Man Frees Trapped Fox In Fence

Megan McNaught
March 26, 2009 12:00am

ANTHONY Distasio thought it was a joke when a jogger knocked on his door at 6.30am and told him a fox was stuck in his fence.

"I had to ask whether it was April Fools Day," the East Malvern man said.

Then he put two and two together. His children's pet rabbits were loose in the back yard, so a fox could well be on the prowl.

The fox appeared to have been trapped for several hours, because it had gnawed the top off several fence pickets.

"It had got itself well and truly stuck and it wasn't happy about it," Mr Distasio said.

"It was very snarly and was biting at anyone that went near it."

Mr Distasio said he knew foxes were vermin, but he didn't want to sign its death warrant. He grabbed a shovel and, from a safe distance, prised it off the fence.

"It kept trying to bite us, but once we got the panel off it took off," he said.

"Hopefully, after that experience it won't want to come back, but we will be locking our rabbits up from now on."

RSPCA chief Dr Hugh Wirth said foxes were more common in suburban areas than most people realised. "Research has shown that there are five foxes every square kilometre in Melbourne," he said.

"They are more common here than in London."

Mr Wirth said foxes in urban areas had a ready food supply, thanks to dog owners who left meaty bites outside.

They also eat small pets and native animals such as possums, as well as ducks and geese.

"Until people start disposing of their rubbish better and addressing the way they feed their pets, this problem with foxes is only going to get worse," he said.

"It should be up to councils to provide pest control, but they won't take responsibility."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25242854-2862,00.html