The Pre and Post 2000 Fox Project

 By 2000 I had completed my initial paper on Wildcats, Ferals and hybrids under my Vale Wildlife Group. There was other work to do but I wanted to make findings known on the subject.

The same applied to the Fox Study. In December 2000 I forwarded a paper and other material including an article (I was a professional writer after all summarising findings to BBC Wildlife magazine. The editor, for reasons of her own, responded but then handedall the material to Bristol University -in one stroke breaching editorial standards and confidence between an independent researcher (myself) and the magazine. At that point I permanently blacklisted the publication though on several occasions over the years some of its people have attempted to solicit information from me -they were told where to go.

I have absolutely no wish to recall how much money I had spent on the project by that time so to see it all the results from expenditure of time and money given away was..."frustrating". 

But the work had to continue and I spent December 2000 to December 2001 in contacting every and any naturalist or naturalist group I could find and that included branches of the British Naturalist Association, of which I was a member.  No internet in those days (don't faint) it was all letters and phone calls. The initial letter was sent out and, yes, I did almost faint at the cost!

The reaction I waited for. Then waited some more. I then (2001) started the phonecalls which, again, were expensive back then. Without fail every single branch secretary of the BNA noted that this was all a "jolly good idea" but they doubted that they could help. Why? One told me:  "Our members tend to like their comfort and we might go out on butterfly or other observation days but no one really like going out in the cold and rain". I thought it was a joke but he was being serious, as were every other branch secretary, and I was told that there were a lot of "decent wildlife programmes on TV and sitting in comfort watching rather than trudge around in mud--" 

Then, one particular secretary responded: "Oh! Yes. There is a chap with a very keen interest in foxes -he's got quite a reputation -I have his details somewhere" there was a brief silence and I heard thje rustling of papers and "Here it is in Countryside"  (BNA journal) and at that point I thought I had missed an issue. How could I have missed noting a member involved in fox work?

I was then given the contact phone number.  My contact phone number. "Oh, is that you?" I was asked and very politely confirmed that it was -I had introduced myself, too.

By the end of 2001 I realised that it was back to solo research and digging away at archives and contacting people -luckily I had quite a few contacts via my work with the Exotic Animals Register (EAR).  This eventually resulted in the 2010 Red Paper: Canids.

I try to make cooperation as easy for people as possible and this is the questionaire sent out:

Could responding to seven questions -responses I was also willing to write down over the telephone- be that difficult? Not one single response -though a couple of rural taxi drivers who worked nights and were amateur wildlife spotters and others helped.

Even in 2015 the BNA proved itself to be an inadequate body -such a shame considering the work its members did after it was set up in 1905!

People really do get their wildlife knowledge from TV and You Tube. Read books? That sounds too tiring.  You might think that Face Book fox groups would have people interested in helping out but out of the thousands of members very few do. 

And, although I am not allowed to name most at their request I have to say a very BIG "Thank You" to those who have been in contact and added much to the work via their observations as well as personal research such as "LM". That cooperation does make a difference and really puts the self acclaimed "naturalists" to shame.

All very basic though the initial questionaire was it was "the way it was done" back then and although some of the thoughts (never presented as facts but ongoing avenues to pursue such as melanism being an animal population in stress indicator) expressed are now outdated they helped build up information that was useful.

With foxes and some other canids you think "Got it. Sorted" and then...they show you that you have not got it sorted in any way. Every time I thought that research had established something I would find a snippet of information in a book and...down another dark avenue...followed by yet another sharp turn. Foxes are the most annoying animals when it comes to finding out what they are about!

Once hooked on foxes that's it; you are hooked on "Fox crack" for life and as a side note I can tell you that it does not make you any money!