Foxes getting brave -anyone had problems ?

A few months back I drove down to the yard to find a fox sat at te roadside next to the yard, didnt run when I pulled the car up maybe three meters away from him, didnt run when I got out of the car......did run when I let my dog out :)
 
It is pretty worrying that they are getting that bold. I am not pro hunting but I do think people need to be educated about foxes in urban areas and should be told NOT to encourage them into garden etc as this is bound to make them less fearful of humans and then the offspring of that fox will learn not to be scared of humans and when they grow up and have to move and spread further afield they will take that lack of fear with them, pass it on to their offspring and it will continue!

I do hope snaring IS actually illegal as I think it's disgraceful but if there are problematic or aggressive foxes then i do not have anything against them being shot by a trained person.

We have and have always had foxes who live in the woods that back in to our fields, we have not had any issue with them - they see us or our dogs and leg it. As far as I know the neighbouring farmer (who sometimes puts his sheep in our field) has not had any major issues with them either. A long time ago one fox did have a habit of stealing geese from one of the other farmer's houses though so i guess that one was rather c*cky. I am sure he/she is long gone now. We are absolutely riddled with rabbits or way though so there is certainly more than enough to feed foxes without them coming anywhere near us. Our cat also lives at the stables - I think actually he'd probably see off the foxes, he's and aggressive beastie!!! Lol
 
I really don't understand the anti fox attitudes of people who ride. To me, foxes help keep down the rabbit population (or would do if they weren't shot and hunted) that are responsible for horses breaking their legs when they stand in their burrows. I have long since given up trying to grow anything on our land due to the huge numbers of rabbits that eat everything in sight. The farmer would prefer more foxes too as his crops are raided, but the land owner runs a pheasant shoot and so foxes are killed on sight and they regularly lamp. The land owner hates horses so the hunt is not allowed on his 6000 acres.

I DO understand people wanting to kill foxes if they have had their chickens or lambs taken, and that is why we don't keep chickens on our property. But I don't hate foxes. A fox took my pet rabbit when I was a kid, but I never hated foxes because of it. It is just nature, and if we choose to live in the countryside then we should accept this. I think a lot of the posts about foxes on this thread sound a little hysterical.
 
I don't think anyone 'hates' the foxes as such BUT if they are getting too bold and are not scared of humans then that is a problem - not only for people but for the fox too as, if they did start getting aggressive then no doubt there would then be some organised culling and it wouldn't be as selective as hunting really would it - where naturally it is generally the weaker animals who will get caught so the healthier foxes are left to breed.

I would hate it if they just ordered a mass slaughter due to what is effectively a problem caused by humans who encourage foxes to come in to their gardens and homes.

I heard some report a while back about how studies were showing hedgehogs are evolving to not curl up in a ball when a car comes as they are crossing a road, but to run instead. Therefore ensuring more survive. Now, if this is true and they are evolving this way then, foxes who are not scared of humans will just pass this trait on and they will see humans as a source of food and maybe even warmth, shelter and safety. This really is not right as it's only a matter of time until foxes, like badly trained dogs who don't know their place in the hierachy in a househol, start getting aggressive and dominant towards humans. This is turn is going to result in their demise if we are not careful.
 
Wagtail said:
I think a lot of the posts about foxes on this thread sound a little hysterical.
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I just think all of you who have close encounters, particularly when the fox faced up to you are damned lucky that you don't have to consider rabies.

Wagtail, do you think that you might change your tune a little if there was a possibility that your cat or dog could be infected, and that would put you, and yours at risk?

Yes, there is a place for foxes, but that place isn't on back porches waiting for handouts or sitting boldly in stable yards, they NEED to be wary of humans if they are to be allowed to survive.
 
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We have urban foxes here but you seldom see them and they're certainly not as brazen as the ones I knew in South London. I know where one fox run is (a couple of dozen yards from my house) but I've only seen foxes twice in five years.

I'm almost certain that this is because they can't raid bins here, as all rubbish is kept inside the courtyards of accomodation blocks – ie inaccessible from the street. I presume they live on the rabbits and martens and rats etc that live in the same green spaces.
 
One of the reasons I say that some of the posts are hysterical is that foxes do *not* snarl. They cannot. The musculature of their heads does not allow them to. They yip and make other high pitched sounds, but do not snarl. Anyone would think they were a wolf, the way people are talking. A fox would never attack any of you, unless cornered. There is no need to arm yourselves with pitch forks etc. Just step out of the way.

Yes, I agree that some foxes are getting larger and braver and this may be due to urban foxes migrating to the countryside, but the ones round us very rarely get to live that long unfortunately. We have some very large prints left by a big dog fox in out sand menage most nights.
 
