Books. Well Researched Books.

On Mystery Canids, Chupacabra, Strange Sea Creatures, UFOs and much MUCH More!

 One for those interested in Wildlife -or cryptozoology!

  

 Terry Hooper

The Red Paper: Canids

Paperback, 

A4 

(21 x 30cms)

202 Pages 

Photographs, illustrations and map

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/the-red-papercanines-vol1/paperback/product-20492038.html

By the 1700s the British fox was on the verge of extinction and about to follow the bear and wolf having been hunted for sport for centuries.  

The answer was to import thousands of foxes per year for sport. But foxes kept dying out so jackals were tried. Some were caught, some escaped. Even wolves and coyote were released for hunting and "country folk" were very far from "happy" -some even threatening local hunts -one intending to release a wolf for a hunt- with legal and other consequences. 

The summation of over 40 years research by the noted naturalist and former UK police forces exotic wildlife consultant reveals the damnable lie of "pest control" hunting but also reveals the cruelty the animals were subject to and how private menageries as well as travelling shows. Private menageries, or single exotic "pets" as well as travelling shows helped provide the British and Irish countryside with some incredible events such as the 1905 "vampiric" sheep killer of Badminton, the mystery hounds of Cavan and Coyotes of Epping Forest.

The Girt Dog of Ennerdale is also dealt with in detail -was it a tiger? A Tasmania Thylacine? This book gives the exact facts and details for the first time. Up-dated 2013 edition includes a section on sarcoptic mange in foxes and treatment plus a list of wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres in the UK.

                    *****************

Some Things Strange & Sinister (2013 -up-dated)

A4 Format

B&W

Paperback

358 pages

Heavily illustrated

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-14958906.html 

After more than 40 years as an investigator and more than fifty as a naturalist,the author has opened some of the many files he has accumulated dealing with such things as..  

The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn, The Ghosts Of All Saints Church, Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey Island, captured bigfoot like creatures in India -all exclusively presented for the first time and with new added research previously unseen.  

PLUS a vastly expanded section on Spring-heeled Jack!  Photographs, maps, line drawings and up-dated to make 358 pages looking at Things truly Strange and Sinister.  

Cryptozoologist,Ghost Hunter,Ufologist or Fortean:this book has something for everyone -including the just plain inquisitive!   

ContentsForeword by Travis L. Whitehurst
Introduction        de occultis non judicat ecclesia                                                                            
The Bristol Rocking Horse        
The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn        
The Coonian Ghost        
The Ghosts Of All Saints Church        
His Luminous Chamber        
The Late Reverend Dr. Blomberg        
And More Ghost Stories        
The Thomas B. Cumpston Case        
The Chupacabra        
The Strange Case Of The Gotherington Gargoyle        
What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes?        
Mystery Beasts Of Ireland        
The Creature Of The Dump        
The Strange Creature Of Repton Woods        
The Bizarre Legends,Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack        
The Black Beast Of Darmstadt        
The Nameless Thing Of Berkley Square        
The Terrifying Case Of The U.S. Naval Transport        
The Case Of The Ghost Lear Jet        
Ghost Planes,Crashes And Dead Aquatic Creatures        
The Mitchison Loch Ness Monster Video        
From The Deep Below To The Air Above –USOs        
Aerial Encounters Over Austria        
A Crashed UFO In 1790?        
Angel Hair        
Quimper-Corentin:Where “Thunder Fell”        
Strange Aliens From Space        
The Llandrillo ‘Saucer’ And Other Crash Retrievals        
Transient Lunar Phenomena,Alien Structures And Moon Vegetation        
Whiddon Down-Saint-Jean-du-Guard:Impossible Correlations?        
The Venezuelan HorrorA Final Word.

Alleged piece of crashed UFO from Berwyn Mountains, Wales.

                                                               **************

 Some More Things Strange & Sinister 

Terry Hooper-Scharf

Paperback,

A4

327 Pages 

Heavily illustrated

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-more-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-18763730.html

Follow-up to Some Things Strange & Sinister. For those interested in Ufology, cryptozoology, hominology, unusual natural history, ghosts and mysteries in general. The secret history of gorillas in the UK -before they were officially  'discovered'. 

