Chris Packham: There's no need for fox culling (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Chris Packham: There's no need for fox culling
10:08am Monday 11th February 2013 in News
Picture by Danielle Connor
WILDLIFE presenter Chris Packham said culling of foxes was not needed - because people encouraged them into towns by throwing food on the ground and into bins.
The Southampton nature expert was talking after reports that a baby had been attacked by a fox in London.
The child's mother was alerted by his screaming and rushed into his room to see his hand lodged "halfway down the animal's throat".
Surgeons were able to reattach a finger and he was said to be recovering well.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said more must be done to tackle the growing problem of urban foxes.
He said: "They may appear cuddly and romantic but foxes are also a pest and a menace, particularly in our cities.
"This must serve as a wake-up call to London's borough leaders, who are responsible for pest control.
"They must come together, study the data, try to understand why this is becoming such a problem and act quickly to sort it out."
But Chris Packham said culling was not needed.
He said instead people had to stop throwing food on the ground and into bins since that was contributing to a rises in numbers in urban areas.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said the only reason a fox would attack is due to fear.
She said: "It's extremely unusual for foxes to attack young children or anyone.
"It's not typical fox behaviour at all. Foxes will come closer to a house if there are food sources. Then they can become quite bold, but they usually do back off and run away when there's people around."
The issue of foxes attacking humans has divided the public, with many sceptics questioning recent cases amid fears of a backlash against urban foxes.
Comments(15)
FriendsofKC
says...
10:23am Mon 11 Feb 13
HRH of Boscombe
says...
11:02am Mon 11 Feb 13
twynham wrote:I don't agree with his fox opinion but Boris is the best mayor London's had since I can remember.
Irony Alert. . Boris describes foxes as "they appear cuddly and romantic but are also a pest and a menace". . Much how DC would regard BoJo methinks!
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It's the tory pro-fox hunting media like the Sun that's a pest and a menace.
suzigirl
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11:24am Mon 11 Feb 13
twynham
says...
11:33am Mon 11 Feb 13
HRH of Boscombe wrote:Which opinion don't you agree with, the one quoted above or his column in the Torygraph 1 week ago?.
twynham wrote:I don't agree with his fox opinion but Boris is the best mayor London's had since I can remember.
Irony Alert. . Boris describes foxes as "they appear cuddly and romantic but are also a pest and a menace". . Much how DC would regard BoJo methinks!
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It's the tory pro-fox hunting media like the Sun that's a pest and a menace.
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“My instinct tells me that foxes are everywhere, and that they are more numerous and bolder than ever before. But the deeper I dug into fox-on-cat violence, the more doubtful I became. Foxes go for vulnerable critters. They might go for your toes if you were lying in a stupor, but only because they failed to grasp that your toes were attached to a large and potentially violent human being. They might go (once in a blue moon) for a baby, but only because a baby is defenceless.
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I thought it was a blue moon last month!.
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Also, not a patch on Ken.
Derf
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2:13pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Letcommonsenseprevail
says...
7:40pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Letcommonsenseprevail
says...
7:42pm Mon 11 Feb 13
suzigirl wrote:And they make great glacier mints. And biscuits.
Love foxes - leave them alone!
Phixer
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8:46pm Mon 11 Feb 13
snake hips
says...
10:19pm Mon 11 Feb 13
suzigirl
says...
9:07am Tue 12 Feb 13
snake hips wrote:I don't like snakes!
Take a rifle to the menace.. Chris packham desperate for a bit of media exposure if that was your child I bet you would change your views then..
s-pb2
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12:28pm Tue 12 Feb 13
snake hips wrote:If we were to take a rifle to anything or anyone we consider a menace i doubt there would be anyone left
Take a rifle to the menace.. Chris packham desperate for a bit of media exposure if that was your child I bet you would change your views then..
HRH of Boscombe
says...
2:52pm Tue 12 Feb 13
twynham wrote:Lol some toddler gets it's fingers nibbled and it's pro Ken. How many cyclists were KILLED by his bendy busses?
HRH of Boscombe wrote:Which opinion don't you agree with, the one quoted above or his column in the Torygraph 1 week ago?. . “My instinct tells me that foxes are everywhere, and that they are more numerous and bolder than ever before. But the deeper I dug into fox-on-cat violence, the more doubtful I became. Foxes go for vulnerable critters. They might go for your toes if you were lying in a stupor, but only because they failed to grasp that your toes were attached to a large and potentially violent human being. They might go (once in a blue moon) for a baby, but only because a baby is defenceless. . I thought it was a blue moon last month!. . Also, not a patch on Ken.twynham wrote: Irony Alert. . Boris describes foxes as "they appear cuddly and romantic but are also a pest and a menace". . Much how DC would regard BoJo methinks!I don't agree with his fox opinion but Boris is the best mayor London's had since I can remember. . It's the tory pro-fox hunting media like the Sun that's a pest and a menace.
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I lived in London through red Kens reign. There's a lot of very good reasons he never stood a chance of being re-elected and never will.
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I like Boris' stance on this. He makes his own opinion (right/wrong) but he's not using it as a platform to bring back fox hunting for the toffs like certain editors of certain papers.
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Parents should just look after their children a bit better. I'm sure the odd squirrel, dogs or cats have had a few kids fingers this year but it doesn't make the news because there's no agenda for the newspapers.
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We should dump the pro-hunting toffs in the Aylesbury Estate and watch the hoodies hunt and rip them apart with their pitbulls. What's the difference?
danielleconnor
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7:40pm Tue 12 Feb 13
http://www.facebook.
com/#!/photo.php?fbi
d=493109734061036&se
t=pb.228564090515603
.-2207520000.1360697
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snake hips
says...
8:50pm Tue 12 Feb 13
suzigirl wrote:Charming!!
snake hips wrote:I don't like snakes!
Take a rifle to the menace.. Chris packham desperate for a bit of media exposure if that was your child I bet you would change your views then..
twynham says...
10:23am Mon 11 Feb 13
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Boris describes foxes as "they appear cuddly and romantic but are also a pest and a menace".
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Much how DC would regard BoJo methinks!