Enfys said:
I just think all of you who have close encounters, particularly when the fox faced up to you are damned lucky that you don't have to consider rabies.

Wagtail, do you think that you might change your tune a little if there was a possibility that your cat or dog could be infected, and that would put you, and yours at risk?
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Infected with what? We don't have rabies.
 
The foxes around here must be the only ones that don't eat rabbits then! They just trundle past them, the rabbits too don't take any notice of the fox, hence why hardly any grass grows at home and I have lots of little holes allover :(
They will always go for the easy option of food ie chickens, geese, hand outs from people.
 
a fox wont necesarrily take a rabbit when there is much easier sources of food around it, after all chasing a rabbit burns off energy that they will be trying to conserve - as far as i was aware overloaded and unsecured bins cant run very fast.

yes snaring foxes is legal, very legal and bloody good job too!

Also people seem to think its all a big hate campaign. Foxes need control for their own good, similarly to deer and grey squirrels. It isnt just about protecting a gamekeepers pheasants, i dont know many keepers who live by the 'a good fox is a dead one' regime, they understand and KEEP the balance. Controlling foxes is just that, controlling them because at the rate they breed and their feeding habits they have no way of controlling it themselves, like rabbits. A fox will survive on very very little if it has to, foxes eat mice and worms far more than they'll chase rabbits.

It does p*ss me off when people spout off about fox control when realistically they know feck all about it! If you want to do some good, go read a book (preferably one not written by bill 'badgers only eat worms' Oddie and the springwatch club) and ask people who actually deal with foxes EVERY single day. Dont be one of the morons who preaches to others what is fed to them by cityfolk with a bunnyhuggers attitude.
 
Enfys said:
Yet.

But if you did.......?
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Then of course, I would have a differnt attitude towards foxes, dogs, cats, badgers, stoats...You name it. Of course then I would understand why someone may freak out when they encounter one as rabid animals act out of character and *do* attack. However, I am not one for reacting to hypothetical situations. In the uk at present there is no threat from rural foxes to humans. They are a beautiful wild animal that has been persecuted by man for centuries. It's a shame.
 
Wagtail said:
Then of course, I would have a differnt attitude towards foxes, dogs, cats, badgers, stoats...You name it. Of course then I would understand why someone may freak out when they encounter one as rabid animals act out of character and *do* attack. However, I am not one for reacting to hypothetical situations. In the uk at present there is no threat from rural foxes to humans. They are a beautiful wild animal that has been persecuted by man for centuries. It's a shame.
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Sometimes I would actually love every agriculturally involved worker/farmer/gamekeeper to hang up their socks and let the bunnyhuggers run rural affairs for a while.


Wagtail, genuine question : due to the persecution, as you put it, of foxes. would you rather all game/poultry/lamb/pork/beef was reared in battery sheds so foxes could live their lives ''persecution'' free?

Guarantee there would be not one native species of animal left in good state within 10 years. In fact im pretty sure that was done on some land where all land and vermin management was surrendered... off to investigate.
 
PerdixPerdix said:
It does p*ss me off when people spout off about fox control when realistically they know feck all about it! If you want to do some good, go read a book (preferably one not written by bill 'badgers only eat worms' Oddie and the springwatch club) and ask people who actually deal with foxes EVERY single day. Dont be one of the morons who preaches to others what is fed to them by cityfolk with a bunnyhuggers attitude.
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Blimey. Chill out. I am not a bunny hugger. I started off working at a hunting yard and hunted for five years twice a week during the season. I trained young horses, took them cubbing and then hunting. Also I grew up on a farm with livestock. So I think I know quite a bit about about fox control.:rolleyes:

I have looked at it from both perspectives and have decided not to hunt any more, though I don't go around dissing those who do. But I do know it is more for fun than fox control. Everyone I know does it because they enjoy it. It just peeves me a bit to see people trying to paint foxes as some kind of evil creature in order to justify it. They are just another animal trying to survive. I know that all animals need to be controlled for their own good sometimes, but some of the posts are just a little OTT. :)
 
Wagtail said:
Blimey. Chill out. I am not a bunny hugger. I started off working at a hunting yard and hunted for five years twice a week during the season. I trained young horses, took them cubbing and then hunting. Also I grew up on a farm with livestock. So I think I know quite a bit about about fox control.:rolleyes:

I have looked at it from both perspectives and have decided not to hunt any more, though I don't go around dissing those who do. But I do know it is more for fun than fox control. Everyone I know does it because they enjoy it. It just peeves me a bit to see people trying to paint foxes as some kind of evil creature in order to justify it. They are just another animal trying to survive. I know that all animals need to be controlled for their own good sometimes, but some of the posts are just a little OTT. :)
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lol, sorry that rant wasnt actually aimed at you. it was in general, sorry if it looked that way.

i dont think hunting is an effective form of fox control anyway. :) i dont like the idea of the fox being chased and then killed, much prefer the use of a rifle. thats how id want to go.i dont particularly even like snaring, but its effective
 
PerdixPerdix said:
Sometimes I would actually love every agriculturally involved worker/farmer/gamekeeper to hang up their socks and let the bunnyhuggers run rural affairs for a while.


