PRESS STATEMENT
7 June 2010
 
WILDLIFE CHARITY RESPONDS TO NEWS STORIES ABOUT "FOX ATTACKS"
 
A spokesman for Wildlife Aid, the Leatherhead-based charity, said:
 
"It is extremely rare to hear of incidents in which people have been injured by foxes in this way. But like any wild animal a fox will lash out when cornered, and in cases where a fox feels trapped, or has to protect its young, it will scratch and bite. We do not yet know the full facts in this latest case and it is therefore impossible to make a detailed comment. However, the advice we give to people is very clear: Do not encourage foxes to come into your garden. Do not put out food for them. Do not leave doors and windows open unnecessarily. A fox will instinctively seek out food, so care must be taken not to leave temptation in its way.
 
"There are estimated to be around 30,000 to 40,000 'urban foxes' (against a total fox population in the UK of a quarter of a million) but some of these urban foxes are becoming bolder and are less scared of people than they should be. Even so, the risk of being injured by a fox is extremely remote. Most previous reports of foxes attacking children, for example, have turned out to be unfounded. In the majority of cases where a fox has been blamed for injuring a child, the animal in question has been later found to be a dog or a cat."