FOXSYLVANIA

– – In a rare but tragic event, a fox crept into a house in east London this past weekend, and attacked nine-month-old twins in their nursery.  One of the sisters received injuries to her arm, while the other received facial wounds.  A fox caught near the family home was destroyed, although it is not known if it was the same animal that attacked the infants.

Parliament banned fox hunting with hounds in 2004, and the incident has caused some to seek a reversal of this ban; others have called for a cull of foxes.  Some even wish for Roald Dahl’s book Fantastic Mr. Fox to be banned in schools, saying that it gives children the wrong idea about foxes!   It should be pointed out that in England alone, some 225,000 people annually receive treatment for dog bites alone, while people aren’t calling for dogs to be culled.

So why did a lone fox turn to the dark side?- -First, he had opportunity, as a door to the house where the incident occurred was left open.  Some have speculated that the attack on the girls was carried out by a confused 3-to 4-month old cub, who may have been lured to the nursery by the smell of diapers, which urban foxes have learned to associate with food as they’re often found aside edibles in household trash;  urban foxes are scavengers.

While the incident was likely an unfortunate freak occurrence, this is not to say that we of the vulpine persuasion wouldn’t try to take over the world if given the opportunity…