Londoners 'hire snipers to get rid of urban foxes in their gardens'

 
Fox cull: an urban fox forages for food in rubbish bag (Picture: Jeremy Selwyn)
Standard Reporter8 December 2014

Londoners are going to extreme lengths to get rid of urban foxes from their gardens by hiring snipers, according to reports.

Gunmen are believed to be charging £75 to shoot their first fox and £50 for any more after that, according to an article in the New York Times.

The report says typical clients include sports clubs, urban farms and families with children or pets who wish to get rid of the creatures.

A sniper, who only gave his name as Phil, told the newspaper he takes the dead bodies to a farm where they are turned into chicken feed.

It comes after Wandsworth Council printed guidelines for fox control which: "Shooting is not usually appropriate in urban areas, but where it is carried out, care must be taken to ensure the safety of the public and other wildlife.”

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA urged people to not shoot foxes but to use humane deterrents.

She said: “We would encourage people to make sure that there is no food source available, remove den opportunities and, if foxes are coming into their gardens and they are concerned, to use humane deterrents.

Controversial: a still from a video posted back by a group calling themselves the 'Urban Fox Hunters' back in 2010

“Foxes are territorial animals so simply removing an animal is likely to just attract others in.”

She added: “All pest controllers must abide by licensing laws and while it is not necessarily illegal to shoot a fox, animal welfare laws state the animal must be shot outright so no suffering has been caused.”

Last week a film giving advice on how to shoot parakeets living in London gardens was criticised by animal rights activists.

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