Potential sighting of a trapped fox at Goodrich School.

[Angusvanfrehley]

I was at a friends house last night for dinner and my friend and his wife were having a terrible time with their daughter, she was very upset and crying constantly.

The couple were telling me that their daughter, who is in year three at Goodrich school, was upset because during the day whilst playing, her and her friends went into a garden behind the old school house?

In the garden they found a fox that had been caught in a trap, their daughter said it was shaking,looked hungry and scared. Basically their daughter does not want to go to school today, because in her words "their hurting animals".

I realise that foxes are a pest at times and need to be relocated or put down, but really cant this be done in a better way. Surely the traps should be checked each morning and emptied if need be, before children are exposed to this kind of experience.

I am no great fan of Mr Fox, but I also feel that animals need to be treated in a humane fashion. I personally can think of much places to be than stuck in a small cage with no water, especially given the temperatures we have been experienceing the last few days.

[first mate]

I hope that someone from the school is reading this as they may find themselves on the wrong side of the law. No animal, even a fox, should be caused protracted or unnecessary suffering.

By law a trap must be inspected every 24 hours and the fox released or humanely dispatched. It is a bit of a grey area, but given the recent high temperatures, the ease of access to the trap, and the density of the urban fox population, it is arguable that the trap should be inspected much more regularly and that the fox should not be in the trap for very long at all.

I would contact the school and ask what is going on and who is managing the trapping.

[Pickle]

Did the child tell an adult? Have you (or more relevantly, the child's parents) thought to speak to the school rather than post here without knowing more details?

[Michael Palaeologus]

Firstly, It might be worth clarifying what the child saw first of all, what they perceived they saw may be different from the reality.

Secondly, report it. To Southwark Council, to the RSPCA, the Police, whoever.

Thirdly, why was the child "in a garden behind the old school house"?

[oimissus]

thread title's a bit inflammatory, isn't it?

Firstly - did the garden in question belong to the school - your post is not clear on this?

Secondly - why on earth hasn't this been taken up with the school? Why did the child not tell an adult (because she was playing aomewhere she shouldn't, is my guess - her care for animals doesn't stand up to getting into trouble herself, perhaps?) Why haven't her parents? Maybe they have but you've decided to post anyway, for some reason unclear.

I think you should get this thread removed.

[Dearheart]

If you are not going to get in touch with someone about this, I will. I cannot stand the thought of any animal suffering & whether it is a fox or not, it may still be in that cage.

[Mick Mac]

Dearheart - you are acting on hearsay, you know nothing other than what someone has posted on a forum. The post was from someone who heard something from someone else's daughter. ?

I expect that if the parents are concerned they will have already raised it with the school.

[Jeremy]

Exactly. very surprised that anyone would give this third-hand gossip the time of day.

[Pickle]

If my kids come home and tell me they've played "torment the caged fox" during break time today I will take it more seriously ;)

[Dearheart]

The original poster sounds genuine & if they truly believe their friends daughter witnessed a trapped & distressed fox {or other animal} I don't think they would go out of their way to post with concern. Whether this is true or not I have brought this to the schools attention. If there is even the smallest chance that there is an animal trapped & can be released, I do not see a problem with acting on hearsay.

Mick Mac, If this happens to be true & nothing is being done to help the trapped animal, are you really going to tell me to mind my own business?

Although I do think this would have been better coming from the parents of the child who witnessed this.

[James Barber]

This sounds at best odd.

Very few people licensed to catch foxes - three covering south east England I believe. They're only allowed to do this humanely and what's described doesn't sound like it was done humanely.

If correct then animal cruelty is taking place and the RSPCA should be contacted ASAP.

[Pickle]

James, with all due respect, what's been described is information passed by a child to its parents, and then posted on an Internet forum by a friend of the parents. It's hardly first hand verified fact!

[Mick Mac]

Dearheart Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Although I do think this would have been better

> coming from the parents of the child who witnessed

> this.

Exactly.

[Dearheart]

& with all due respect, Pickle, you do not know for sure that nothing is going on. Are you going to tell everyone to sit back & wait for a witness to come onto these forums to verify? Feel free to do that, whilst some of us try to get to the bottom of this.

The topic title is misleading & I would personally prefer not to see this escalate.

For this reason I think this thread should be removed or at the very least edited.

The parents may or may not have already been in touch with the school. Reading the original post I'm not convinced anything was done about it so I contacted the school to make sure they were aware.

''Exactly. very surprised that anyone would give this third-hand gossip the time of day.''

