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Introduction
Experience from other countries where rabies is endemic, has shown the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) to be a major vector and reservoir of the disease. Thus, in the event of a rabies incident in wildlife in the UK, it is considered critical to be able to lower the fox population in both rural and urban areas, to an extent where the disease cannot be maintained in the wild fox population.
SASA is responsible for holding data on estimated urban fox densities in Scotland for the purposes of modelling the spread of the disease, and designating the size of the Control Area, in the event of such an outbreak. The estimates are based on a model developed by Bristol University and the Central Science Laboratory ( CSL), which predicts fox population density in each 500 metre square of an urban area, on the basis of human population demographics from the 1981 census.
Currently SASA holds data which relates to the City of Edinburgh, the City of Glasgow, and a number of large towns and urban areas that are contiguous with Glasgow (Bearsden, Clydebank, Renfrew, Paisley, Strathkelvin, Monklands, East Kilbride, Hamilton and Motherwell). At the time these data were calculated, the best evidence suggested that these were the only areas in Scotland with established urban fox populations. However, in 2005 it was decided to investigate the possibility that fox populations may have since become established in other urban areas of Scotland.
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