The mystery surrounding the discovery of a dead fox on Orkney has deepened as police say they’ve found no evidence of a crime taking place.
However, officers are still asking anyone with any information to contact them as they try to figure out quite what happened.
It is understood the SSPCA is looking into the issue too.
Orkney isn’t known to have any foxes at all.
So, when the corpse of a young vixen turned up at Garden House near the Balfour Hospital on Tuesday morning, it raised plenty of questions.
The animal’s body was swiftly taken away by staff from the local council and private vet practice Northvet.
What does vet think happened to dead Orkney fox?
One of the vets who conducted a post-mortem on the animal, Rhona Ley, said she would agree with the theory that the animal had been hit and killed by a vehicle on the Scottish Mainland and, by some means, brought into Orkney.
This was the conclusion when a similar discovery was made back in 2007.
And on the Orkney Wildlife Facebook page, many thought it was a “sick joke”.
One commenter said: “Sick joke, from some sad person.”
On Tuesday, the council’s trading standards manager, Gary Foubister, said the matter would be reported to Police Scotland for investigation.
Mr Foubister also said: “It is a serious offence” to release non-native species, “dead or alive”.
While police have confirmed that they made inquiries, the investigation appears to have hit a dead end.
What is your theory? Let us know in our comments section below
What did police say?
A police spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, 10 September, 2024, officers were made aware of a dead fox having been discovered in Orkney.
“Inquiries were carried out and no criminality established.”
No further details on how this conclusion was reached have been given.
Police have asked that anyone with further information contact 101.
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