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Cull of foxes is urgently needed

I have thought for a long time the fox population in Southend has grown to a ridiculous number. They are seen frequently during the day, where a number of years ago they were only seen at night.

I have always said these animals are a danger, and now with the recent attack on two small children in East London, my worst fears have come true.

Readers and Southend Council should realise these creatures are a danger to humans as well as other animals.

The council has a duty of care to the people of Southend, and although many readers may disagree with me, a cull of these animals must take place as soon as possible.

Their number should be reduced by at least half.

J Hargreaves
Station Road
Westcliff

...Foxes are a pest and will kill almost anything – lambs, chickens, even cats.

Many are shot every year by farmers. Foxes are known to be crafty animals, so many have resorted to towns where life is safer, food waste is left in black sacks and sometimes even put out for them by householders.

David Barratt
Southbourne Grove
Westcliff

Comments(13)

BASILBRUSH says...
8:29pm Thu 17 Jun 10

Probably a tad knee-jerk. One (very serious) extremely rare incident and it's time to kill the foxes..... Perhaps the fox hunting ban wasn't such a good idea afterall.... Funny that ;)

js86 says...
9:19pm Thu 17 Jun 10

Unfortunately David what you are referring to is nature. The same way i am sure you eat meat at dinner time, the same except your not killing the animals yourself! Now i am by no means an animal activist or vegetarian at that but i have worked with wildlife for a number of years, in paticular foxes. What i find most extraordinary is that everyone has jumped on the cull the foxes bandwagon after an event of which there is no evidence and whereby the mother of the children will not have an investigation carried out! Lets have a DNA test and then see who really bit those babies..... funny that none of the newspaper stories mentioned they had a dog! They are now wasting tax payers money with police protection, what a shambles! Lets hope somebody demands a test before some harmless animals are killed and more money is wasted protecting this ridiculous couple! And let's remember the time of year, there are lots of cubs around at the moment. Let's see some evidence of them being 'a threat to humans' and then you may have a foot to stand on!

Nebs says...
10:46pm Thu 17 Jun 10

js86 wrote:
Unfortunately David what you are referring to is nature. The same way i am sure you eat meat at dinner time, the same except your not killing the animals yourself! Now i am by no means an animal activist or vegetarian at that but i have worked with wildlife for a number of years, in paticular foxes. What i find most extraordinary is that everyone has jumped on the cull the foxes bandwagon after an event of which there is no evidence and whereby the mother of the children will not have an investigation carried out! Lets have a DNA test and then see who really bit those babies..... funny that none of the newspaper stories mentioned they had a dog! They are now wasting tax payers money with police protection, what a shambles! Lets hope somebody demands a test before some harmless animals are killed and more money is wasted protecting this ridiculous couple! And let's remember the time of year, there are lots of cubs around at the moment. Let's see some evidence of them being 'a threat to humans' and then you may have a foot to stand on!
I haven't jumped on the bandwagon. I've always been in favour of shooting the lot of them. They are a nusiance, and they are murderers. Chickens have rights too.

BASILBRUSH says...
2:34pm Fri 18 Jun 10

Nebs wrote:
js86 wrote: Unfortunately David what you are referring to is nature. The same way i am sure you eat meat at dinner time, the same except your not killing the animals yourself! Now i am by no means an animal activist or vegetarian at that but i have worked with wildlife for a number of years, in paticular foxes. What i find most extraordinary is that everyone has jumped on the cull the foxes bandwagon after an event of which there is no evidence and whereby the mother of the children will not have an investigation carried out! Lets have a DNA test and then see who really bit those babies..... funny that none of the newspaper stories mentioned they had a dog! They are now wasting tax payers money with police protection, what a shambles! Lets hope somebody demands a test before some harmless animals are killed and more money is wasted protecting this ridiculous couple! And let's remember the time of year, there are lots of cubs around at the moment. Let's see some evidence of them being 'a threat to humans' and then you may have a foot to stand on!
I haven't jumped on the bandwagon. I've always been in favour of shooting the lot of them. They are a nusiance, and they are murderers. Chickens have rights too.
Ha ha ha :)

js86 says...
6:03pm Sat 19 Jun 10

Chickens have rights too! Ha, pathetic! Totally agree as i also have experience looking after chickens, of which none of them were ever killed by a fox. Clearly some people have no idea how to care for chickens! But lets be honest... at least you can eat chicken so i would rather a chicken die than a fox! Murderers!!! You are hilarious! Its called nature, culling however is not nature!

Nebs says...
9:18pm Sat 19 Jun 10

Why is it pathetic? Why is it hilarious?We simply have different opinions. You believe foxes should be free to roam and kill chickens that are roaming free, and I would rather see the chickens live and the foxes die.

js86 says...
9:35pm Sat 19 Jun 10

If chicken owners let their chickens roam free its likely that they will be eaten by a fox. Therefore it is the responsibility of the chicken owner to keep the chickens safe. It is not a vaild argument to blame foxes for following their natural hunting instincts. In the same way that if you put sweets in the reach of a child, they will eat them.

Nebs says...
12:58am Sun 20 Jun 10

Presumably in the same way that some humans see fox hunting as following their natural hunting instincts.

js86 says...
8:45pm Sun 20 Jun 10

Hardly the same! There are plenty of humane sports around rather than fox hunting!Anyone who participated in this gruesome sport truly is a murderer!

Nebs says...
11:13pm Sun 20 Jun 10

Of course it is the same. I agree with you that there are plenty of humane sports around; there are also lots of other things for foxes to do aside from killing chickens. But both happen.
Anyone who saves the life of a fox is a chicken murderer.

js86 says...
8:51pm Mon 21 Jun 10

Is that true of humans then, as we eat chickens, cows, sheep and more???

A fox kills a chicken to feed itself and its young, humans don't eat foxes , it is nothing more than brutal, cruel, barbaric behaviour.

If the fox population is too high then it is due to the poor way we dispose of waste. I think the council has a big part to play in issuing wheelie bins to everyone. In towns where there are wheelie bins there are significantly less foxes.

Nebs says...
8:10am Tue 22 Jun 10

As foxes kill more than they can eat, they too exhibit brutal, cruel, barbaric behaviour. Not all foxes, and not all of the time, but it certainly happens. Similar to humans, not all hunt foxes, and those who hunt foxes don't do it all the time.
I like the idea of wheelie bins. What would happen to current foxes to cause the reduction in numbers - would they move on to pastures new, or would they stay put and starve to death?

js86 says...
7:37pm Tue 22 Jun 10

Foxes don't tend to reproduce unless they have enough food supply to support reproduction. The introduction of wheelie bins would reduce the available sources of food within urban areas. What we would likely see is a steady reduction in fox numbers over time.

I think most animal activists wouldn't disgree that fox numbers are larger than they should be in urban areas. However, they would argue against a cull when we are responsible for their population growth.

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