DEAD foxes have been strung up near a Scout camp in Selby – sparking outrage from a local wildlife group.

Two dead animals were tied to a rope and hung from their necks on trees in a small wooded area at the border of what is thought to be a privately owned field near the Tamarak Scout Camp, at Barlow Common Nature Reserve, Selby.

Anne Clates, of Selby Badger Watch, who found the dead foxes, said they were in varying states of decomposition. She has reported the matter to police and will be informing the RSPCA.

She was walking with a friend on the Common when she spotted the animals’ bodies.

“We were quite close to the Scout camp but I think the foxes were on privately owned land just off the common,” she said.

“One of the foxes was decomposing and the other only looked like it had been recently killed.”

She said she thought someone had shot the foxes and hung them up.

“As it is near the Scout camp I don’t think it is very pleasant to see. It is quite sickening to stumble across.”

Mrs Clates posted the images on social networking site Twitter, where one reader said: “That is shocking. Just down the road from there I have seen crows and magpies nailed to the tree.”

Another said: “Shocking and tragic.”

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said they had been informed about the dead foxes and were now investigating if they had been lawfully killed.

She said: “Police are aware of the dead foxes and the local Wildlife Officer has been informed.

“Officers will carry out inquiries to establish if any offences have been committed.”

Mrs Clates said even if no laws had been found to be broken, she hoped to have the bodies properly disposed of nevertheless to prevent anybody else making the same “shocking” discovery.

Anyone with information can phone North Yorkshire Police on 101.