would you think the same if a fox attacked your children ?

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joertmclark says...
11:56am Wed 13 Feb 13

Colin.smith wrote:
Foxes are a menace! Im all for a cull - and there will always be some hippy animal lover saying its wrong - would you think the same if a fox attacked your children ?
Do you agree with culling dogs then?

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PaulErith says...
11:58am Wed 13 Feb 13

Colin.smith wrote:
Foxes are a menace! Im all for a cull - and there will always be some hippy animal lover saying its wrong - would you think the same if a fox attacked your children ?
As previously mentioned, we keep building on their natural habitat, so what do you exect. It's not a case of being a 'hippy animal lover' as you put it. It's about a bit of respect for the animal kingdom, and also recognising realistic threat before considering a cull.

As also mentioned, there's way more dog attacks so do you think they should also be culled? I've read about someone being killed by swans - should we kill them all off too? The "threat" from foxes is pretty much on the same level. Attacks are very rare.

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Gypo.Joe says...
12:01pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Please stop it, lets not facts get in the way of a good witchhunt.

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the wall says...
12:12pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Bee/ Wasp stings have killed more people.

Parents have killed more children than foxes.

Lets kill everything until we feel better.

Good name for a pub The Fox and Finger.

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Polly Staight says...
12:13pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I would like to encourage a re-introduction of fox-hunting in the UK.

To avoid re-making the same mistakes previously observed, such as its innate exclusiveness, everyone should be encouraged to participate.

I am thinking BMX bikes and "Staffies" chasing through the alleyways and estates, as well as Clive Smithering-Smithingt
on and his pals on horseback at the Quorn.

The point of foxhunting is to keep these pesky critters under control in a humane fashion, shooting (and likely wounding) a fox is such a cruel thing to do.

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bnorther says...
12:21pm Wed 13 Feb 13

The vast majority of foxs are harmless. The worst they do is leave a poo somewhere in your garden and maybe pull out your bins. Big deal.

Leave them alone, and be glad we still have some wildlife to see in an otherwise sterile city.

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Peony says...
12:38pm Wed 13 Feb 13

For the people who rear chickens and regularly find them slaughtered they are a menace. For the dear old lady who feeds them and watches them from her garden they are just wonderful. You either hate them or love them. Me? I remain firmly on the fence on this one.

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michellecally says...
12:51pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I have a problem with the reporting on this incident, on the BBC it states the baby was dragged from a cot and on the NS site it was propped up on the sofa! A window was wide open when reported on the radio news and now a door was left open! Why was a four week old baby left unsupervised and was it actually a fox! This is just the excuse the media needs to start a witch hunt for foxes. Who drove them into the towns in the first place!! Newshopper reporters should seriously go out and find some serious and important stuff to write about.

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PaulErith says...
1:14pm Wed 13 Feb 13

If there is a cull, can we at least have a campaign to save Basil Brush - He was one of my favourites growing up!

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Cllr Colin Smith says...
1:15pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Colin.smith wrote:
Foxes are a menace! Im all for a cull - and there will always be some hippy animal lover saying its wrong - would you think the same if a fox attacked your children ?
Lest anyone cares, and without seeking a trademark on a common name, this was not my quote.

I only mention it now to hopefully avoid any further abusive emails !

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j.j. says...
1:22pm Wed 13 Feb 13

bnorther wrote:
The vast majority of foxs are harmless. The worst they do is leave a poo somewhere in your garden and maybe pull out your bins. Big deal. Leave them alone, and be glad we still have some wildlife to see in an otherwise sterile city.
Contrary to what you and a lot of others (are led to) believe, these rare cases biting is not the main problem with foxes. Foxes have in their guts organisms that are very dangerous to humans and there is a health risk every time they poo in someone's garden. A child losing his or her sight or being paralysed from the waist down is a very high price to pay for the pleasure of having these furry friends in our gardens.

