Fox rips cats head off

‘This fox had ripped the head off our cat'

Janet Richardson has seen how bloodthirsty the urban fox can be. And
she wants it hunted down
By Newsdesk


PETS being torn limb from limb and fears a baby could be savaged next
have led residents to call for hunting on the borough's streets.

Janet Richardson says urban foxes are running out of control and must
be destroyed, whatever it takes.

Hungry vixens in The Mead, Beckenham, have been known to leap through
open windows to steal kitchen scraps and, when confronted, snarl and
snap angrily at anyone who dares tackle them.

Mrs Richardson's patience with the sly intruders finally snapped when
one of them quite literally ripped apart the family pet, a ginger tom
called Anu.

She said: "My nine-year-old son Samuel came home to the most
distressing and grisly scene. A fox had torn the head off our cat.
There was blood everywhere. It was like a massacre.

"For a youngster to have to face this is appalling. Within one week
three cats have been butchered by foxes, their heads torn off and
various body parts left strewn about the place. These foxes have
learnt to hunt in packs to corner cats, they're acting like wolves in
the wild." Mrs Richardson, 43, says they are breeding out of control
and all efforts to control them have failed but claims Bromley Council
has washed its hands of the problem and refuses to get involved.

The research director at the School of Integrated Health, University
of Westminster, has written to Jacqui Lait MP pleading with her to
bring the problem to the attention of Parliament.

In her letter she said: "My nine-year-old son found our pet headless
and torn apart by the foxes. I am sure you can imagine how distressing
this was.

"As the foxes increase, and competition for food becomes harder, it
can only be a matter of time before this happens to a small child.

"The council claims it is unable to treat foxes as pests and,
therefore, does not provide a removal service. Is this due to
government policy or is it simply that they have no statutory
obligation to treat foxes as pests, so choose not to deal with the
problem?" Mrs Richardson says 10 years ago you would only see an odd
fox in Beckenham but last year a local pair had seven cubs and this
year they have produced another six.

"There doesn't seem to be any answer to keeping their numbers down and
if hunting them with hounds was practical, I would certainly consider
it." A spokesman for Bromley Council's environmental health department
confirmed it does not consider foxes to be pests and its officers do
not deal with them.

The only advice it could offer was to put down rags soaked in Jeyes
Fluid.

If residents still have problems the council recommends they contact
A1 Pest Control, in Dartford.

Peter Roberts from A1 insists "foxes are on the vermin list and need
to be controlled".

His suggested methods include, trapping, shooting, poisoning, gassing
or hunting with lurcher dogs.

Anne Holmes from the League Against Cruel Sports said: "This is a new
one on me but it fits very nicely with the pro-hunting lobby's efforts
to vilify the fox in towns and the country.

"There is no reason to believe incidents are happening often enough,
or are severe enough, to suggest foxes are a real threat.

"We could well be seeing the latest publicity stunt from the
pro-hunting lobby who just want to find ways to justify their cruel
and barbaric sport. I doubt we'll see hounds racing across
Blackheath." Trevor Williams from the Fox Project, a charity dedicated
to the protection, rescue, and advocacy for the wild fox in south east
England, said: "It will cause traffic chaos. It's bad enough in the
country but in town it will be crazy.

"They trespass enough in the countryside, so in an urban area it will
be worse. They will be breaking the law every 100 yards.

"I reckon the hounds will end up killing more cats than they will
foxes."

"Alterego" wrote in message
om...
'This fox had ripped the head off our cat'

Janet Richardson has seen how bloodthirsty the urban fox can be. And
she wants it hunted down
By Newsdesk


PETS being torn limb from limb and fears a baby could be savaged next
have led residents to call for hunting on the borough's streets.

Janet Richardson says urban foxes are running out of control and must
be destroyed, whatever it takes.

Hungry vixens in The Mead, Beckenham, have been known to leap through
open windows to steal kitchen scraps and, when confronted, snarl and
snap angrily at anyone who dares tackle them.

Mrs Richardson's patience with the sly intruders finally snapped when
one of them quite literally ripped apart the family pet, a ginger tom
called Anu.

