CLAIMS urban foxes are being collected from city streets and dumped in remote areas of North Wales were last night dismissed as "a rural myth". John Bryant, a wildlife consultant specialising in urban foxes, said he was offering a £1,000 reward for hard evidence. "I have had that reward on offer for nearly 20 years and have not had a single claimant," he said.. He spoke out after Michael Fabricant, Tory MP for Lichfield, tabled questions in the Commons. He claimed to have been told of the practice by "numerous" people, including Nick Smyth, of Llwyngwril, near Dolgellau. He said sheep, poultry and pets were being savaged in great numbers as a result. Mr Bryant said: "This is a rural myth and arises only when anti-hunting stories are in the news. "I have looked into dozens of these claims from Scotland to Cornwall and have found no evidence that they are true. "It is surprising that in all these so-called cases, no one has ever managed to get the registration numbers of the pick-up trucks which are supposed to ship these foxes from one part of the country to the other, nor even been able to produce evidence leading to the identity of the phantom fox dumpers." Mr Fabricant has tabled Commons questions to Margaret Beckett, Environment Secretary, asking whether her department believes such practices exist. "I can say, however, that it is a widely held belief in rural Wales and elsewhere that urban foxes are being shipped into country areas. If it is a myth, then it has got a strong hold on the community. "I am now slightly sceptical about this, but if it does exist then it cannot be allowed to continue," said the MP.. | 
