Alarm as city foxes kill pets for food

PET owners were warned today to lock-up their animals after a huge rise in fox attacks in the Capital.

Pest control experts say complaints have doubled in the past year as hungry foxes, unable to scavenge from new-style wheelie bins, hunt for food.

In one gruesome case, the heads of three pet cats and two rabbits were found in a garden in Queensferry Road, where 11 foxes had taken over a summer house.

The attacks have led to calls for the city council, which stopped fox control duties five years ago, to consider a cull.

Gordon Manson, who has worked as a pest controller for eight years, said he has had twice the number of fox-related call-outs over the past six months as at the same time last year. "It’s been the worst year I’ve ever seen," said Mr Manson, from Balerno.

"I’ve had about 40 to 60 calls from people bothered by foxes this year, and usually it’s more like 20 to 30. And around half of those are people phoning to tell me a fox has killed their pet, or has left the remains of someone else’s pet in their garden."

Mairi Ball, from the SSPCA, said pet owners should ensure cages and hutches are secure to prevent foxes getting in. "We’ve definitely seen more cases of pets being eaten by foxes recently," she said.

"Quite a few fatalities occur when the animals are out in runs in the garden. People should bring them in at night, when foxes are more prevalent. Just put them out when you can keep an eye on them, although this would be difficult for a lot of people.

"The problem is that the new wheelie bins mean foxes have lost their supply of food, so they tend to go for animals more."

She said foxes had also turned their attention to cats. "Until recently we used to say that foxes would not attack large pets such as cats and dogs," added Ms Ball.

"But there have been a couple of cases reported to us over the last two or three months where foxes have gone for cats."

Councillor Michael Dixon, environmental spokesman for the Conservative party, has called for the council to face up to the problem. He said: "The issue of urban foxes needs to be addressed sensibly, not sentimentally. Urban foxes have no control predator, so if their numbers and the nuisance associated with them increases, the city council will need to consider preventative culling of them."

Mr Manson said many pest control companies shied away from killing the animals for fear of an outcry from fox-lovers. "They’re not being controlled enough in the town," he said.

"A lot of pest control companies won’t touch them now because they get so much grief from people who think foxes should be allowed to live. They need more people like me to sort them out."

An Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman said the council took a decision in 1999 not to control wild urban foxes and the number of complaints to them about foxes was low.

"We do recognise that foxes can be a pest, though, and if someone is having problems they could seek advice from a private pest control service."

A spokesman for pest control company Rentokil indicated otherwise.

"We do not offer a fox control service, as we only deal with public health pests, the ones that tend to come into our homes and buildings," he said. "When foxes populate an urban area they are very difficult to control. Some cities have tried culling but it has not worked as other foxes quickly come in from outside the area to replace them."

Mr Manson said foxes were attracted to certain areas because unwitting neighbours were feeding them. "On Polwarth Terrace there was one family who were buying two chickens a day to give to foxes and they didn’t realise what damage they were doing to other people around them," he said.

Evening News columnist Tonya Macari, whose rabbit, Bugsy, was taken by a fox earlier this year, said her four children were devastated when the animal broke the wire mesh of their pet’s cage.

Ms Macari, from Craigleith, said her partner, a builder, had to construct a fox-proof fence out of tennis court wire to protect the hutch of their new pet.

"There’s definitely more of them around," she said. "I think we’re the only people left on our street with a live rabbit now."

Has your pet been attacked by an urban fox? Let us know on 0131 620 8745.