Fox-attacks inquiry given the brush off

Published on Monday 23 August 2004 12:30

CITY leaders have rejected demands for a probe into fox attacks in the Capital, dismissing the proposal as a "waste of time".

The move sparked anger from opposition councillors who today accused the council of washing its hands of the problem.

They had pressed for an investigation after pest-control experts reported a sharp rise in the number of attacks on cats, rabbits and other pets.

But council chiefs claim asking officials to investigate reports that dozens of animals have been savaged across the city this year would be "a complete waste of time and resources".

Refusing to explore the extent of the problem and what could be done to tackle it, they claimed there was no clear evidence of a rise in attacks.

The local authority - which has also rejected demands for a cull of foxes in the city - has been accused of letting down householders in rural Edinburgh, where there have been a spate of incidents.

The Evening News revealed last month how pest-control experts had witnessed a doubling in fox attacks in the last year.

The paper was deluged with more than 50 reported incidents with stories of pets being killed by urban foxes.

Cats were the most commonly reported victims, but other callers reported rabbits, guinea pigs and even a peacock being attacked by foxes. The council ruled out previous pleas for action on urban foxes five years ago - but there have been claims that problems have increased because of the local authority’s efforts to replace black bin bags with wheelie bins across the city.

It is believed the introduction of the giant containers may have cut off a supply of food to foxes, leading them to hunt more animals in the city.

But city environment leader Bob Cairns said: "We looked at this issue a few years and decided against any kind of fox control methods at the time and we’ve seen no evidence that complaints or problems have increased since then.

"In our view it would be a complete waste of time and resources to bring back a report on this.

"We are happy to offer advice on an individual basis on what they should do to protect their pets but we just don’t think any further action is necessary.

"I can remember problems with urban foxes going back more than 25 years and I don’t think there’s any proof that things are more serious now. We don’t see any need for any kind of cull of them, either, as they are really just wild animals."

Corstorphine councillor Paul Edie, secretary of the Liberal Democrats group on the council, said the administration was "abdicating its responsibilities" in refusing to look into the issue.

He added: "There has been a lot of public disquiet about attacks by foxes and we felt it would have been a good thing if the council’s officials brought back a report on whether in fact there is a problem and if there was, what options could be explored to deal with it.

"We weren’t actually asking for any action to be taken at this stage, but if they discovered that incidents had gone up, the council could have put together some form of public information campaign.

"It’s just complete arrogance to turn this down completely and the council has completely let down suburban areas that we have had complaints from."

Allan Jackson, Tory councillor for Trinity, said: "The council wastes an awful lot of time and resources on reports of no significance whatsoever, so they can’t be giving anyone else lectures about this issue.

"There is a lot of public concern at the moment and it would not cost a lot of money to bring a report back."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which urges owners to bring their pets indoors at night, said the council had "better things to spend their money on, such as tackling dog fouling".