Savaging the fox

Sir,
Janice Turner ('Urban foxes: a brush with danger' Times 08.06.) plays to the tabloid myth of fox as child molester, one whose hysteria is bound to result in the depraved practice of urban fox-hunting, in which the 'sport' is pursued not with red coat and hound but with pet dog, marksman or paid assassin.A fox was recently found burned to death in the picture postcard village of Thornton Hough. Two were mauled by pet dogs in separate parks also on the Wirral. These incidents preceded 'foxville', the incident to which Ms. Turner's article refers.

In the greater scheme of things, and as Ms.Turner herself admits, after giving the urban fox a savaging, there are very much greater threats to the person from domestic animals, dogs in particular. She cites Dr. Phil Baker, Lecturer in Conservation Ecology at Reading University who points out that attacks by a fox are rare in comparison with those by dogs and, perhaps more surprisingly, by cats. There have been many cases of savage attacks by dogs on young children in the last few years, with several fatalities and scores of minor attacks by unleashed dogs in urban areas.
The stoking up of prejudice matters because it may add a baying chorus of urban dwellers to the pro-fox-hunting lobby and because David Cameron is known to support a repeal of the Hunting Ban.

Yours,
L. Stothard