Mmmm...

I don't want to condone their behaviour but before condemning these people for leaving food outside for foxes and getting very aggravated let's have another think.

They probably have been living there for years and leaving food out for foxes for years. And why not, is it illegal to leave food out for foxes?

And all of a sudden new people move in and suddenly tell them that they can't do this in "our" street.

Well who the hell do you bloody well think you are? Who appointed you as guardian of the street to go around and tell people what they can and can't do? You may well think you are right and that foxes are vermin but not everyone agrees with your point of view and doesn't have to do what you think is right.

They reacted badly and I suspect aren't as articulate as the person who confronted them but remember that it's their street too.

And I'm also very unsure about filming people without their permission and posting it on a public forum.

I think anyone who wears nightwear in public should be filmed and shamed.
















Kidding....

They are leaving litter in the street. If it was me, I would just throw it in a bin.

Lewishams 'guidelines' on the matter are to NOT feed the foxes. Not the law, but a friendly request I would say, and personally, I feel good advice.

https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/e...foxes.aspx

I love watching foxes, amazing creatures, and cheeky and bold little things... But I would not personally feed them. The flip side to this is that some people leave poisoned food out as they DON'T like foxes... When a domestic dog then picks that up, it becomes a serious issue.

[Post removed due to abuse -admin]

I totally get where you are coming from, and if someone shouted at me while I was disposing of meat or food they had left out, I would have filmed them too. Walking about threatening to knock peoples **** heads off is not on under any conditions, especially when you seemed to remain so calm.

The posting on a public forum is a horses for courses thing, as they carried out their behaviour in public in the first place...

I totally understood the 'our' street comment.

When it comes to moving into a new street, I don't care how long anyone has been there, respect isn't based on how long you lived there, its about how you behave towards others. I have lived on my road for 30+ years now, and have as much time for newcomers as I do for those just moved in.... all based on mutual respect.

I agree that people shouldn't feed the foxes - especially as said foxes love to dig up my garden and leave me presents(?) everywhere (although I know some of the neighbourhood cats can also be blamed for some of that)! Friday was particularly delightful when it turned out 2 of us has walked in some **** (in the dark) on our way home so we spent the evening cleaning the floors.

However, it does make me uncomfortable that this couple were filmed and it was put on the forum.

Bee, why does it make you uncomfortable?

Just personal opinion really. I wouldn't want to be filmed and it uploaded to a forum!

Although this couple are unnecessarily aggressive, I also wouldn't want to be filmed, have it uploaded to a public forum, have my address clearly identified and be described as 'clearly unhinged'.

Oryx, if filming this couple acting in the aggressive manner in a public place in order to demonstrate their actions fills you with concern then I really worry. There seems to be an alarming trend for people to forget what these two have done whilst jumping to their defence over their civil liberties.

Filming in the street is legal unless directed otherwise by Tue police and then only under counter terrorism rules.

The posting of the video on her is a civil matter and if the delightful couple divide they don't like it they can make it a civil matter against the poster. I don't think they will.

You do realise that you live in a city with nearly more CCTV than most of the other world cities combined and are filmed every day without your knowledge.

These two knew they were being filmed but continued to act in an aggressive manner, I don't think they give a damn do you.

If push came to shove and the police became involved and that footage was used in evidence I am pretty sure I know the outcome.

Please let's stop ignoring the crime and focusing on the miscreants civil liberties. Threats of violence trump a potential civil dispute over filming.

I suspect that there was a conversation prior to this filmed incident, and I guess he can confirm or deny if that was the case.

The problem is that we don't know the context of what was filmed. There is the possibility that Chris or the couple were less polite before the confrontation caught on camera. But we have a short clip without the full context. We can all make our judgements about the behaviour caught on camera, but we should be weary about making too many assumptions.

Having said that, I have no problem with people posting pictures or video in the public domain of incidents that occurred in public. That is why I try to photograph cyclists when they are on the pavement or motorists on their phone (sadly it usually takes too long to unlock my phone).

Now that most people have a camera in their pocket people need to get more used to their anti-social and illegal behaviour being filmed. If you don't want people to see you acting in this way, don't do it in public.

Michael

The only crime being committed here is littering and if it bothers you that much you'd be better off (quietly) collecting as much evidence as you can and taking it to the Council (see section on Prosecutions in the link below) to see if they feel there are grounds for prosecution. At the very least, they will probably visit the people responsible and warn them. As a previous poster has pointed out, feeding foxes is not illegal, and if they want to carry on doing it from their property, well, nothing much you can do about that... personally i think the filming/uploading of this incident (with, as Michael has said, no context) is thoughtless and knee jerk...and a bit immature...it'd be better to just discreetly deal with the issue that you can and for the sake of neighbourliness (even with those you might not care too much for) it might just be a more sensible way of dealing with the problem.
Not that you can do that now, having iPhoned the hell out of it...
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/...lawlit.htm

I just want to clarify. I am less concerned about the filming and the specific rights and wrongs of feeding foxes.

What I find more concerning is one group of people banding together, maybe on a forum, and deciding what is acceptable behaviour and then going around telling other people what they can and cannot do. To cap it all taking umbrage when said people aren't very happy at being told what to do.

All good points re foxes.

Of even greater concern is the original topic, i.e. dog fouling. I would contend that this is much more of a general problem than from foxes - easily recognised as the stool has a twist. People need to be responsible for their pets (even those who own the kind that it seems can't be mentioned online if you want a sensible discussion).

Can I ask you a couple of questions?

1) Let's imagine a scenario in which I'd been passing by on the other side of the road. I film the incident on my phone from a different vantage point and from a different starting point in time. I now have a video clip in which a young man is seen in conversation with an older couple who become agitated and upset.

I then post the video online with this text : ' Finally discovered who's leading the bullying campaign against the kind old animal lovers on Ebsworth Street. I can't think why he's doing this. He must be unhinged.'

Then I throw in your address for good measure.

Would that strike you as reasonable? How do you think you would be feeling now?

2) Let's imagine that the couple are persuaded not to leave food outside their house for the foxes. They leave it round the back of their house instead. They're entitled to do so. The local fox population does not diminish but is now obliged to perform a two minute detour to the relocated fox canteen.

What exactly has been achieved here?

'' I confronted the couple about it and they were as unpleasant as you'd expect ''

Why would you/we expect them to be unpleasant? That doesn't seem clear.

I assumed it was because antisocial behaviour ( here e.g. leaving take away containers/litter on the streetside and leftover food/attracting rats) often goes hand in hand with not giving a s**t about other people/being unpleasant to other people.

Hey! I was just auto-asterisked!
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