§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is with regard to the problem of urban foxes, with particular reference to the Borough of Oadby and Wigston, Leicestershire; and if she will make a statemen. [73408]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Department recognises that foxes can cause problems in urban areas and publishes advice to householders on managing fox problems. Responsibility for the control of foxes rests with those people who most benefit from such control, that is, individual property owners and occupiers, who may engage private pest control contractors to undertake this work. There is no statutory requirement for local authorities to control foxes in their areas.
We have received no recent representations from the Borough of Oadby and Wigston, Leicestershire, about urban foxes.