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PaulErith says...
1:38pm Wed 13 Feb 13

j.j. wrote:
bnorther wrote: The vast majority of foxs are harmless. The worst they do is leave a poo somewhere in your garden and maybe pull out your bins. Big deal. Leave them alone, and be glad we still have some wildlife to see in an otherwise sterile city.
Contrary to what you and a lot of others (are led to) believe, these rare cases biting is not the main problem with foxes. Foxes have in their guts organisms that are very dangerous to humans and there is a health risk every time they poo in someone's garden. A child losing his or her sight or being paralysed from the waist down is a very high price to pay for the pleasure of having these furry friends in our gardens.
There are also similar dangers with dog poo. Similarly, some plants are poisionous. Maybe we should cull all animals, remove all plants, and stick our children in oxygen tanks.....or we could just use common sense and realise that actually it's very rare for people to get hurt by these things. We can protect our kids by taking reasonable precautions and common sense without over reactions.

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Eagles_Man says...
2:49pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Yes, it's time to play 'NewsShopper sub-editor':

"Badgers are set to be culled in two pilot areas this summer with the eventual aim of protecting cattle by wiping out bovine tuberculosis."
Replace 'eventual' with 'stated'.

"They have been responsible for countless incidents in the News Shopper area in recent years and after the attack on Denny"
Insert 'allegedly' before 'responsible' and 'reported' before 'attack'.

Sorry to state the bl**ding obvious, but:
(a) we don't know if this was a fox or not.
(b) culling won't work
(c) as others have said, where does that leave dogs, abusive parents, cars, etc?

The NS really does seem to be milking this one.

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the wall says...
2:52pm Wed 13 Feb 13

PaulErith wrote:
j.j. wrote:
bnorther wrote: The vast majority of foxs are harmless. The worst they do is leave a poo somewhere in your garden and maybe pull out your bins. Big deal. Leave them alone, and be glad we still have some wildlife to see in an otherwise sterile city.
Contrary to what you and a lot of others (are led to) believe, these rare cases biting is not the main problem with foxes. Foxes have in their guts organisms that are very dangerous to humans and there is a health risk every time they poo in someone's garden. A child losing his or her sight or being paralysed from the waist down is a very high price to pay for the pleasure of having these furry friends in our gardens.
There are also similar dangers with dog poo. Similarly, some plants are poisionous. Maybe we should cull all animals, remove all plants, and stick our children in oxygen tanks.....or we could just use common sense and realise that actually it's very rare for people to get hurt by these things. We can protect our kids by taking reasonable precautions and common sense without over reactions.
Well said Paul.

Daffodils will kill a small child
(it has the poison lycorine,, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves) These are all over parks.

Lets kill Daffodils!

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bnorther says...
3:15pm Wed 13 Feb 13

If you are using the claim that the cull of Badgers will "wipe out bovine tuberculosis" I suggest that you, as a journalist, do some proper research.

Culls have been show to *INCREASE* bovine TB. This is mainly due to the fact that badgers stay pretty much in their own area. When there are culls, either the remaining badgers run away in fear or their "patch" increases due to less badgers being around.

So unless you cull every Badger, bTB will increase. Source:http://www3.i
mperial.ac.uk/newsan
deventspggrp/imperia
lcollege/newssummary
/news_13-7-2011-9-59
-29?newsid=100586

Also - remember bTB came originally from cattle, and gave it to the Badgers, not the other way around. It's farming, and the movement of catlle all around the country that is to blame for bTB, not the Badgers.


This current government is set on re-introducing fox hunting & Badger culling. The current intervention by Bromley Council, running around radio stations and papers, when this alleged attack took place in Lewisham is a shameful hijack of this story for political gain.

Why is Councillor Tim Stevens speaking to the press about something that has nothing to do with him?

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the wall says...
3:34pm Wed 13 Feb 13

You could always hunt foxes, just not with dogs.

Well said bnorther, I was going to say about the bTB but I was keeping some powder dry.