She said: "My nine-year-old son Samuel came home to the most
distressing and grisly scene. A fox had torn the head off our cat.
There was blood everywhere. It was like a massacre.

"For a youngster to have to face this is appalling. Within one week
three cats have been butchered by foxes, their heads torn off and
various body parts left strewn about the place. These foxes have
learnt to hunt in packs to corner cats, they're acting like wolves in
the wild." Mrs Richardson, 43, says they are breeding out of control
and all efforts to control them have failed but claims Bromley Council
has washed its hands of the problem and refuses to get involved.

The research director at the School of Integrated Health, University
of Westminster, has written to Jacqui Lait MP pleading with her to
bring the problem to the attention of Parliament.

In her letter she said: "My nine-year-old son found our pet headless
and torn apart by the foxes. I am sure you can imagine how distressing
this was.

"As the foxes increase, and competition for food becomes harder, it
can only be a matter of time before this happens to a small child.

"The council claims it is unable to treat foxes as pests and,
therefore, does not provide a removal service. Is this due to
government policy or is it simply that they have no statutory
obligation to treat foxes as pests, so choose not to deal with the
problem?" Mrs Richardson says 10 years ago you would only see an odd
fox in Beckenham but last year a local pair had seven cubs and this
year they have produced another six.

"There doesn't seem to be any answer to keeping their numbers down and
if hunting them with hounds was practical, I would certainly consider
it." A spokesman for Bromley Council's environmental health department
confirmed it does not consider foxes to be pests and its officers do
not deal with them.

The only advice it could offer was to put down rags soaked in Jeyes
Fluid.

If residents still have problems the council recommends they contact
A1 Pest Control, in Dartford.

Peter Roberts from A1 insists "foxes are on the vermin list and need
to be controlled".

His suggested methods include, trapping, shooting, poisoning, gassing
or hunting with lurcher dogs.

Anne Holmes from the League Against Cruel Sports said: "This is a new
one on me but it fits very nicely with the pro-hunting lobby's efforts
to vilify the fox in towns and the country.

"There is no reason to believe incidents are happening often enough,
or are severe enough, to suggest foxes are a real threat.

"We could well be seeing the latest publicity stunt from the
pro-hunting lobby who just want to find ways to justify their cruel
and barbaric sport. I doubt we'll see hounds racing across
Blackheath." Trevor Williams from the Fox Project, a charity dedicated
to the protection, rescue, and advocacy for the wild fox in south east
England, said: "It will cause traffic chaos. It's bad enough in the
country but in town it will be crazy.

"They trespass enough in the countryside, so in an urban area it will
be worse. They will be breaking the law every 100 yards.

"I reckon the hounds will end up killing more cats than they will
foxes."


Every animal is in the food chain. Even Humans. Prehistoric man was
somewhere in the middle, but modern, 21-st century man is at the top. All
animals are subjugated to man--and particularly to the male of the species.

--Geno

"Alterego" wrote in message
om...
'This fox had ripped the head off our cat'

Janet Richardson has seen how bloodthirsty the urban fox can be. And
she wants it hunted down
By Newsdesk


PETS being torn limb from limb and fears a baby could be savaged next
have led residents to call for hunting on the borough's streets.

Janet Richardson says urban foxes are running out of control and must
be destroyed, whatever it takes.

Hungry vixens in The Mead, Beckenham, have been known to leap through
open windows to steal kitchen scraps and, when confronted, snarl and
snap angrily at anyone who dares tackle them.

Mrs Richardson's patience with the sly intruders finally snapped when
one of them quite literally ripped apart the family pet, a ginger tom
called Anu.

She said: "My nine-year-old son Samuel came home to the most
distressing and grisly scene. A fox had torn the head off our cat.
There was blood everywhere. It was like a massacre.

"For a youngster to have to face this is appalling. Within one week
three cats have been butchered by foxes, their heads torn off and
various body parts left strewn about the place. These foxes have
learnt to hunt in packs to corner cats, they're acting like wolves in
the wild." Mrs Richardson, 43, says they are breeding out of control
and all efforts to control them have failed but claims Bromley Council
has washed its hands of the problem and refuses to get involved.