The history of  the Wild men of Europe, the UK and US: something that in the 1800s become very "pop culture"  Very pop culture and totally forgotten today! Hominology. Sasquatch and Bigfoot -is there evidence for their existence?  

No sitting on the fence here -the Patterson-Gimlin film is looked at as well as other evidence.  The Author's conclusions? 

You might be surprised. Giant snakes. Amazons. The Giant serpent of Carthage. The Girt Dog of Ennerdale -another big cult 'creature' amongst paranormal and cryptozoological circles. The Beast of Gevaudan -what was it and were there really descendents of the creature in the 19th century -one of which was actually brought to London?   Believe it or not more than one incident of historical crocodiles cases in the UK.  In fact, far more than even the Author had thought . And, after more than a century of claims by 'researchers' that it no longer exists: The Silent City of Alaska and the near legendary 'lost' photograph taken of it.

 This and much more. Updated with extra pages and photographs.
                  *********************

Pursuing The Strange And Weird -A Naturalist's Viewpoint (2014 up-date)

Terry Hooper-Scharf
Paperback,
A4
249 Pages
£20.00

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/pursuing-the-strange-weirda-naturalists-viewpoint/paperback/product-21307125.html


UP DATE -From Dead Aquatic (Humanoid) Creatures, the giant squid and yet undiscovered sea creatures; submarine and ships crews encountering true leviathans.

There is a fully expanded section which also refers to the so-called ‘Ningen’ sightings and video footage.

Extinct animals at sea that have been re-discovered. The subject of Sasquatch and other mystery Hominids around the world is dealt with including a look at the “Sasquatch-killer”, Justin Smeja.

Dr. Bryan Sykes and his DNA test results for TVs The Bigfoot Files as well as the controversial Erickson Project and Dr. Melba Ketchum’s Even more controversial Sasquatch DNA test results.

Also included are two early French UFO entity cases that still baffle. Ghosts, strange creatures and the Star-Child hoax. All dealt with by the naturalist and pursuer of the strange and weird
                *******************

  The Bizarre Legends, Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack (2014

  

Terry Hooper-Scharf
Paperback, 

53 Pages  

Dimensions (centimetres) 20.98 wide x 29.69 tall  (A4)

fully illustrated and referenced

£10.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-truth-about-spring-heeled-jack/paperback/product-21259526.html

The terror and mystery created by “Jack The Ripper” has been the subject of countless books, magazine articles as well as movies and TV documentaries. Ask anyone if they have ever heard of Jack The Ripper and it is doubtful anyone would respond with a “no idea.”  

By that same token, ask people who “Spring-heeled Jack” was and you would be lucky to find anyone who had ever heard of him.  

Spring-heeled Jack was the subject (loosely) of a film The Curse of the Wraydons (1946) and Dominic Keating also appeared as Spring Heeled Jack in the 2010 film Sherlock Holmes by The Asylum film company. The character has also featured in both American and British comic books and a number of books, for both children and adults.  

But the fact that the Springald held the country –not just London– in a grip of terror much longer that the Ripper did is all but forgotten except for some half-truths and fanciful theories.  

Now be prepared to read the full story of Spring Heeled Jack

Because I/You Were Not There

"Hi, Terry. I wanted to invite you to join our group. We seem to think along the same lines.  we are a group of skeptical but open minded people..."

At that point my nose bleeds and I bang my head against the table.  You see, no one thinks like me. Every individual thinks differently.  When you state "we all think along the same lines" you mean your group is full of sheep.

"Skeptical but open minded" means that you have already decided "It cannot be but let's prove it isn't anyway" (Type 1)   And guess what?  If Type 1 finds a case that is baffling they will meet up with the "It cannot be therefore YOU missed something" (Type 2).  Of course, Type 1 is offended by Type 2 and its comments and there may be a "give us all the witness details and we will conduct an investigation" moment.

In Ufology I have seen this situation many times and in different parts of the UK (I am not even going to touch on the United States!).  Good, nice people with a serious interest in UFOs investigate a case.  Other Good, nice people interested in UFOs decide they are going to investigate a case. Join forces, increase manpower to make a more thorough investigation? Like hell.