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polan123 says...
3:42pm Wed 13 Feb 13

If people didn't leave food out for foxes & treat them as cuddly pets there wouldn't be a problem. They are beautiful wild animals to be respected as such. WHY DO WE NEVER SEEM TO GET THE DNA RESULTS AFTERWARDS? The British public are beginning to question this .

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nearly right all the time says...
4:52pm Wed 13 Feb 13

If Rabies ever took hold in this country
it would be spread by the Fox population..

Trap them, kill them (humanly)

Keep the numbers down, or we might
just with a disaster on our hands

And for god sake dont feed them!

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the wall says...
5:03pm Wed 13 Feb 13

But there's a vaccine to Rabies and was developed in 1885, then the human diploid cell rabies vaccine was started in 1967.

Just don't feed them is the only good you said in that comment.

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the wall says...
5:04pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Also - A recombinant vaccine called V-RG has been successfully used in Belgium, France, Germany, and the US to prevent outbreaks of rabies in undomesticated animals.

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nearly right all the time says...
5:53pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Try not to use WIKKI, as your research
tool!

See the excellent CDC web site.

Rememember `bird flu" what was the
lead time for the vacine 6-9months?

Also a little knowledge is dangerous!

PS Stay off WiKKi its track record is not very good

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patwoodhouse says...
9:08pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Denny Dolan is not lying in hospital recovering from a fox attack; he is lying there because his parents thought keeping their home safe was someone else's responsibility.

There are thousands upon thousands of urban foxes in our neighbourhoods, so a cull would be impossible. People simply have to take responsibility. Don't feed them for a start. Make sure any open windows are inaccessible to wildlife. Contain your rubbish, making additional trips to your local recycling centre if you have to rather than leaving it to fester on your property. I keep chickens which I free range in my garden during the day and in two years, I have yet to lose one to a fox.

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lemongrass says...
10:10pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I am inclined to think that you dear editor of the Bromley Newshopper should be hunted down for your totally irresponsible front page reporting of the supposed menace from foxes.

I suggest you do a spot of responsible research before you cast foxes as murderous vermin, inciting the yobs of this borough to 'hunt them down.'

Irresponsible dog owners are the real menace to the well being of us all in today's society. Irresponsible dog owners who care nothing for the safety of young children and babies as most of them are iresponsible parents of young children too.

The A&E departments of Bromley hospitals, indeed hospitals across the country, are not filled with 4 week old babies that have been attacked by foxes, but by children torn to shreds within an inch of their lives by out of control family pets. I doubt if you would find one case of an injury from a fox.

This story would never have had the media coverage that it has been given if this attack had not been extremely rare. Hence the shock, horror that a normally respectful and entirely peaceable fox should resort to grabbing a small baby. No one would raise an eyebrow if it had been the family pet.

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mainman says...
11:45pm Wed 13 Feb 13

lemongrass wrote:
I am inclined to think that you dear editor of the Bromley Newshopper should be hunted down for your totally irresponsible front page reporting of the supposed menace from foxes. I suggest you do a spot of responsible research before you cast foxes as murderous vermin, inciting the yobs of this borough to 'hunt them down.' Irresponsible dog owners are the real menace to the well being of us all in today's society. Irresponsible dog owners who care nothing for the safety of young children and babies as most of them are iresponsible parents of young children too. The A&E departments of Bromley hospitals, indeed hospitals across the country, are not filled with 4 week old babies that have been attacked by foxes, but by children torn to shreds within an inch of their lives by out of control family pets. I doubt if you would find one case of an injury from a fox. This story would never have had the media coverage that it has been given if this attack had not been extremely rare. Hence the shock, horror that a normally respectful and entirely peaceable fox should resort to grabbing a small baby. No one would raise an eyebrow if it had been the family pet.
Well said. I think we have a countryside alliance member within the ns
.

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Oldchap says...
7:00am Thu 14 Feb 13

Polly Staight wrote:
I would like to encourage a re-introduction of fox-hunting in the UK.

To avoid re-making the same mistakes previously observed, such as its innate exclusiveness, everyone should be encouraged to participate.

