Fox attacks child.

[JimC]

Luckily, most Oz native wildlife that do well in cities are not major pests, although possums can be a bit of a pain in the garden, or if they manage to get into your roof cavity.

Snakes can be an issue, of course...

[Red Celt]

That's exactly what we've always done. Deer, birds, dogs, cats. Rats and birds have always been a problem, but I'm sure someone will concoct a target specific virus to deal with them without considering long term cost. I'm not saying we should, I'm saying that is what we do in cities, always have.

At times, we've opted for less severe methods.

[klr]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21399709

Here's the article. Urban fox sneaks into house attacks child.

Here's a prediction, the Tories will point to some "research" that says the number of urban foxes is caused the lack of Fox Hunting, or that since we're happy to cull them there is no reason to keep a ban on fox hunting.

I'm saying they are going to use this as a pretext to try and unban fox hunting.

Not that I care. The chance of some chinless fuck being flung from his horse and trampled by others once in a while seems worth it to me.

From the article:

...
An RSPCA spokeswoman also said it was extremely unusual for foxes to attack people, and that the animal would only do so if it was afraid.

She added: "It's not typical fox behaviour at all. Foxes will come closer to a house if there are food sources. Then they can become quite bold, but they usually do back off and run away when there's people around."

I'd say the Fox saw the baby as a food source. Gruesome as it might seem, it best fits the facts of the case.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

So many animals are becoming urbanized. Humans will have to adjust to this.

Or more likely, cull them.

Good luck with that.

That's exactly what we've always done. Deer, birds, dogs, cats. Rats and birds have always been a problem, but I'm sure someone will concoct a target specific virus to deal with them without considering long term cost. I'm not saying we should, I'm saying that is what we do in cities, always have.

We temporarily drive them out, but they keep coming back. We have deer problems in St. Louis proper because we don't have a natural balance of predators and prey here. Humans keep trying clumsy short-term "solutions".

Hey, worked for rats.

[cronus]

Bring back hunting. They'll learn to avoid humans again that way.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Bring back hunting. They'll learn to avoid humans again that way.

Fair play, bring back hunting, but only with the equipment nature gave either side.

[klr]

Bring back hunting. They'll learn to avoid humans again that way.

Fox hunts in the city? That should be interesting.

[cronus]

Bring back hunting. They'll learn to avoid humans again that way.

Fair play, bring back hunting, but only with the equipment nature gave either side.

For fishing nature gave me a hand grenade if I was hungry enough.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Bring back hunting. They'll learn to avoid humans again that way.

Fair play, bring back hunting, but only with the equipment nature gave either side.

For fishing nature gave me a hand grenade if I was hungry enough.

We brought up a ~5 foot Mekong catfish that way once. Took four of us to get it into the boat. We moved down to a local village and traded it for a bunch of "beef".

[Horwood Beer-Master]

The headline may as well be "Dumb humans leave fresh meat lying around". Seriously, it's amazing the way people these days, and urbanites in particular, seen to behave as if they have some magic exemption from the laws of nature. Or as if town boundaries or house walls are super magic barriers which hungry creatures will not cross.

You can bet the fox isn't half as complacent with it's offspring.

[klr]

The headline may as well be "Dumb humans leave fresh meat lying around". Seriously, it's amazing the way people these days, and urbanites in particular, seen to behave as if they have some magic exemption from the laws of nature. Or as if town boundaries or house walls are super magic barriers which hungry creatures will not cross.

You can bet the fox isn't half as complacent with it's offspring.

Yup, the article said the baby's hand/arm was "halfway down the fox's throat", or something along those lines. Even allowing for a measure of exaggeration caused by the shock, it still seems obvious what the fox had in mind.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Every time I see this thread I think that Hannity is going after a kid who said something nice about Obama.