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Macabre mystery of dead animals draped over road signs

March 15th, 2022 1:30 PM

By Jackie Keogh

A fox and a rabbit were left on the road sign for Rosscarbery last Thursday, on the N71.

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A WEST Cork wildlife guide said he was both ‘baffled and disturbed’ by the draping of dead animals over N71 road signs at Leap and Rosscarbery.

Last Thursday, motorists and pedestrians were sickened to see a dead and decomposing fox draped over the sign for Leap, on the Skibbereen side.

Further along the N71, on the outskirts of Rosscarbery town, there was yet another dead fox, and a dead rabbit, left on the sign, in similar fashion.

This is the second time this year that such a sinister and macabre image has greeted N71 motorists.

‘I have no clue what it is about,’ said Calvin Jones, the founder of the website Ireland’s Wildlife.

‘I don’t know who is doing it or what they hope to achieve. It is very bizarre. I am not sure what kind of statement the person who put them there is trying to make.

‘Maybe it is kids messing, but I don’t understand what message the person is trying to send. Without any kind of context it is difficult to draw any conclusion,’ he added.

‘It could be someone who considers foxes and rabbits to be vermin, or it could be someone complaining about the killing of these animals, but I can’t draw any conclusions. It’s very strange.

‘Regardless of whoever is doing it,’ he said, ‘there is no question that this is an appalling thing to do.

‘Most people would find such actions abhorrent, whether you agree with the killings of animals or not.

‘The whole thing is disturbing and probably says a lot about the people involved,’ he added.

Shortly after The Southern Star highlighted the matter on social media the fox on the Leap sign was removed.

But this isn’t the first time it has happened.

On January 21st last The Southern Star was sent a photograph showing a dead fox bleeding down the front of the sign for Leap.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council’s local office said they had been notified about the dead animals and had arranged for their removal, but had ‘no further details in relation to the matter.’

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