Was Mange Released Into Bristol Foxes

 

Looking at Stephen Harris and Philip Baker's Urban Foxes book there are things that are quite "off" as they state mange kills more foxes than cars. Really? Mange deaths are low but with over 270 known fox deaths this year and cars involved in 90% of them it is obvious they were not looking at the  facts (although the data they used "does not exist" -as I will explain further on)

 

At one point this claim about mange was true because up until 1994 mange was not reported in Bristol. That is the reason so many fox watchers who cared for minor injuries etc were caught off guard and could not help.

I keep stating 94% of Bristol foxes were killed off but looking at some other data the 95%+ figure for the number of foxes that died does seem more accurate.

There have been rumours for a long time that Bristol Uni and its fox study deliberately released mange into the City as part of a study to see how fast rabies would spread.  I may disagree with some of what Harris states but I would never believe that he would do such a thing (evidence seems to show that he was anti hunt).

That written, there are a LOT of questions that require answering. One fox devastated 94-95% of the urban fox population?

If you read this item you will find that the fox involved left the City then returned with mange.

There are a lot of questions that need answering as this makes no logical sense especially if you know anything about foxes. Since 2000 I have attempted to gain access to the Mammal Group study data. BristolUniversity has refused to answer emails, letters and even faxes on the matter. And the rumours grew stronger.

I took the last step of making a Freedom of Information Request.  First it was could I define and clarify what I was looking for? I told them that it was clear enough so made it even more clear. Then it was another excuse to delay. I redefined and made 100% sure that there was no way to respond other than with the data requested.

Bristol  University claimed that it had no such records. What's more there were no records from the Mammal Group.  In radio and press as well as other sources the University has claimed that all the data from all studies etc are held by them. One way or another someone is lying. The internal review officer then asked for the date when the Mammal Group was set up and ended and what years the Fox Study ran for

Absolutely nothing to do with my request.

And am I expected to believe that a university had no records and could not find even the most basic information on a group operating from its premises, using its equipment and everything that involves

From thinking I would be able to shoot down all the allegations made against the UniversityI am now in a position where it looks as though those rumours may be facts and that the University is running delays and denials.

Once the request is concluded I shall post the link to the online request and responses.

Mange may well have been deliberately released into Bristol's fox population

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