WebClawer: Brits treat wild foxes as pets, McGruff is assaulted, cats love Twitter?

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From foxes to wombats to ‘anthropomorphic cartoon bloodhounds’ (Wikipedia’s description, not ours), the Web is chock full of animal news today:

-- Urban Brits who don’t have the time for dogs and cats are resorting to unusual measures to fill their pet void: They’re treating the U.K.’s booming urban fox population as pets. British households are feeding and even naming wild foxes -- and, responding to an outbreak of mange among the foxes, some even administer medicine to the animals in jam or honey sandwiches (foxes are fond of the sandwiches, while area cats shun them). ‘It is a way to connect with nature for people who do not have many opportunities to get out into the countryside in this crowded island. Television programmes have bought wildlife into the front room and anthropomorphised nature and people want that for themselves,’ says Kevin O’Hara of Wildlife Trusts. But this closeness to nature makes some nervous. ‘It is nice to see people taking an interest in wildlife but you have to remember they are wild animals and have to be treated with respect. They are not mini-dogs, they are wildlife,’ says Elaine Pendlebury of the U.K. veterinary charity PDSA. Telegraph

-- Web phenomenon Twitter is not only big with humans. The social networking medium is also increasingly popular with...cats? One feline follower is @romeothecat, and he’s using his Twitter following to help other animals. ‘I thought this would be a great opportunity to raise money for the Humane Society and other animal rescues,’ explains Romeo’s owner, Caroline Golon. ‘So for each follower, Romeo donates 5 cents to an animal rescue organization. So far, Romeo has over 1,500 followers, so he’s donating $75. But the amazing part is that we’ve raised thousands more in pledges and gift cards from individuals and corporations.’ New York Times

-- First there was elephant dung paper. Now a Tasmanian company is launching a paper product made from wombat scat (that’s feces, kids). ‘One of the things that we’re finding is that wombats are much cleaner and do a much better job of pulping it, so we’re finding it’s a lot easier to make paper from wombat poo in comparison,’ says Darren Simpson of Creative Paper. The paper is either green or gold, depending on the time of year during which it’s harvested. ABC News Australia

-- Do humans dressed as dogs count as animals? A Washington, D.C., Metro bus driver was charged with assault when he allegedly punched a police officer dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog in the head. ‘Obviously, no one here finds it funny, and we don’t tolerate that kind of behavior from our employees,’ said Metro spokesperson Candace Smith. Washington Post

-- Lindsay Barnett