The Urban Fox of England

[Lady Cop]

i know our member Oscar is very fond of urban foxes, and protects them zealously. as well as feeds them. i can understand that, i feed all manner of wildlife.
there are a couple downsides to the urban fox proliferation in London as well.

here is an article from the BBC today, if the video is true, it's vicious and disgusting.

3 August 2010

A group called Urban Fox Hunters has posted a video on the internet that appears to show a fox being clubbed to death in an east London park.

The video, which the group claims was shot in Victoria Park, appears to show the fox being drugged and chased before it is beaten with a cricket bat.

The police said they had received a number of complaints about the video.

Meanwhile, an animal welfare group said it was "horrified" by the actions depicted in the footage.

The Metropolitan Police's wildlife crime group said it had received a number of complaints which were being looked into by the local Tower Hamlets force.

Urban Fox Hunters claims to be a group of local residents who "hate foxes" and "are now doing something about it".

URBAN FOXES

* In Britain, foxes were first established in cities such as London and Bristol during the 1940s
* Estimates suggest that as many as 10,000 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) may be living in the London area alone
* Foxes principally come into gardens for food and shelter - householders are advised to make sure that foxes get neither on their properties
* One concern about foxes is the possibility of the spread of disease to humans and pets
* Another concern is 'mange', caused by mites, which can live on foxes
* The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is asking people to report sightings of urban deer and foxes in the first nationwide survey to look at where animals are invading gardens


Its video has been removed from YouTube but is still available on the group's blog.

The RSPCA said it was investigating the video to try to determine if it was genuine.

A spokesman for animal welfare group League Against Cruel Sports said: "If the video's true then we're horrified people are behaving in this way."

"There has been over-reaction to the apparent fox attacks because they're so uncommon.

"The public in Tower Hamlets are more at risk from the idiots who wielded cricket bats and produced this than foxes."

Urban Fox Hunters has been approached with these comments but not provided a response.

Two baby twins were attacked by a fox at their home in Hackney, east London, on 5 June.

Last month, their mother Pauline Koupparis said nine-month-old Isabella and Lola were recovering "really well" and had returned home from hospital.

Oscar, i saved a foxy smiley for you:

[Oscar]

If the footage Is genuine, The National Fox Association will track them down and prosecute. It Is Illegal to harm, hinder or deter a Fox from returning to It's Earth In this country.
If the Is genuine, the posters having the RSPCA track them down Is the very least of their worries. Most Fox supporters are Animal Rights activists and we can get very nasty and dish out our own punishment.
I could write yards highlighting the history of the Urban Fox but It can be summed up rather quickly:

There Is no such thing as an Urban Fox. It Is a red Fox that has had mass building on their land which began here In the 1930's post First World War Boom and they have simply become accustomed to living In towns and Cities.

[Lady Cop]

it turns out the video was fake.

BBC
A video posted on the internet showing a fox being clubbed to death in a London park was a hoax, it has emerged.

Chris Atkins and Johnny Howorth, the men behind the Starsuckers documentary, said they made the film as a satirical swipe at the "ludicrous media coverage" of the dangers of urban foxes.

The police received several complaints about the video and animal rights groups condemned it.

Mr Atkins apologised to members of the public who were upset by the footage.

Speaking to BBC London, he said the "dead" animal in the footage was a stuffed fox and the live "fox" was in fact a pet dog.

"We saw after the attack on the twins in east London, which was horrific, how absolutely ridiculous the reporting was.

off topic, i found a great vintage photo of Winston Churchill riding to the hunt circa 1948.

[Lady Cop]

this little fox was trying to keep cool in Croydon, South London
hahaha