Llanerchymedd, Wales, 1978, was a case in point. There were two rival (!) UFO groups and a duo of UFO investigators who looked into this "UFO landing" and all three groups were speaking to me by phone or up~dating me by mail.  At the time I could not (because of where the information came from) say outright but I very strongly suggested to each team that they were "very probably" dealing with military activity and nothing UFO linked.  It became a mess as they explained how their information was far more solid but that I needed to watch out as "so~and~so is adding details" or"We think they are accepting anything as UFO".....by 1981 the arguing over the incident was still going on. Whether they resolved things I do not know but it was military.

The same goes for so called paranormal activity. One group will claim something happened and another group will claim that it did not because, although they were not there at the time, they had never heard of such a happening at the location before.

You know, if you are in an old, derelict building or structure and hear something hit the floor or wall the best you can do is remember you are in an old, derelict building or structure! Plaster and stone work fall ~that is gravity not a poltergeist.

I have seen a group of "like minded" individuals in a group argue to the point of hitting each other over a piece of plaster or stone falling in the dark.  "It was thrown!"  "It just fell!" and the fake psychics will add "It was the dark presence. It threw the stone and wants you all to argue".

I don't have time for "psychics" but I will still investigate their claims and test them. My prejudice has no place in the work I do.

Cryptozoology. I am not even going to go into the number of conmen and outright liars involved in this subject.  That is not to say that there are no serious, honest investigators/researchers.

All of these fields of investigation and research will have people or groups claiming to be "skeptical but open minded" or "Skeptical" and the arguing and name calling and dirty tricks are things the public do not really get to see.  The ringmasters of the con circus make sure it all stays buried: there is money involved.

You are either on one side or the other.  You cannot speak to A if B is not their friend or has some grudge against them.    We see claims of individual groups (actually a person) receiving 100/150 or even 200 'new' abduction reports each month.

After over 40 years I have been there, seen it, been a target and left.

I get asked how I can listen and investigate something that sounds odd or very strange and yet not look at it as a skeptic nor as a believer?  I must surely fall into one of those groups?  No. Someone tells me of a sighting of ~whatever~ I will ask questions.  I will look at local events, any previous similar reports and only when I have all the facts that I can muster will I decide ~to my own satisfaction~ if it is a genuine case, misidentification or something else.  In some cases you can only go by known facts because I/you were not there. That is the end of it.

Unless you can prove a case, with certain animals say via trail cams where you might photograph the animal in question, or by observations made at the site in question, it is down to what you believe but even then that is not the public opinion you give.  You may well say "The witness(es) appear to be sincere and honest, however, the case cannot be proven" which means it is "Open".  that is how it has to be and even science adopts that stance.

For this reason, I never ever accept invitations from "skeptical open minded" groups nor from "open group of believers".

Review: Alien Legacy by Geraldine Sutton Stith

• 
  
• Paperback: 
• 100 pages

• Publisher: AuthorHouse (31 May 2007)

• Language: English

• ISBN-10: 1425984169

• ISBN-13: 978-1425984168

• Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 0.6 x 22.9 cm

I read a lot of books in a day!

According to the book blurb:

August 21, 1955. Just another hot summer night like so many others in the small community of Kelly, Kentucky. Lucky Sutton along with his family and friends were enjoying a quiet peaceful evening. The family not knowing that all around them strange things were happening. Things that no one would come forward and talk about, too afraid to bring up what they had witnessed. But Lucky and his family were about to find out what could lurk in the darkness. The visitors were not from this earth. Were they possibly from the depths of hell? The gunshots and the screams could be heard by neighbors, but nobody came to help. Lucky and his family could only live as they could after the events of that night, fearing the unknown and wondering for the rest of their lives... Would they come back?

Above: Lucky's mother, Glennie Lankford along with Mary Lankford


Well, if you have been in the business of strange and weird for long enough you should have heard of this case. But I write that knowing that most people today have gotten their education on UFOs and Alien Entity cases from bad TV programmes or...You Tube! The Kelly~Hopkinsville case is what is known as a "classic".

