Rat poison warning after East Yorkshire fox family killed

A wildlife charity is urging people to be more careful when it comes to pest control after a family of foxes died after apparently eating rat poison.

The Wildlife Alliance Hull and East Yorkshire was contacted by a woman from Hull when she found a vixen and her three cubs sick in her garden.

Jennifer Quinn from the charity said people should use different methods to deal with rodents.

She described the animals’ deaths as “horrific.”

“It causes manic running, so manic movements where the fox can no longer run in circles,” she said.

“You hear a lot of vomiting, so they’re screaming, they’re literally screaming.

“It’s nerve-wracking.”

Ms Quinn said the mother was found dead at the scene and her three boys were too sick to save, although they were taken to a vet for treatment.

She said the charity also cared for owls and other poisoned animals, including cats and dogs.

Ms Quinn added that people needed to use alternative pest control methods.

“There are many different ways to keep rats out of your yard,” she said.

“Something as silly as the fact that rats as a species are neophobic, which basically means they don’t like change.

“So if you change just a few things in your yard, you’re deterring them from coming in.”

She also suggested planting daffodils and hyacinths and using peppermint oil as a deterrent.

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