The humble fox has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week. One such creature made its way to the bedroom of nine month old twins Lola and Isabella Koupparis before mauling the children and leaving them with ‘life changing’ injuries.
The incident happened in Hackney, and Boris was therefore quick to warn folk of the dangers of these ‘pests’ and to remind councils about their responsibilities.
“People like to think foxes are a wonderful addition to the flora and fauna of London but they are undoubtedly a pest. They are a menace in their scavenging for rubbish and as you saw in the last couple of days they can, in very rare circumstances, present a threat to human beings as well.”
Bozza added: “Therefore it’s right that boroughs should focus on their duties for pest control because as romantic and cuddly as a fox is, it is also a pest.”
Boris’ comments received wide support from wildlife experts. Peter Crowden, chairman of the National Pest Technicians Association, said: “The situation is out of control and we could see more attacks on domestic pets and even babies. There are no natural predators and this is the problem. No one is controlling them in towns and cities.”
There are some hysterical tweeters on twitter at the moment, squeaking “Boris orders cull of thousands of foxes!” That is one of the calmer ones. First of all, it is not within Boris’s jurisdiction to order a cull of anything, even over-excited tweeters. (I wish!) Pest control is the job of local councils, the Mayor just advises.
Secondly, I live right by Hampstead Heath and let me tell you, this problem is out of control. It is impossible to leave any pet in a cage in your garden, however strongly you padlock the cage, Somehow wily foxes get into the cage and slaughter the occupant. They are bold as brass, and fearless, peeing and pooing lavishly over your lovingly styled garden, to mark out a territory they consider theirs not yours. They do go into houses, so anyone living on the ground floor cannot keep their patio door open in hot weather, or leave their baby or kittens in the garden….. They are breeding like rabbits, and advertise the fact lustily at night. The whole Heath is rabid with rutting foxes by the sounds of moans squeals that could come from an X rated movie……….. They need to be culled.
When will people stop this sentimental nonsense? When some dear little toddler who saw the Mr. Fox cartoon rushes over and starts petting a fox and gets it’s hand bitten off I suppose. And then the animal nuts will say “oh you shouldn’t alarm them.”
Maybe now all the city types who were all for the ban on fox hunting will change their opinions.