For the second time this year, an unauthorised Fox trap has been found at Rawcliffe Meadows. These have been cage traps over two metres long, hidden in undergrowth and baited with dog food or poultry carcasses.
Someone has obviously gone to great lengths to place these traps, which must have been difficult to transport to site.
No permission has been given for these traps and they are not part of any legitimate pest management or wildlife study programme. These traps are therefore illegal and pose a significant threat to pet dogs, and to wildlife.
Although we will disable any traps we find, Friends Of Rawcliffe Meadows cannot monitor the whole site and we advise dog owners to keep a watchful eye on their pets and not let them disappear into wooded areas.
If you have any information which might be useful in tracking down the culprit, please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and ask to speak to one of the force’s wildlife liaison officers.
- Dr Phythian is a volunteer with the Friends Of Rawcliffe Meadows, a voluntary group which manages the site. The group belongs to the York Natural Environment Trust
- Rawcliffe Meadows Nature Park, established in 1991, covers 25 acres of the Clifton floodplain on the northern outskirts of York
- The site is owned by the Environment Agency and leased to Sustrans the cycle track operator