LOCALS in Timoleague have condemned those responsible for placing a large dead fox on a sign in the village, which was first spotted by passing motorists last Monday morning.
The dead fox was draped over a sign on the approach road into the village from the Clonakilty side and once Cork County Council was alerted, staff removed the dead animal. However, it is believed it was seen by many motorists and tourists alike that morning.
This is the fourth such incident to have taken place in West Cork this year and it follows the draping of a dead fox and rabbit on N71 road signs at both Leap and Rosscarbery in March. This was preceded by another incident in January whereby a dead fox was found bleeding down the front of a village sign outside Leap.
Sheila McCarthy, who runs the Timoleague Notice Board on Facebook, told The Southern Star that what happened there was ‘despicable behaviour.’
‘We have a beautiful village here and incidents like this will not be tolerated and we would ask anyone that who knows anything about this incident to contact gardaí,’ said Sheila.
A Council spokesperson confirmed that upon notification of the matter, the dead fox was removed from the road sign. In March, Calvin Jones founder of the website ‘Ireland’s Wildlife’, described these incidents to The Southern Star as ‘bizarre’ and said he wasn’t sure what kind of statement the person who put the dead animals there is trying to make. It is not clear if the latest incident is connected to the previous incidents in March.
A Garda spokesperson described it as a ‘very unusual’ incident and said that nothing like this has happened in the village before.
‘We are at the height of a busy tourism season and it certainly wasn’t a nice sight for families to come across on a Monday morning.
‘We would appeal for anyone who may witnessed the incident or know anything about it to contact Timoleague Garda Station on 023-8846122 or Bandon Garda Station on 023-8852200.’
