A man in his 50s has been hospitalised following an “animal-related incident” around 6am on Monday, Ambulance Victoria has confirmed. The attack occurred around 60km north of Melbourne in the small rural town of Romsey, and early reports suggest a fox could have been involved.
“Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics provided clinical care to a man in his 50s for lower body injuries,” an ambulance spokesperson told Yahoo News.
“He was taken to the Northern Hospital in a stable condition.”
Although Melbourne has one of the highest densities of foxes in the world, attacks are rare.
In 2013, several people, including a 10-year-old girl, reported incidents at Black Rock, in the city’s south.
Why a similar attack in the United States would be worse
Dr Nicole Sue, the exotic wildlife vet at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, told Yahoo News she was surprised the attack in Victoria had been attributed to a fox.
Foxes have spread to every continent on Earth except for Antarctica. This one was photographed in Berlin, Germany. Source: Getty
(Getty Images)
She more commonly sees the horrific aftermath of them mauling household pets like rabbits, chickens and guinea pigs. Cats that are allowed to wander outside also sometimes present with wounds that could be linked to a fox.
“Foxes are definitely in the inner suburbs and the city, but a lot of people don’t see them, so they assume they’re not there,” she said.
“Then they wake to a nasty surprise in the morning and find one of their pets has been taken by a fox.”
Because attacks on humans are so rare in Australia, she immediately had two questions.
“It is a bit concerning that a man was attacked badly enough to end up in hospital,” she said.
“If foxes are becoming more used to people, it makes me think someone could be feeding them, or becoming friendly with them.
‘The other thing that we’re always concerned about, from a veterinary standpoint, is whether there are any potential communicable diseases that we don’t know about that could be contributing to this behaviour.”
In the United States, rabies infection can lead foxes to behave erratically and attack humans, but luckily Australia remains free of the disease.
“If we were in the US or the UK, rabies would be top of our list, but in Australia, we’re lucky we can be quite nonchalant about that disease.”
Are foxes dangerous in Australia?
Foxes have spread to every continent on Earth except for Antarctica.
European settlers introduced the species into Australia in the mid-1800s so they could be hunted for sport.
This proved disastrous for native species, particularly small marsupials and turtles, and it’s believed they have contributed to multiple extinctions.
In rare cases, animals like wallabies have been known to fight back when confronted by the predators, as incredible footage from 2024 confirmed.
European red foxes are considered so problematic that Australian zoos do not exhibit or breed them.
In 2025, one breached Melbourne Zoo’s security and killed several animals inside, including long-nosed potoroos, a species federally listed as vulnerable to extinction.
How should I respond if I see a fox?
Following the attack, the Lort Smith Animal Hospital released a series of recommendations to follow if you see a fox:
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Stay calm and don’t approach or feed it
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Make noise to scare it away if it seems bold
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For persistent sightings, or if it seems sick or aggressive, contact local animal control
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Secure your property to prevent future issues.
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