Mauled fox found in park
The Scottish SPCA is appealing for information after the grim discovery of a mauled fox in Inch Park, Edinburgh.
A member of the public spotted the animal lying dead on open ground with bite wounds to its back legs on Monday morning (1 February) at around 8.30am. The fox was still warm, suggesting it had only been dead for a matter of hours.
We arranged for a post mortem to be carried out on the fox, which revealed that it died of crush injuries to the abdomen, chest and throat.
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said, "Due to the open location that the fox was found in and the nature of its injuries we believe that it is most likely to have been attacked by a dog.
"This park is close to Cameron Toll shopping centre and an area regularly frequented by dog walkers. The vast majority of dogs walked here are family pets, not dogs bred for coursing, so this is quite a strange incident.
"We're appealing to local residents and dog walkers to contact us if they saw anything suspicious, or indeed witnessed a dog attacking a fox. Deliberately encouraging a dog to attack wildlife is an offence and it's something we take very seriously."
Anyone with information relating to the fox should call our Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999.