I am thinking BMX bikes and "Staffies" chasing through the alleyways and estates, as well as Clive Smithering-Smithingt

on and his pals on horseback at the Quorn.

The point of foxhunting is to keep these pesky critters under control in a humane fashion, shooting (and likely wounding) a fox is such a cruel thing to do.
So chasing a fox for miles then having it torn apart by dogs is humane?

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Tip-Top says...
8:14am Thu 14 Feb 13

There’s far too much indirect flirting going on here…….Lady28 & Joe…..if there’s one day to make an appropriate reconciliation, then today is the day

;o)

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Bestbaz says...
8:46am Thu 14 Feb 13

Since the rise in takeaways, there has been a rise in Foxes. If people who choose to eat take aways stopped throwing thier uneaten food on roads and pavements foxes would have less food and numbers woudl be reduced.

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Gypo.Joe says...
10:51am Thu 14 Feb 13

Tip-Top wrote:
There’s far too much indirect flirting going on here…….Lady28 & Joe…..if there’s one day to make an appropriate reconciliation, then today is the day

;o)
Mr T you are of course right, today is the day to mend my wicked ways. ;)


Now just for this one special day I'm going to send out this tune for Lou. ( Lady28 ) YouTube this Lou.


Fedde Le Grand - So Much Love (Official Music Video)

All my Love Joe xx

Tomorrow is another day though. :)

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the wall says...
11:09am Thu 14 Feb 13

Gypo.Joe wrote:
Tip-Top wrote:
There’s far too much indirect flirting going on here…….Lady28 & Joe…..if there’s one day to make an appropriate reconciliation, then today is the day

;o)
Mr T you are of course right, today is the day to mend my wicked ways. ;)


Now just for this one special day I'm going to send out this tune for Lou. ( Lady28 ) YouTube this Lou.


Fedde Le Grand - So Much Love (Official Music Video)

All my Love Joe xx

Tomorrow is another day though. :)
That's so swwwweeeeeet!

I was there, you can see me jumping up and down.

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Inspirationalady28 says...
11:13am Thu 14 Feb 13

Thanks Joe, really enjoyed the video and tune..got me up dancing!! I could really get to like you if you were like this more often.. ;O*

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Oldchap says...
3:01pm Thu 14 Feb 13

PaulErith wrote:
If there is a cull, can we at least have a campaign to save Basil Brush - He was one of my favourites growing up!
Boom boom

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Colin.smith says...
10:34am Fri 15 Feb 13

Dont go moaning when a fox attacks you or your kids then ! And dogs are pets , foxes arnt

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Wiggy001 says...
11:56am Mon 18 Feb 13

If there were no food in towns and cities for foxes, do you think they would stay? Of course not. They are only so prevalent in urban areas because people provide them with an easy source of food.

It is a fact that fox numbers multiply to the maximum level that an area can sustain, so the more food there is the more foxes will breed and the larger the surviving litters will be. Therefore, culling foxes will just result in those let breeding faster to fill the "vacuum".

Why do people think a cull is the answer, but not acknowledge that removing their easy source of food would be far more beneficial, cheaper and have the knock-on effect of reducing the number of other vermin such as rats?

It really isn't rocket science.

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Inspirationalady28 says...
2:59pm Mon 18 Feb 13

Wiggy001 wrote:
If there were no food in towns and cities for foxes, do you think they would stay? Of course not. They are only so prevalent in urban areas because people provide them with an easy source of food.

It is a fact that fox numbers multiply to the maximum level that an area can sustain, so the more food there is the more foxes will breed and the larger the surviving litters will be. Therefore, culling foxes will just result in those let breeding faster to fill the "vacuum".

Why do people think a cull is the answer, but not acknowledge that removing their easy source of food would be far more beneficial, cheaper and have the knock-on effect of reducing the number of other vermin such as rats?

It really isn't rocket science.
So I say to all the Downham folk..“Go out and clear up your own back yard and never point a finger at someone before checking yours is clean!”

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