Fox traps have been laid at Our Lady of the Rosary School in Bexley, Sidcup, with the intention of catching then shooting a family of foxes.

The school has closed its Twitter account as a result of the attention from this issue. The phone number is now out of order. If they had nothing to hide why would they not simply refute the suspicion that the Foxes are being treated inhumanely? 

According to the RSPCA, Foxes should not be kept in traps for longer than 24 hours. There is a possibility that the Foxes are being shot. The logic is simple. They have expanded their territory during lock down to encompass the school site due to less people being around. Once people return to the school the Foxes will be inhibited from returning to the site and their territorial boundaries will return to normal. Foxes are shy of humans (with good reason) despite occasional and exceptional events.

Foxes are nature's pest controllers. They eat rats, mice and carrion.If you love Foxes and wildlife and the apparent miracle that is the survival of Foxes in Urban and Suburban environments, please tell anyone you know about this very worrying ongoing situation at this school. 

*ACTION REQUIRED*

We have verified information from concerned members of the public that fox traps have been set at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School in Bexley, Sidcup:

http://www.ourlady.bexley.sch.uk

This type of pest control involves trapping live foxes (causing agitation and potential injuries, not to mention the very hot weather this weekend) before shooting them off-site.

The school website describes how respect and compassion are important values for their pupils. Please ask the school to extend these same values to the much-loved local fox families that visit or live in their grounds. There are humane alternatives and deterrents available (for example, Fox-A-Gon) that do not involve killing our beautiful wildlife and set an example of tolerance and understanding to future generations.

The wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 makes it illegal to snare any animal in the UK. Foxes are also protected by The Animal Welfare Act of 2006. Foxes are not on the list of 'vermin'. Bromley Council’s policy, in line with all of the neighbouring authorities, is to discourage the fox population from increasing without physically harming them.

A similar petition was set up by some boys in Australia and they managed to save the foxes: https://www.change.org/p/sydney-boys-high-fox-deterrents-not-fox-death-at-sydney-boys-high-school

We are hoping to do the same.

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/olorprimary?lang=en

Please Email the school: admin@ourlady.bexley.sch.uk

Telephone: 0208 850 4470

Our Lady of the Rosary: ourlady.bexley.sch.uk

New contact details of the church affiliated with the school because the school is closed/unresponsive are:

Olorblackfen@gmail.com

Address: 330A, Burnt Oak Lane, Sidcup, DA15 8LW