Middleboro Police Kill Fox After Two Recent Attacks
MIDDLEBORO (CBS) -- Middleboro Police say the fox they believe was behind two recent attacks has been killed.
The fox was found early Tuesday morning in a ditch on the side of the road near the Kampground of America Campground, where one of the attacks occurred.
"A determination was made that the fox represented an immediate threat to public safety and an officer discharged his service weapon, striking and killing the animal. This is standard procedure when there is an animal that is deemed dangerous or threatening toward the public," police said.
Middleboro Animal Control took the animal to a state lab where it will be tested.
Two women have been treated at local hospitals after a fox attacked them in the area. Around 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, police responded to a call on Muttock Lane and found a woman with bite marks on both her legs. On Monday morning, a 911 call to Middleboro Police reported that a woman had been bitten by a fox at the Kampgrounds of America Campground on Plymouth Street.
Crestena Astorga told WBZ-TV she was attacked by the fox in her own driveway Sunday night. She has more than 11 bites.
"Given that the animal had attacked two people, it was considered to be a threat to the public and had to be killed in order for it to be tested for rabies and other diseases. I want to thank the many residents who reached out yesterday in helping us locate the fox," said Chief Perkins on Facebook.