Wagtail, genuine question : due to the persecution, as you put it, of foxes. would you rather all game/poultry/lamb/pork/beef was reared in battery sheds so foxes could live their lives ''persecution'' free?

Guarantee there would be not one native species of animal left in good state within 10 years. In fact im pretty sure that was done on some land where all land and vermin management was surrendered... off to investigate.
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Actually, there is no reason why poultry runs cannot be made foxfroof. I had a very large enclosure at my last place that was dug into the ground 12 inches and never lost one of my free range hens in the 11 years I lived there. Sheep can be brough in for lambing, as my Grandfather does in Wales. He's not lost a lamb since he started that regime. As for Beef, I don't know of any calves that have been taken by giant foxes :confused:

I hate battery farming, but the reasons it is done is not because of foxes, it's because it's cheaper. IMO meat is far too cheap and should cost around five times what it does. Only free range farming methods should be allowed and animals should be slaughtered either on the premises or within a 20 mile radius. I don't eat meat personally, but that is not because I think it is wrong. I just don't like the farming and transportation methods.
 
PerdixPerdix said:
lol, sorry that rant wasnt actually aimed at you. it was in general, sorry if it looked that way.

i dont think hunting is an effective form of fox control anyway. :) i dont like the idea of the fox being chased and then killed, much prefer the use of a rifle. thats how id want to go.i dont particularly even like snaring, but its effective
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I agree. A rifle is by far the most humane method of control.
 
PerdixPerdix said:
i dont think hunting is an effective form of fox control anyway. :) i dont like the idea of the fox being chased and then killed, much prefer the use of a rifle. thats how id want to go.i dont particularly even like snaring, but its effective
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The objection I have to snaring is that while effective it's not SELECTIVE - I've had a cat come home with it's paw "degloved" where it had got caught in a snare then pulled the skin off it's own leg to escape (was hanging down like it was a glove half off) - thankfully the vet was able to "reglove" the paw by pulling the skin back up and stitching but I hate to think of any other animal - even a fox - being trapped for any length of time in a wire snare.
 
PalominoMare said:
Up until last month I lived in the City (Glasgow) and when walking home one night - the path is brightly lit and busy - a huge fox sat on the path and didnt move an inch! I walked right passed and was terrified and usually the foxes back home (country) are half the size and scatter away instantly!
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I've had a few close encounters with foxes in Glasgow too. The nearest I have been to one was about one and a half cars lengths, in the lane where I live. Mind you, as soon as I saw it I made my movements as non-threatening as possible to see how close I could get before it slinked away. It was nice to see one that close - he was very healthy-looking dog-fox - and I wasn't afraid at all (he didn't snarl or look as if he'd leap at my thoat!).

PerdixPerdix said:
Controlling foxes is just that, controlling them because at the rate they breed and their feeding habits they have no way of controlling it themselves, like rabbits.
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But unlike rabbits they are territorial - no?

It does p*ss me off when people spout off about fox control when realistically they know feck all about it! If you want to do some good, go read a book (preferably one not written by bill 'badgers only eat worms' Oddie and the springwatch club)
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Can you recommend a good book on foxes then? I have read "The Red Fox" by H. G. Lloyd.
 
PerdixPerdix said:
i dont think hunting is an effective form of fox control anyway.
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It terms of numbers killed, it certainly isn't. Many more foxes are killed on the roads than by hunting - up to ten times more. However, road-killing isn't selective and doesn't target the relatively few so-called "rogue" foxes that can cause problems for farmers and smallholders. Shooting is probably the most efficient way to deal with these cases.
 
Wagtail said:
They are a beautiful wild animal that has been persecuted by man for centuries. It's a shame.
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Hmmmm, rats are wild too.

So, if they were thought of as beautiful it would not then be OK to buy poison to kill them slowly/shoot them/trap them/set dogs on them/keep cats to kill them/destroy their nests and kill the babies just because they are a pest, damage property, steal eggs, kill poultry and children's pets, carry disease etc?
 
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Enfys said:
Hmmmm, rats are wild too.

