Cartesian foxy
Aviso à navegação.
Tenha cuidado com alguns humanos e não perca tempo com as foxes, a menOS que seja com o Inverno das Raposas.
Mind some humans and don´t waste your time with foxes.
E.g. Beware of Scottish Power peddlers WHEN they knock at your and talk you into moving to them as electric suppliers.
See this BBC Link: Scottish Power fined £8.5 million for conning customers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-2462030422 October 2013 Last updated at 02:06
Woods says foxes are part of the ecosystem
Outfoxing the urban fox
There are an estimated 33,000 urban foxes in the UK's towns and cities. Outwitting the wily creatures is becoming an increasingly popular way to control them humanely.
There are many people who dislike urban foxes. They have been blamed for biting babies and killing penguins at London Zoo, but others feed them and treat them like pets.
Foxes first colonised UK towns and cities in the 1940s and an estimated 33,000 now live in them, according to research by Bristol University. There are thought to be 16 per square mile in London alone.
Dealing with urban foxes is complicated. They are protected under a series of wildlife laws and it is only permissible to control numbers in very limited ways. Even then methods such as shooting often aren't appropriate in urban areas.
But there are a small number of fox experts specialising in dealing with them in ways that will not harm the animal. They call it "humane deterrence" and don't like to be labelled as pest controllers. They are getting up to 50 calls a week from people who need help but don't want the fox harmed.
Killing foxes is pointless in urban areas, they argue, because another one will quickly take its place. Fox experts agree.
"A fox will constantly mark its territory," says John Bryant, who is based in Tonbridge, Kent, and was one of the first people to offer humane deterrence.
"The moment it stops it's obvious to others foxes that it isn't there any more and they will move in. So if you shoot a fox another will colonise the vacant territory in a matter of days."
The humane approach is about disturbing a fox's normal behaviour and, crucially, moving it to another part of its territory. This means its scent will still be left around the area so no other foxes will move in.
"Foxes repeat behaviour day after day but they are very smart and if an area becomes hostile they will move somewhere else," says Terry Woods, co-founder of Fox-A-Gon, which operates in London and the South East.
A fox's territory can cover up to 40 acres and in urban areas can include up to 400 gardens, says Bryant. If you deter it from one garden it could have another 399 to choose from, he says.
"It might only move to a garden a few doors down but that person might not think the fox is a problem. It's obviously going to return to a garden where it is welcome, not one where it isn't."
Methods used are often simple. One of the most popular, and most effective, is motion-activated sprinklers that repel foxes with a short but startling burst of water. Underground cameras are also used to hunt out and block hidden routes that foxes use to get in an area.
Brookside, a street in north London, typifies the divide of opinion there often is when it comes to urban foxes.
One resident, Sofia, has chickens and worries they will be killed by foxes. She has used many methods to deter them, including human hair after reading on the internet that foxes don't like the smell.
"It was a bit of a random request but my mum went to the hairdressers and asked for a bag of hair," she says. "I've wedged it in certain places but foxes have pulled it out. If a fox killed my chickens I'd be absolutely devastated."
Nobby lives a few doors down and has been feeding local foxes for years, luring them into his garden with dog food and biscuits.
"There are a lot of people round here that say 'you and your foxes are making a lot of noise and they're digging holes in my garden'. I tell them to go boil their heads."
Common complaints about foxes can usually be narrowed down to mess, pungent-smelling faeces, digging holes and noise. They screech when they fight over territory or female foxes during mating season.
But fox lovers point out that other animals, such as pet cats and dogs, are also responsible for such behaviour. Fox experts say there are many common myths surrounding foxes, including that they scavenge in bins every night and kill for fun. Both are untrue, they argue. Other people may beg to differ.
Problems are often because of people and not foxes, say the experts.
"You shouldn't encourage foxes into your home or try to tame them," says Stephen Harris, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Bristol and an expert on foxes.
"They are incredibly intelligent but, just like people, they are all different. They will have different responses - some will be friendly but some won't."
He says fox attacks are extremely rare but the animals do explore using their teeth and nip things to see what they are.
"It's usually exploratory, inquisitive behaviour but you don't want to be on the receiving end.
"Britain has some of the highest-density fox populations in the world but they cause remarkably few problems. There are many benefits of having foxes in urban areas, including being nature's pest controllers when it comes to rats and feral pigeons.
