Foxes and Boxes?

Another frantically-hyped tale of an attack on a London baby by an 'urban fox' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21399709). The four-week old child reportedly had a finger bitten off (re-attached in hospital) by a fox that entered the home in Bromley. This event has led to calls for a 'cull' on the foxes (a very difficult thing to do humanely, even by trapping, with no guarantee that removing animals from one area would not cause others to move into the 'vacated' territories). Some experts have pointed out that a) fox attacks are incredibly rare, especially in comparison to dog attacks (that can also be much more dangerous). Yet people rarely call for a cull of dogs; b) the problem may be exacerbated by the pretty messy fashion we often 'dispose' of human food waste, attracting foxes to human habitations and c) there must have been access to the house, for the fox to gain entry. The urban fox lives, by using its intelligence and attributes, to largely scavenge for food. The animal probably can obtain more food in cities than in the countryside (hunting is much less efficient in a costs versus benefits sense), which will increase their numbers and change their behaviour. The reaction to this sad event seems to be a marked over-reaction by many of the concerned. We do tend to take things terribly personally and appear surprised when a wild animal 'dares' to do something to one of our kind (probably by accident?).