Over 60 years every attempt has been made to dismiss it by...shall I write "stretching the truth more than a little"?  To the skeptic it is nothing more than "hillbillies high on moonshine" or so dumb they have no idea what they are seeing.  Prejudice plays a great part in this. Geraldine Sutton Stith is, of course, a family member and she deals with the various claims made against the family and they do tend to fall apart quickly. For a family "out to make a small fortune" because of their poverty it has to be said they made no money ~not even while attempting to drive off sightseers who trampled all over their property and home: no one paid a penny.

Back in the early 1980s I was going over this case and asked a couple of people in the States whether they could do some up~to~date checks?  Had the family earned any money from TV, radio or newspapers?  Had the much maligned Billy Ray (often portrayed as a tall tale teller who liked the moonshine) made money from the event? Had he been involved in anything that had made him money from his encounter story?

Well, no. The family had made no money and everything Sutton Stith tells us rings true on that point. Billy Ray never returned to that part of the country after leaving it with his wife   not long after the event. Hios wife was traumatised by what happened.

Every time I read "Kelly Goblin Case Solved" I read the account and it is the same old thing. Or the skeptic is simply pulling together half truths that are easily dismissed. That is not the scientific way ~not explainable so just lie about it.

Those who are panicked by the possible reality of these things will tell you, on TV, that "it was a garden gnome" and he is the "expert" (X equals The Unknown and "spurt" is a drip under pressure) so if the expert tells you it was a garden gnome it was a goddam garden gnome ~got it?

Dry old investigators like to ask "What happened leading up to the sighting?" The witness will reply: "Well, Dave and his wife and Stuart and his had come down the day before~" at which point they are interrupted with a "No. What happened in the hour leading up to the incident?"

What Sutton Stith does here is tell us what was going on prior, during and after the event.  We get a full picture of everything, Nothing leads up the event, no one says "Hear about them durned flying saucers?" It was just everyday life and Billy Ray did not go out to "the outdoor privvie" but went to get a cold drink from the pump out in the yard. That hardly sounds like a boozed up hillbilly.

We also find out that Lucky was not believing what Billy Ray said and the reason for it. Lucky was a downright skeptic.  And when Lucky saw something...his mother was the big skeptic and everyone else laughed.  Right up to the point that Lucky's mother saw one of the "goblins" for herself she was paying no attention to Lucky and Billy Ray's joke.  Everyone was skeptical from the outset until they set eyes on something.  This is as far from a slightly tipsy Billy Ray rushing in to say he had seen a "flying saucer" and everyone starting to panic which created hysteria as you can get.

No TV, no radio.

Throughout, and later still, the family being Christian, believed the entities they saw were either goblins or demons...that they did not seem to be trying to harm the family led Lucky's mother to advise against trying to hurt them ~but Lucky was having none of it.

There is a flaw in the book.  Sutton Stith has included no photographs or line drawings.  So the reader is left wondering exactly what these entities looked like or the shack?  I doubt Sutton Stith will read this but an updated book with these in would help those in the know.

In case you are wondering.....

Several web sites will tell you these are drawings by the family. You read that then leave the site because they are idiots and know nothing.  See that "BL" at the bottom of the drawing? Budd Ledwith who was from the local radio station, WHOP, drew these based on the family descriptions.

Now, you will see why I find this case fascinating and perplexing.

These entities look fairly unique and although there have been cases where it was claimed "the entities looked similar to those seen at Kelly~Hopkinsville" they did not look so (if anyone can correct me on this point please get in touch). The entities approached the Suttons with arms raised ~even Lucky's mother realised the possible significance of this.  It can be seen as a sign of surrender but was originally meant to indicate "Look: not hostile, arms raised no weapons in hand. Here in peace."

There had been a lot of meteors that particular month.  However, what Billy Ray saw did not look like a meteor. Others reported odd sightings and even hearing the gunshots and shouting from the Suttons home. Sadly, I tend to dismiss witnesses who come forward years later, as in this case. I do understand why, if genuine, they did not want to get involved at the time ~they saw what the Suttons went through. Anecdotal evidence at best. Now, I cannot say 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt genuine because I was not there.  There were no real procedures used to gather samples and no geiger counters used. The gut feeling is that the family had a genuine experience involving unique looking entities.

