Last week's story about a kitten mauled to death by foxes has sparked a fierce public debate over what, if anything, should be done to control them.

George, a seven month old kitten was killed in a garden in Ewell Court on November 10 and its owner, PC Robert Mitchelmoore, concerned for the safety of nearby children, was considering hiring a trap to catch the culprits.

The story has so far attracted a total of 29 comments on our website epsomguardian.co.uk - the most of any story across the series over the past week - with some people arguing strongly that foxes are vermin and must be culled because they spread disease, kill birds and are a threat to pets and children.

Others insist with equal passion that fox scare stories are whipped up by the Murdoch press and that the animals pose no real danger to humans and rarely attack pets.

One person in favour of a cull wrote: "We are being overrun in certain areas and foxes are becoming a real problem but nobody wants to take responsibility. I love animals but foxes should not be encouraged in residential areas they bring fleas, ticks and diseases with them. To those idiots who are feeding them in gardens please stop before somebody else looses a loved pet."

But wildlife consultant John Bryant wrote: "I have been involved with foxes for four decades and there is no doubt that fox attacks on cats are much less frequent than cat attacks on fox-cubs.

"There is no known case of a member of the public ever catching a disease from foxes."

He said that the attack on twin babies by a fox in Hackney last year was the only such attack he was aware of that did not subsequently turn out to have been carried out by a dog or cat.

You can have your say on this issue by commenting on this story and by taking part in our online poll on whether foxes should be culled below...