The research director at the School of Integrated Health, University
of Westminster, has written to Jacqui Lait MP pleading with her to
bring the problem to the attention of Parliament.

In her letter she said: "My nine-year-old son found our pet headless
and torn apart by the foxes. I am sure you can imagine how distressing
this was.

"As the foxes increase, and competition for food becomes harder, it
can only be a matter of time before this happens to a small child.

"The council claims it is unable to treat foxes as pests and,
therefore, does not provide a removal service. Is this due to
government policy or is it simply that they have no statutory
obligation to treat foxes as pests, so choose not to deal with the
problem?" Mrs Richardson says 10 years ago you would only see an odd
fox in Beckenham but last year a local pair had seven cubs and this
year they have produced another six.

"There doesn't seem to be any answer to keeping their numbers down and
if hunting them with hounds was practical, I would certainly consider
it." A spokesman for Bromley Council's environmental health department
confirmed it does not consider foxes to be pests and its officers do
not deal with them.

The only advice it could offer was to put down rags soaked in Jeyes
Fluid.

If residents still have problems the council recommends they contact
A1 Pest Control, in Dartford.

Peter Roberts from A1 insists "foxes are on the vermin list and need
to be controlled".

His suggested methods include, trapping, shooting, poisoning, gassing
or hunting with lurcher dogs.

Anne Holmes from the League Against Cruel Sports said: "This is a new
one on me but it fits very nicely with the pro-hunting lobby's efforts
to vilify the fox in towns and the country.

"There is no reason to believe incidents are happening often enough,
or are severe enough, to suggest foxes are a real threat.

"We could well be seeing the latest publicity stunt from the
pro-hunting lobby who just want to find ways to justify their cruel
and barbaric sport. I doubt we'll see hounds racing across
Blackheath." Trevor Williams from the Fox Project, a charity dedicated
to the protection, rescue, and advocacy for the wild fox in south east
England, said: "It will cause traffic chaos. It's bad enough in the
country but in town it will be crazy.

"They trespass enough in the countryside, so in an urban area it will
be worse. They will be breaking the law every 100 yards.

"I reckon the hounds will end up killing more cats than they will
foxes."


Every animal is in the food chain. Even Humans. Prehistoric man was
somewhere in the middle, but modern, 21-st century man is at the top. All
animals are subjugated to man--and particularly to the male of the species.

--Geno

| Janet Richardson has seen how bloodthirsty the urban fox can be. And
| she wants it hunted down
| By Newsdesk

Some years ago a large number of cats disappeared in a certain area of our
town. My friend who has lost her cat too is sure it was a fox because she
has seen the place where it lives and also cubs playing there. May/June
seems to be the time when foxes need extra food to feed the young ones.
In our town a lot of cats disappear, some blame the new Chinese rastaurants,
I blame the uncontrolled growth of the fox population.
Now recently we have had an increase of foxes where I live too, they have
been seen by the woman who delivers the papers, the dog chased one out of
our garden too. I lost two rabbits, my neighbour and a friend did too.
(Before that we had no problem for 15 years.)
Now, last week I heard an incredible fight outside, and in the morning the
cat was gone. She did not snuggle into my bed like she always did before. I
was very sad, eventually I decided to get a kitten from a farm. As I walked
outside, cat appeared and disappeared again like a ghost. But I had clearly
seen her and she was fine. Since then I have a totally different cat. She
used to always hang around in the garden, was never far away. Now she never
stays here anymore, is always on the go, but brings home 1-2 mice per day.
When she is here she stretches out in a very deep sleep on the sofa.
Well, foxes *do* attack cats. About little children I don't know. They would
not be left unattended anyway, would they?