Above: Elmer "Lucky" Sutton talking at the time of the encounter


This is where we speculate.  Had this been a forced or planned landing?  Were these 'goblins' attempting to make peaceful contact with the Suttons (one was seen to reach down to touch Billy Ray's hair and did not, as some accounts claim, "take a swipe at him"/"grabbed his hair" or anything else and, no, no one was abducted) who then, through fear opened fire on them?  The mindset was not there for "Hey, peaceful aliens from another planet ~and they want to make contact!" These were "goblins or demons" and were approaching the house where the women and children were. Lucky, Billy Ray and Co. did what people might still do today ~they opened fire.

What might have happened had they not?  Why did these entities return again, after all the police had gone?  Still no hostile action.

Sutton Stith's book tells us a side of the story we haven't heard before and she makes it clear that even up to their deaths the Sutton members did not want to talk about what happened but only told the younger members of the family what happened so that they knew the facts.

Add this book and what it tells us to the accounts written by Ledwith and Isabel Davis and you have a case that will make you think.  You may say "Bull crap!" and, indeed, for a number of years I was in a similar frame of thinking.  If you read the accounts and investigate the case and read Sutton Stith's book and you still say that without the slightest doubt well....

I would highly recommend this book highly and I hope any update features some photographs, etc.

Review: Manbeasts: A personal investigation by Adam Davies

1. Paperback: 164 pages
2. Publisher: cfz (7 Oct. 2014)
3. Language: English
4. ISBN-10: 1909488216
5. ISBN-13: 978-1909488212
6. Product Dimensions: 15.6 x 0.9 x 23.4 cm
7. 
   

I had seen Adam Davies on a number of TV documentary programmes such as Monster Quest and it was good to see someone who took his subject seriously and so, when I saw two books by him I decided to order them.  Unfortunately, there was a problem with one so I only got the book under review.

When it came to actual work on expeditions the reading was good.  There was space given to how and why Davies decided which expeditions to mount and how compromises need to be made ~but not when it came to investigation. No one can afford to mount expeditions along with all the equipment needed out of their own pocket continuously so money from TV companies helps...a lot! That side of things I am okay with. You have to be a realist.

I can also understand why Prof. Brian Sykes did not want it known that he had funded Davies trip to the United States.  You have to remember that, in the United States, it seems that  "Bigfoot experts" put more effort into name~calling, making wild claims against one another and worse than they do in looking for the elusive hominid.  Sasquatch is safe from being discovered by those going out looking for it!  So, had it been revealed that Sykes, who was behind the "infamous" mystery hominid DNA project had funded someone who was known to believe in these creatures...big "Bang!" in the, uh, "community".

Above: Bigfoot  looming over Davies and Simmons as they sleep?

I was somewhat puzzled that the account was given of an alleged Bigfoot caught on camera (a 1 second shot?) standing over Davies and Lori Simmons while they slept but the photo was not reproduced.  When the photo first emerged I could not see what he reported  and reading his description in this book and looking at the photo again...I still cannot see it. When questioned over the image Davies responded: "...i can say, though, that there was nobody else in our vicinity, that we were asleep..." Wow.  Now, in this book Davies questions what some witnesses have said about sightings because of lack of evidence or some other nuance. Yet here he asks the reader to accept that he knew no one else was around because he and Simmons were asleep?  No. I'm not sure who was behind the one single photo (questions are unanswered as to why only one photo) Bigfoot Evidence has dealt with this photo so go check them out.

http://bigfootevidence.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/breaking-cryptozoologist-adam-davies.html

After the SOHA (Southern Oregon Habituation Area) debacle which saw a big dent in Davies reputation (I believe he was conned) it is fair to say that "Squatchin'" has not been good to him.

It is an interesting book, however, on the downside 11 of the photographs were ruined by heavy lines running down one or both sides of them ~the sort of thing you get when ink cartridges are running out or very bad scanning. This is annoying in that when you buy a new book you expect to get a better quality product.

I was also very surprised at some paragraphs that made no sense such as bottom of p. 66 "I was glad to be told that wChinese mountain cat hen we got to the other side of the lake, the phones would be unable to get a signal"

Davies does not come out of this well, in fact. He resorts to name calling, such as two people who had handed him business cards in the past with "Explorer" on them were "utter twats". One has to hope that one of those two people never comes up with a vital piece of evidence that could add or prove Davies case re. "Man~beasts" because if they read that line... Then we have a helicopter pilot who would not attempt a landing in mountainous terrain ~a pilot has to think of their own and passenger safety and that is no joke~ is described as "pilot pussy" and someone as "a fat bloke" and there are other examples and by about the third time I read it I didn't care if he had "heard a tiger in the wild!".

