A month-old baby is recovering after being dragged from his cot by a fox which tore his finger off. The animal seriously injured the infant after entering his bedroom in Bromley, south-east London, according to reports.
The attack is the latest in a number of other incidents of foxes attacking humans, prompting calls for a cull on the urban pests.
Surgeons were able to reattach the baby’s finger after he was taken to St Thomas’s Hospital on Wednesday.
The child’s mother was alerted by his screaming and rushed into his room to see his hand lodged “halfway down the animal’s throat”, the Mail on Sunday said.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the incident, said it would not comment on whether the family had a dog.
London mayor Boris Johnson said more must be done to tackle the growing problem of urban foxes. “They may appear cuddly and romantic but foxes are also a pest and a menace, particularly in our cities.
“This must serve as a wake-up call to London’s borough leaders, who are responsible for pest control. They must come together, study the data, try to understand why this is becoming such a problem and act quickly to sort it out.”
Cass Barrett of London Fox Control said residents should stop putting food out for foxes or leaving rubbish around. He said he often heard of the animals coming through people’s cat flats after being lured by the scent of pet food.
“Foxes coming into people’s houses is nothing new in my experience. Foxes are quite accomplished climbers in that a ground floor window, I wouldn’t imagine, should cause too much of a problem for them to get in.”
He said his company uses humane methods to exterminate foxes, but preventative methods to stop them coming into people’s gardens include special fencing, chemical scents that deter them and even spreading lion dung from zoos.
“In my experience I’ve never come across any humans that have been actually bitten. But intimidated, been worried by foxes, concerned that when they approach them they don’t go away,” Mr Barrett said.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said the only reason a fox would attack a human is due to fear and it is “extremely unusual” for them to hurt children.
– (PA)