Sir – I have been reading the letters regarding urban foxes and would like to reply to some of the points raised by Jane Godwin (RTT, September 12).

First of all the RSPCA is not entirely wrong. Although foxes will sometimes attack cats, it is rare and in such a fight the fox will often come off worse.

I regularly observe our local foxes and have never seen one attack a cat. However, I have seen many occasions of cats attacking foxes.

The decapitated cat Jane Godwin found is very unlikely to have been killed by a fox as most foxes simply do not have the jaw strength to bite through a cat’s neck, also a fox would not have left the body.

This was much more likely the work of a domestic dog.

Saying "I’m glad I found her and not my children" is ridiculous – unless cornered or physically provoked a fox will never attack a human.

The reason foxes are not culled is because it has been proven by many studies not to work.

For every fox that is killed more will just move into the territory. This problem does not exist with deer as they are in an enclosed park and do not migrate.

Contrary to popular belief, foxes are not on the rise as there is not enough food and territory to sustain a population rise from the current level, this is nature’s way of population control and does not need human intervention.

TOM HILL
Twickenham