So, if they were thought of as beautiful it would not then be OK to buy poison to kill them slowly/shoot them/trap them/set dogs on them/keep cats to kill them/destroy their nests and kill the babies just because they are a pest, damage property, steal eggs, kill poultry and children's pets, carry disease etc?
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:D I wondered when that old chestnut was going to pop up.

There is nothing wrong with a rat in the wild if they keep it that way and don't threaten our health by entering our buildings and pooing on our food. That is where the line is crossed. Rats *are* a danger to our health, and we *have* to deal with them because of this. Foxes are *not* a danger to our health in any way shape or form. We do not have to protect ourselves from them. They are an inconvenience to some who have to take steps to protect their livestock, but they are steps that any responsible farmer can easily take. I know, because I grew up on a livestock farm. I used to shoot rats (with an air gun) but not foxes.
 
We have one which visits our garden regularly.

As hunting has been banned, the countryside is becoming over populated by them. There isn't enough to eat for all of them so more and more of them are turning up in towns and villages looking for food.

I remember hearing the news story about a fox getting into a house and mauling a baby.

The Government obviously haven't found a better way of controlling the population numbers so IMO the ban on hunting needs to be lifted. It is the most humane - and the fairest way of controlling them.

BAN THE BAN
 
Yes! Our chickens are free range. I have dogs and I am at home a lot, always going backwards and forwards to the stables further down our garden. We have had them for a couple of years and never had any problems. On Saturday looked out of the window saw a fox with one of my chickens, ran out, tried to gather up the remaining five chickens to put them in their house. Managed to get four of them and then right in front of my eyes when I went back to get the last one the fox ran up to me and took the remaining chicken and ran off. Not at all bothered by my presence! I'm sad because I have lost two of my chickens (luckily not my favourite Barbara!) but it's also the end of the chickens lovely lifestyle and having freedom to wander around where they choose.
 
NWalker said:
Yes! Our chickens are free range. I have dogs and I am at home a lot, always going backwards and forwards to the stables further down our garden. We have had them for a couple of years and never had any problems. On Saturday looked out of the window saw a fox with one of my chickens, ran out, tried to gather up the remaining five chickens to put them in their house. Managed to get four of them and then right in front of my eyes when I went back to get the last one the fox ran up to me and took the remaining chicken and ran off. Not at all bothered by my presence! I'm sad because I have lost two of my chickens (luckily not my favourite Barbara!) but it's also the end of the chickens lovely lifestyle and having freedom to wander around where they choose.
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It is heartbreaking when you lose livestock like that and when it means you can't let them roam free. Sadly, we live in the natural world but do not behave naturally. We keep animals for food but other wild animals take advantage. A couple of years ago I planted some lovely sweetcorn. It ripened and we had 4 of the cobs one evening. The best I have ever tasted. But the next day I found that the remaining 30 cobs had been eaten by a herd of deer. Another crop I can no longer grow, but I still love the deer. :)

The solution is not to kill the wild animals responsible, but to build enclosures that are fox proof or deer/rabbit proof.
 
Sadly I think we are part of the problem if not the actual reason why so much wildlife (that in reality sometimes in some circumstances we would rather it kept its distance) comes nearer to where we live/keep animals, etc. No different from seagulls swooping down and stealing food at seaside resorts, lions and elephants entering villages in Africa, the mountain gorillas coming down onto land that has now been taken for farming in Rwanda. That people/wildlife conflict is always going to be there as we compete for space and food. We are leaving less and less of their natural habitat and therefore natural prey/food available that they can find for themselves and sometimes, with our domestic stock, etc, I guess in the animals eyes we are laying on a buffet, and providing places for them to shelter/sleep, etc. I think it's a very uneasy relationship but one sometimes that through the centuries/millenia we have brought about ourselves.
 
Anyone having problems with foxes I would recommend they speak to their local Game Keeper. One local to us happily lent us some traps, he gets to know which foxes are a nuisance and which aren't, so he would release any that are ok. My friend has a lot of poultry where I keep my horse and the foxes caused devastation last year, taking bantams, chickens and even full grown turkeys.
 
As above suggest they may have been town foxes moved out to the country

A few years ago we acquired a group of 5
I shone my torch round my horses on the evening dog walk and these foxes were stalking the pony who was not taking any notice. They did not run from my torch which the local ones would do.
And yes the gamekeeper shot them, they were skinny and hungry and very bold because of that, he remarked that they came towards him rather than running away.
 
We had foxes last year coming across the fields and taking chickens out of the run when we were just 5metres away. They werent scared...solution YO son got his shotgun out and shot the b******s!! It is the only way, they are too brave and will hurt people if they were cornered.
 
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