Jeremy, you would be surprised how much third-hand gossip has lead to real cases of animal cruelty. Some witnesses are just not comfortable with reporting it.

This may not even be true. But how many children do you know in year 3 who cannot distinguish the difference between a cat in a carrier & a fox in a trap or have been exposed to so much animal abuse that they would make something like this up just to stay at home from school?

Either way, it has been reported.

Pickle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> James, with all due respect, what's been described

> is information passed by a child to its parents,

> and then posted on an Internet forum by a friend

> of the parents. It's hardly first hand verified

> fact!

[SteelPriest]

I wouldn't bother posting, but i live near the school and hear/see the foxes most nights. I would be extremely upset if anyone was harming them.

[aquarius moon]

Dearheart,

I've only just seen this thread & I'm with you all the way.

By contacting either the school or RSPCA, you are at least doing something.

If it is just heresay/a mistaken child etc., then no harm done,

But to ignore it is totally heartless as it could well be true.

Surely it's better to report it & be wrong, than not report it at all.

Hopefully, somebody will keep the forum updated as to the outcome of this, because as stated on previous posts, if somebody is trapping foxes inhumanely, the RSPCA need to know about it.

[Dearheart]

I'd like to know why my message was removed from this thread??

''& with all due respect, Pickle, you do not know for sure that nothing is going on. Are you going to tell everyone to sit back & wait for a witness to come onto these forums to verify? Feel free to do that, whilst some of us try to get to the bottom of this.

The topic title is misleading & I would personally prefer not to see this escalate.

The parents may or may not have already been in touch with the school. Reading the original post I'm not convinced anything was done about it so I contacted the school to make sure they were aware.

''Exactly. very surprised that anyone would give this third-hand gossip the time of day.''

Jeremy, you would be surprised how much third-hand gossip has lead to real cases of animal cruelty. Some witnesses are just not comfortable with reporting it.

This may not even be true. But how many children do you know in year 3 who cannot distinguish the difference between a cat in a carrier & a fox in a trap or have been exposed to so much animal abuse that they would make something like this up just to stay at home from school?

Either way, it has been reported.''

I fail to see what I have written so offensive? Strange behaviour from moderators/admins.

[SCSB79]

Dearheart Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Mick Mac, If this happens to be true & nothing is

> being done to help the trapped animal, are you

> really going to tell me to mind my own business?

>

It's what he does. Tells people what to do and what they are.

I'm a racist and bigot according to him.

[joom]

I've just been to the garden mentioned, absolutely no cages or foxes... Fertile imaginations?!

[tomskip]

Did anyone phone the school and ask them? There is a small garden in front of the Old School House within the boundary of the school premises. I am not sure if the children are allowed unsupervised access to that garden during normal playtimes, but they certainly have lessons and learn about gardening and wildlife in that garden. Whatever, I am sure a 2 minute phone call to the school - 0208 693 1050 - would have established the facts.

[joom]

tomskip Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Did anyone phone the school and ask them? There is

> a small garden in front of the Old School House

> within the boundary of the school premises. I am

> not sure if the children are allowed unsupervised

> access to that garden during normal playtimes, but

> they certainly have lessons and learn about

> gardening and wildlife in that garden. Whatever, I

> am sure a 2 minute phone call to the school - 0208

> 693 1050 - would have established the facts.

Maybe you didn't read my previous post, but I did go and check this evening

[Angusvanfrehley]

Small world.... I was at a bbq today and I was introduced to someone who happens to be a member of staff at Goodrich, so I just outright asked them about the trapping, alleged or otherwise. The person confirmed it as fact and informed me that there had been about five or six foxes trapped to their knowledge and also one, possibly two domestic cats.

[pommie]

who is doing the trapping then?

[Saffron]

joom Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> tomskip Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Did anyone phone the school and ask them? There

> is

> > a small garden in front of the Old School House

> > within the boundary of the school premises. I

> am

> > not sure if the children are allowed

> unsupervised

> > access to that garden during normal playtimes,

> but

> > they certainly have lessons and learn about

> > gardening and wildlife in that garden. Whatever,

> I

> > am sure a 2 minute phone call to the school -

> 0208

> > 693 1050 - would have established the facts.

>

> Maybe you didn't read my previous post, but I did

> go and check this evening

So it seems a phone call to the school about their policy on this would indeed be a good idea.

[first mate]

The possibility that domestic cats may have ended up in the trap is rather worrying- I would certainly want to know more about that and whether there is any truth in the allegation.

I have noted a large number of foxes around that area and so it is entirely possible that some trapping is going on but it would be nice to know that this is being properly managed and with a minimum of suffering to the animals trapped.