Good Foxes Wanted......

Details The title refers of course to dead foxes - the only good ones! DEFRA is financing a national survey to check for a rare form of parasitic worm (Trichinella) which could be dangerous to humans and livestock, and which can be carried by foxes. To do this, they have asked SACS to ask our membership, which is spread widely across the UK, to provide them with fox carcasses for examination (NOTE - the survey is NOT being done in Northern Ireland at present, only on the mainland.) While we are happy to help, we could be helping ourselves at the same time.  As countrymen, we know that foxes carry a host of parasites and diseases, and that eventually this will become a serious problem, especially in urban areas.  By making sure DEFRA never runs out of foxes to examine, we can hugely increase the chances of these other diseases also being picked up, which will in turn influence government thinking on fox control - to our benefit, and the good of the whole countryside. The Scottish branch of the DEFRA team came to see us at Scone Fair this year, and we have been told that there is no real limit to the number of foxes they need to examine, and they are even happy to accept roadkill provided the body is not mangled or the stomach burst. All you need to do is call them and they will arrange to uplift the body that day or the following day, and if you are likely to have a number of foxes over a period, as keepers and shoot managers will, they will provide a supply of body bags to put them in. It's unusual to find such an easy but potentially significant way for individual members to help in a serious government exercise, particularly one which is countryside-related, and we urge all members and their friends to take part in this scheme, which will run permanently in future. To contact the team for uplift of a carcass, call them on 0800 7318 325 and they will do the rest.