Locals kill 2 foxes after 30 people bitten in Bogura

At least 30 people have been attacked by foxes at Amrul under Bogura's Shajahanpur upazila since last Saturday.

Being attacked by the foxes, people in the area killed two foxes in Fulkut village under Amrul union from that day, our Bogura correspondent reports today.

Mama Khatun, a local in Rampur village under the union, said, "On Sunday morning a rabid fox attacked cattle at my home. When I was trying to save my cattle, it bit on my right hand and then fled."

Abdus, another local in Radhanagar village, said that on Saturday night, when he went to a local mosque for prayers, a fox suddenly rushed and bit his right hand and ran away.

The next day, Abdus went to the local upazila health complex and took a vaccine, he said.

"There are a lot of bushes and crop fields like maize and vegetables. Also, there are lots of foxes that live in the area for decades. They never bit us before," said Md Nazrul Islam, a member of union's Ward No 4.

The matter was informed to the local UP chairman, he added.

When contacted, Md Rafiqul Island Talukdar, livestock officer in Bogura district, said, "Foxes attack people mainly for two reasons. One is -- if they don't get sufficient food or if they come under attack and the other reason is -- when the foxes become infected with rabies."

"If a rabid fox bites anyone, she/he should clean the spot with soap and should go to the doctor if she/he needs a vaccine," the officer said.

When asked, how many people got injured by foxes and took vaccine in these four days, Motarab Hossain, upazila health and family planning officer in Shajahanpur, said, "I came to know this matter today."