Then you have a location "...we arrived at Juwkaa Pani. Jukwaa Pani..." Which is it?

there were several sentences I had to re~read three or four times to make sense out of because they were just plain badly written. I have to wonder about the editing because many of these obvious

faults should have been spotted easily during that process. 

Davies comes across as arrogant and egotistical in places not to mention misogynistic person and none of this is helped by accounts of hard drinking sessions. You expect a little "colour" in accounts of expeditions but in this case I think just looking at organizing expeditions and notes on field work would have been far better. Never having met the man it may just be that this is a false impression created by the book but presumably Davies proof read it and approved?

As I've written, the book would have been far better without some aspects but the accounts of seeming ~reading of them in this book~ slap dash expeditions raised more than a few questions.  Certainly I think Davies might achieve more with better funding and despite his belief that concentrating on just looking for one "man beast" might waste years of his time, I think that good financial backing, more cameras and the ability to stay a month or more on an expedition might well yield better results in, say, the case of the Orang Pendek.

A book I waited for excitedly and read in a day but was a disappointment. Not a great book ~certainly not a "classic of cryptozoology"" as someone on Amazon wrote~  but if you are interested in the subject you will want it for your bookshelf.

There Can NEVER Be An Excuse To NOT Investigate A Case

Imagine this.  There are UFO 'researchers' who seriously ask "What do you mean by 1973 UFO wave?"

Seriously. Ufologists these days seem to get their education on the subject via You Tube and TV...and sensationalist and inaccurate books. It's almost as though nothing happened between 1947~1995.

So, what is ~or was~ seen as the best recorded and most significant UFO wave of sightings world wide Is to many just unknown. J. Bernard Delair of the old Contact UK produced a very detailed edition of The UFO Register summarizing what was known.

Now let's suppose that you read that issue of The UFO Register in 1974, or later, and from all the cases cited there are a few lines detailing an alleged UFO landing and entity being seen, but an entity the description of which is unique. We were always told look for rare seemingly genuine events where non humanoid entities are reported. There was such a case.

1974~1980 I wrote to the people who were supposed to have looked into this case.  No responses. So any and every new book dealing with that period or AE/CE3K cases is checked. Same lines. No new details. I have scoured thousands of these reports I have on file and checked many other sources. Nothing similar so the "craft" description and entity description are unique.

In 2015 I finally got in contact with someone at a major UFO organization in the USA.  Yes, they had the case on file and even provided me with the files.  No investigation had ever taken place. Why? Even Ted Bloecher (Google him) stated in the file that the case was deserving of investigation. The reason nothing was done?  No one could be bother "It might turn out to be a hoax" based on the fact that the description and notes made by someone at a radio station at the time just didn't "do it" for someone.

I checked everywhere I could on the internet once I got the percipient's name. No claims of a hoax or a joke.  Nothing. Just constant cut and paste of the same lines describing the incident.

However, the whole point of investigation is to disprove or prove a case. A joke? Fair enough. At least investigators learn something more. Genuine...well, I leave that up to you.

I am hoping that the organization I am in touch with will consider re~opening this as a cold case. It could be very significant.

More...eventually.

Southmead Hospital (Bristol) To Panic Cull Foxes

I have messaged the hospital which seems to think an unwell fox will break in and attack and kill. Pest Control should be the very LAST people to contact as thet do not care if it might be a vixen looking for food for cubs or what season it is: they are only interested in the money.

Culling any and all foxes because one looks ill??  This is the year 2017 and there are groups like the National Fox Welfare Society who should be called first. Foxes have lived on Southmead Hospital grounds, that I know of from when I lived in Southmead, since the early 1970s.

A "cull" is knee jerk panic.  Read the headline.  Good to see people have protested the move.

This is the 21st Century and some pest controllers are far more dangerous than any ill fox.