Carola

| Janet Richardson has seen how bloodthirsty the urban fox can be. And
| she wants it hunted down
| By Newsdesk

Some years ago a large number of cats disappeared in a certain area of our
town. My friend who has lost her cat too is sure it was a fox because she
has seen the place where it lives and also cubs playing there. May/June
seems to be the time when foxes need extra food to feed the young ones.
In our town a lot of cats disappear, some blame the new Chinese rastaurants,
I blame the uncontrolled growth of the fox population.
Now recently we have had an increase of foxes where I live too, they have
been seen by the woman who delivers the papers, the dog chased one out of
our garden too. I lost two rabbits, my neighbour and a friend did too.
(Before that we had no problem for 15 years.)
Now, last week I heard an incredible fight outside, and in the morning the
cat was gone. She did not snuggle into my bed like she always did before. I
was very sad, eventually I decided to get a kitten from a farm. As I walked
outside, cat appeared and disappeared again like a ghost. But I had clearly
seen her and she was fine. Since then I have a totally different cat. She
used to always hang around in the garden, was never far away. Now she never
stays here anymore, is always on the go, but brings home 1-2 mice per day.
When she is here she stretches out in a very deep sleep on the sofa.
Well, foxes *do* attack cats. About little children I don't know. They would
not be left unattended anyway, would they?

Carola

Well, we have urban foxes where we live in London, as well as lots of
outgoing pet and stray cats, and our solution is simple: we feed foxes.
Perhaps if those idiots would help them out rather then looking for some
murdering solutions, life would be better for everyone.

Gee

Well, we have urban foxes where we live in London, as well as lots of
outgoing pet and stray cats, and our solution is simple: we feed foxes.
Perhaps if those idiots would help them out rather then looking for some
murdering solutions, life would be better for everyone.

Gee

"Gee" dumped this in news:aXAsc.4$3s5.3@newsfe4-win
on 25 May 2004:

Well, we have urban foxes where we live in London, as well as lots of
outgoing pet and stray cats, and our solution is simple: we feed foxes.
Perhaps if those idiots would help them out rather then looking for some
murdering solutions, life would be better for everyone.

Feeding wildlife isn't the answer, either. It only makes them fear humans
less, and adds to the problems when we intermingle. Our pets intermingle
with us and they become food for the wildlife a step up the chain. The only
answer I see isn't going to happen. Quit tearing down their habitats to
make even more environment for us. That is why wildlife comes closer to us.

--
Cheryl

"Gee" dumped this in news:aXAsc.4$3s5.3@newsfe4-win
on 25 May 2004:

Well, we have urban foxes where we live in London, as well as lots of
outgoing pet and stray cats, and our solution is simple: we feed foxes.
Perhaps if those idiots would help them out rather then looking for some
murdering solutions, life would be better for everyone.

Feeding wildlife isn't the answer, either. It only makes them fear humans
less, and adds to the problems when we intermingle. Our pets intermingle
with us and they become food for the wildlife a step up the chain. The only
answer I see isn't going to happen. Quit tearing down their habitats to
make even more environment for us. That is why wildlife comes closer to us.

--
Cheryl

Cheryl wrote in
:

"Gee" dumped this in
news:aXAsc.4$3s5.3@newsfe4-win on 25 May 2004:

Well, we have urban foxes where we live in London, as well as lots of
outgoing pet and stray cats, and our solution is simple: we feed
foxes. Perhaps if those idiots would help them out rather then looking
for some murdering solutions, life would be better for everyone.

Feeding wildlife isn't the answer, either. It only makes them fear
humans less, and adds to the problems when we intermingle. Our pets
intermingle with us and they become food for the wildlife a step up the
chain. The only answer I see isn't going to happen. Quit tearing down
their habitats to make even more environment for us. That is why
wildlife comes closer to us.


London is about the same size as New York (Greater London has more
population than the NY boroughs), and it is surrounded by a buffer zone
called the 'green belt', where the only way to get permission to build is
to first demolish an existing building.

If foxes are displaced from outside the green belt, that is a long way
outside London.

My parents had a family of foxes living at the bottom of their garden, less
than 10 miles outside London. They lived under a pile of logs. You could
watch the cubs play from the house, but you couldn't get close.