"The vast majority of householders like to see the foxes in their garden. It's a bit of the countryside in town."
But fox supporters do, however, recognise they can be a nuisance. Vixens give birth around March and the cubs are normally driven out to find their own territories by their parents in the late summer and autumn.
"When the adolescent foxes are kicked out of home they become teenage hooligans," says Bryant.
"They come down streets in gangs and cause trouble. I've known them to bite through the brake pipes on cars. It's very rare, but I have dealt with a few cases."
But at the end of the day the argument for humane controls is simple, say those in the business.
"We can't exist in isolation," says Woods. "Nature runs in harmony and foxes are an important part of the ecosystem. If you start taking out what you don't like - the squirrels, the foxes, the badgers - you end up with nothing."
ESTES E OUTROS AINDA SÃO PIORES DO QUE AS RAPOSAS, E SÃO UMA PRAGA EM PROPORÇÕES MAIS ELEVADAS.
ESTES E OUTROS AINDA SÃO PIORES DO QUE AS RAPOSAS, E SÃO UMA PRAGA EM PROPORÇÕES MAIS ELEVADAS.
22 October 2013 Last updated at 09:35
Scottish Power will pay customers £8.5m
Scottish Power to pay customers £8.5m after Ofgem probe
Scottish Power will pay customers £8.5m
Scottish Power is to pay customers £8.5m after an investigation by industry regulator Ofgem into its doorstep and telephone selling.
Ofgem said customers were misled during sales approaches due to Scottish Power's failure to "adequately train and monitor" staff.
Consumers on the "warm home discount" will receive about £50 each. Money will also go to those who were misled.
The company has apologised for the errors between 2009 and 2012.
"Today's announcement is a clear signal to energy suppliers of the consequences of breaching licence obligations," said Ofgem's senior partner in charge of enforcement Sarah Harrison.
Changes
Scottish Power will pay £7.5m to the 140,000 customers it has on the government-led "warm home discount scheme" aimed at supporting customers who are likely to be at risk of fuel poverty.
It estimates each will receive a payment of about £50.
It has also set up a £1m customer compensation fund for customers who believe they have been mis-sold to.
Scottish Power said the failings identified had now all been rectified. It stopped doorstep sales in 2011 and has also put in place independent checks on the conduct of its telephone agents.
Ofgem said the size of the fine reflected Scottish Power's cooperation during the investigation.
"Ofgem's investigation found no evidence of a strategy by Scottish Power to deliberately mis-sell to customers," the energy regulator said in a statement.
Scottish Power said it would write to the 336,000 people who could have been affected and could be in line for compensation.
"We accept Ofgem's findings and we apologize unreservedly to those customers affected," said Neil Clitheroe, of Scottish Power.
"This arose as a result of new regulations which were introduced in 2009. I am sorry to say that we didn't implement these properly at that time.
"However, I am pleased that Ofgem has made it clear that they found no evidence of a strategy by Scottish Power to deliberately mis-sell to customers.
"Since 2011 we have taken determined steps to resolve the problem: doorstep selling was stopped; and all telephone sales staff are properly trained and monitored."
Scottish Power is not the only energy supplier to have been in trouble with the regulator over doorstep selling.
In April, Ofgem said that SSE was guilty of management failures that led to "prolonged and extensive" mis-selling through telephone, in-store and doorstep sales.
The regulator handed down a record £10.5m fine. Two other investigations - into Npower and E.On, are ongoing.
Energy companies no longer sell energy door-to-door, a change that has reduced the number of people switching suppliers in recent times, figures show.
New rules
Also on Tuesday, new rules from Ofgem came into force preventing energy firms from increasing prices during fixed-term contracts.
Firms are also banned from automatically rolling customers on to another fixed-term offer when their current one ends.
Ofgem says the changes are aimed at ensuring customers get the best energy deal for them.
"Ofgem is going to make it easier for consumers to 'vote with their feet'", said Ofgem chief executive Andrew Wright.
The rules are part of a series of reforms, relating to new standards of conduct for energy firms.
"Our reforms seek to give consumers the tools they need to find the best energy deal for them," added Mr Wright.
The reform follows Ofgem's research showing that even on fixed-term deals, suppliers could still increase prices.
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1 comment:
They have been blamed for biting babies and killing penguins at London Zoo, but others feed them and treat them like pets.Earths Best Pest Control Service
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