Foxes could crawl through maternity ward windows and endanger babies, says hospital considering cull

Sarah Knapton

The Telegraph12 August 2017

View photos

A diseased fox has been seen loitering around the maternity wards at Bristol Southmead Hospital 

A hospital in Bristol is considering culling foxes outside a maternity unit because they believe the animals could climb in through the windows and pose a threat to newborns.

Bristol Southmead Hospital announced last week that pest controllers would ‘remove’ the animals ‘to ensure the safety of mothers and babies.’

NHS managers said they had become aware of one animal in particular which looked diseased, and had been seen in public areas.

However the proposal has sparked an outcry from locals and conservationists who have set up a petition which has already attracted hundreds of signatures.

View photos

Bristol Southmead Hospital 

The hospital said it had temporarily halted its plan and was consulting with animal groups.

"Foxes have lived peacefully on the site for a number of years,” a spokesman said. “However, recently we have had more sightings of foxes particularly around our maternity unit.

"To clarify, we contacted pest control because we are particularly concerned about one of the foxes who looks like it may be unwell. The fox has become bolder in behaviour and is being sighted more regularly in public areas.

"So far we have contacted some alternative animal welfare organisations and we are pausing all existing activity while we consider their recommendations."

Details of the initial cull were first announced on the hospital’s Facebook page, in a post which warned that many of the maternity unit’s windows were left open during the summer, and said there was a ‘potential risk of foxes entering the building.’

But within hours, people had complained about the plans.

Nikki Hamilton posted: "I love the NHS and will always defend to the hilt but not happy that exterminators are killing the foxes", while Caroline Littlewood said she was "appalled" by the plans.

Debbie Swatton added: “Shame on you Southmead Hospital and Carillion. I’m sure if you had sought advice from a wildlife sanctuary, such as Secret World or Badger Care Wildlife, they would have helped in a more caring way.”

The hospital said it was now looking at other ways to deter the animals and said it had not killed any foxes.

Southmead Hospital

11 August at 14:37 · 

We have received a number of messages regarding foxes located near our Maternity unit and around our hospital site. We recognise that many people are concerned for the welfare of the foxes; however as a hospital our priority has to be the safety of our patients.

We are grateful for all the recommendations of animal welfare organisations who might be able to help and we will make contact with them for their advice on the most appropriate action to take.

While under normal circumstances we would endeavour to directly respond to all messages, unfortunately in this case we are unable to respond to every message. We hope this post goes somewhere in addressing any concerns or questions you have.

- UPDATE -

We have had a number of people asking whether we have shot any foxes. We can confirm that we have not killed any foxes.

Foxes have lived peacefully on the site for a number of years. However, recently we have had more sightings of foxes particularly around our Maternity unit. To clarify, we contacted pest control because we are particularly concerned about one of the foxes who looks like it may be unwell. The fox has become bolder in behaviour and is being sighted more regularly in public areas.

So far we have contacted some alternative animal welfare organisations and we are pausing all existing activity while we consider their recommendations. We have also taken advice from them on how to deter foxes in future; one of their suggestions is that people on site do not feed the foxes. We will be sending out messaging to staff, patients and the public with this advice.

- FURTHER UPDATE -

You may have seen that a petition was recently created in response to comments about a fox near our Maternity unit.

Please see below our response to the petition:

We understand that this is a very emotive issue and people feel very strongly about the welfare of foxes on our hospital site.

To provide reassurances we can confirm that no foxes have been killed or harmed at Southmead Hospital and we have no intention to.

We are not sure where the petition’s reference to two foxes being caught has come from, but this is not the case. Nor do we have any intention of culling foxes.

Action was taken after concerns were raised by senior nursing staff at the hospital about a particular fox near the maternity department. We would not have been doing our job as a healthcare provider if we had not responded to these concerns, even if the potential risk is low.

We have paused all action in response to the comments we have received and we have contacted The Fox Project and were redirected to Fox-A-Gon. We are awaiting more advice before taking further action.

In the meantime, we are advising staff not to feed foxes around the site.

We understand that the foxes on our site provide pleasure to some patients and visitors and have lived in harmony with them for many years. We hope to find a way of continuing to do so, while also ensuring we do what is in the interest of all our patients.

We thank everyone for their suggestions of alternative organisations who may be able to help us resolve this matter.