Children 'traumatised' as dead foxes dumped beside primary school
by Orla Mullan
A number of primary school children have been left ‘traumatised’ after dead foxes were dumped close to their school building, it has emerged.
Five dead foxes were dumped along the roadside outside St John Bosco Primary School in Bellaghy during the early hours of Friday morning.
The gruesome discovery was made by parents and children on the school run.
The animals were removed on Friday by council employees.
Last night one disgusted mum said her child was ‘left in tears’ after seeing the dead animals ‘laid out like trophies’ on the side of the Culbane Road.
The mother, who preferred not to be identified, said children were going into school ‘traumatised’ after seeing the dead foxes.
“The foxes were just laid out there like trophies at the side of the road. It was absolutely disgusting.
“Every child going into the school on Friday morning witnessed that sight. Many of the children were in tears. My own child is traumatised by it all.
“These foxes are pretty young and they appear to have been shot. Grown men were even stopping at the side of the road and they were absolutely gobsmacked that someone would dump these animals here.
“I don’t know who did this but this is young, innocent children going to their school. They didn’t need to see that.”
The woman claims a similar incident happened in the area just three weeks ago.
“A dead fox was dumped in the bus shelter on the Ballynease Road, not far from where these foxes were dumped. Kids found the animal when they went to the bus stop to catch their school bus. We just can’t understand why anyone would do this,” she added.
Commenting on Friday’s incident, Sinn Féin MLA Ian Milne said: "I share the local community's abhorrence of this activity. This action has been very distressing for many local people, including school children, given the nearby locations of a bus shelter and the local primary school. This anti-community activity must end."
A spokesperson for Mid-Ulster District Council said: “Mid Ulster District Council received reports on Friday 3rd November regarding the fly tipping of dead foxes in Bellaghy, which were removed the same morning by Council. The PSNI were also informed of the incident. Fly tipping is antisocial and shows a complete disregard for local people and the environment. We take incidents of fly tipping extremely seriously, and we would encourage all residents to continue to report fly tips to the Council and any other information that will help us identify the culprits.”
Meanwhile, a PSNI spokesperson confirmed they were aware of the incident.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police received a report shortly before 10am on Friday, 3rd November of dead foxes having been dumped on the Culbane Road in Portglenone.
“The removal of debris including dead animals falls under the responsibility of the Council street cleaning department for local roads, and Transport NI for the motorway and the A1 and A4.
“The PSNI does not have the requisite equipment or vehicles to routinely be lifting either dead animals or other bulky items.
“PSNI would investigate if there is a suspected wildlife crime and, in this instance, we do not believe so.”