Fox savages baby in her own home
Mother’s horror as baby girl is mauled by urban fox that crept in the FRONT door
A BABY girl was mauled by an urban fox that crept into her home in the middle of the day.
Raeya Wyatt screamed as the animal sank its teeth into her hands and feet after sneaking in through a front door that was left on the latch.
Mother Leanne Boundy, 27, said she feared the seven-month-old could have been ‘ripped to pieces’ in the horrifying 30-second attack.
The fox was eventually scared away by the child’s grandfather, who said the same animal had killed a neighbour’s cat a day earlier.
Raeya was taken to hospital, where she was given antibiotics and a tetanus injection, although the family said they waited 45 minutes for paramedics to arrive at their Plymouth semi.
The incident again raises fears over the prevalence of urban foxes, which have quadrupled in number over the last 20 years as they feast on food scraps from bins.
Last night Miss Boundy hit out at the RSPCA, claiming she had raised repeated concerns over the danger the fox posed to her three young children before Tuesday’s attack.
She said: ‘It has been walking along the side [of the house] for several days. The attack lasted 30 seconds but in another minute it could have been a lot worse and ripped her to pieces.
‘You don’t expect a fox to behave in that way. The RSPCA need to come and get it. I’m really angry with them – if this was a dog that came in it would have been put down.
‘Several calls have been made to the RSPCA but the fox is still in the garden. As a mother it was terrifying.’
Miss Boundy, who also has two boys – Reggie, four, and one-year-old Jimmy – added: ‘No one saw the attack. My dad came in to shut the door and turned around and the fox was in the living room. The door was just on the latch, Raeya has bite marks on her hand and on her foot – they are puncture wounds. She was released from hospital on Tuesday evening, but is still shaken up. If a dog goes near her now she is scared and will cry.’
Grandfather Darren Boundy, 48, said: ‘This fox killed a neighbour’s cat the day before. It sneaked round the side of the fence to come in the front door.
‘I just turned around and looked in the front room and the fox was right behind Raeya. The baby was screaming, it all happened in about 30 seconds. I just took her out and then phoned the ambulance.’
Raeya’s aunt, Roxanne Boundy, added: ‘Raeya had her hands and feet bitten. She was crying her eyes out. As a family we are all really angry that this was able to happen. We warned the RSPCA and there were seven calls made to them and we were told there was nothing they can do.’
The 28-year-old said the family noticed the fox in the back garden the day before the attack but claim the RSPCA told them to make a ‘convenient opening’ so it could get out.
‘All the kids like to play in that area and the baby was in the front room,’ she said. ‘But it [the fox] goes around the side of the house and comes in through the front door, which is on the latch.
‘It comes into the front room and attacks the baby and bites her in her bouncer. It also bit her foot. By the looks of it she must have been lucky and her instinct must have been to kick it away.’
The full-time mother said she posted details of the attack on Facebook to warn others.
Incredibly, the fox is still hanging around the family home. Miss Boundy said: ‘It is outrageous that it is still here and there is nothing we can do about it. It is shocking and is not what you expect from a fox. It could attack another child and this time be even worse.’
The RSPCA said it was ‘extremely unusual’ for foxes to attack anyone. A spokesman added: ‘It’s not typical fox behaviour at all. Foxes will come closer to a house if there are food sources. Then they can become quite bold, but they usually do back off and run away when there’s people around.’ The animal charity warned that ‘approaching, handling or cornering any wild animal is potentially hazardous’ and could provoke an attack.
In 2013, four-week- old Denny Dolan had his finger nearly bitten off as a fox pulled him from the sofa at his home in Downham, south-east London.
In 2010, twins Isabella and Lola Koupparis were left with injuries to their arms and faces after they were mauled by an animal in their cots in Hackney, east London.
The animal had entered through patio doors. After both attacks, animal charities said attacks on humans by foxes were very rare.
A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service said: ‘We were called to an incident in the West Park area of Plymouth involving a suspected animal bite. A female patient was treated at the scene for minor injuries.’
‘Called the RSPCA seven times’