The two Chihuahuas that were attacked by foxes, Finlay and Maddison

• AS an animal lover I was sorry to hear of the fox attack on a dog and that the owner’s other dog was also attacked by another fox (Owner beats off fox attacking Chihuahua, July 28).

I do feel, however, that fox attacks tend to be oversensationalised by the media. The problem then gets blown out of all proportion.

A few years ago my pet cat was attacked by a dog nearby and very nearly died from shock and loss of blood, but luckily survived after being rushed to a vet. I can’t imagine that would have made headline news in a local paper at the time.

In reality dog attacks on other dogs are much more common than fox attacks. I have read that concerning guide dogs there was a reported rise in attacks by other dogs a couple of years ago to 10 on average a month.

Also, there was a rise in dog attacks on people by 50 per cent to a total of 1,400 from 2014-15. So the number of fox attacks on dogs is minimal in comparison.

People and dogs are far more likely to suffer an attack by other dogs. Also, cats kill a lot of fox cubs every year and are more likely to be hurt or killed by cars than foxes.

Not everyone likes urban foxes. They consider them a nuisance, but I would be very sad if there was any cull carried out, particularly in response to reports of the occasional incident. I think this needs to be kept in perspective. We should not lose sight of the bigger picture.

SIAN WHITEHEAD
Sandstone Place, N19