John
04-23-2009, 06:47 PM
A retired doctor from Derby has trained foxes to stand up on two legs and beg for food.
Richard Lavelle, 80, starting feeding the foxes five years ago, and now up to seven of them visit his garden each night, reports the Daily Mail.
The foxes stand upright on command and catch the scraps of meat he throws to them.
He said: "A mother fox had some cubs on some allotments at the bottom of my neighbour's garden, so I started to offer them food.
"When the mother died, the cubs kept coming, and now I am seeing the second generation."
Nick Brown, of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said he had never heard of foxes being trained.
"The fact that the foxes go so close is a tribute to his patience," he said.
Dr Lavelle's neighbours are happy for him to continue feeding the foxes, because they say it stops them digging up their gardens.
However, the RSPCA has warned that they could become dependent on him.
Richard Lavelle, 80, starting feeding the foxes five years ago, and now up to seven of them visit his garden each night, reports the Daily Mail.
The foxes stand upright on command and catch the scraps of meat he throws to them.
He said: "A mother fox had some cubs on some allotments at the bottom of my neighbour's garden, so I started to offer them food.
"When the mother died, the cubs kept coming, and now I am seeing the second generation."
Nick Brown, of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said he had never heard of foxes being trained.
"The fact that the foxes go so close is a tribute to his patience," he said.
Dr Lavelle's neighbours are happy for him to continue feeding the foxes, because they say it stops them digging up their gardens.
However, the RSPCA has warned that they could become dependent on him.