Apex Predators Under Threat By Vehicles (not the road itself) -Badgers and Foxes Excluded It Seems

 

This is the kind of thing that annoys me. Where are the foxes?

"Not threatened enough"?

Well, firstly, despite the feeding of foxes which is not really needed except under special circumstances, the fox, like the badger, are the UKs (recognised) apex predators.

They have millions of rabbits -their main staple- rats, mice, various birds as well as road-kill, insects and so on in their diets. Eggs seem popular with feeders but have they ever tried to find out what the chickens are fed or whether they receive any "extras" to keep them going that might work its way into the fox's system?

But the point of this post is not about feeding. We have seen in articles how an estimated 63,000 foxes 'vanished' in 2018. In fact that is the most stupid statement I have read in a while. Foxes did NOT 'vanish' but were killed by poison, gun, hounds, snares and even disease or illnesses that we are now finding more out about thanks to the Fox Deaths Project.

It was estimated in 2000 that some 55,000 badgers per year were killed on our roads (and in other ways and lets not forget the irrational cull kills many each year "in case). The estimate for foxes I put at similar if not higher -no one was keeping tabs on foxes killed in the city as they were just collected and incinerated -"just foxes".

Cars and other vehicles -especially some of the huge ones travelling along motorways- are THE biggest threat to foxes with hunting coming in second. Drivers of big vehicles do not even notice when they hit an animal. Those in smaller vehicles probably just keep going.

Here is a fact; a number of what were termed "exotic cats" but which I refer to as New Cats have been killed by cars since the 1970s.

We have the photographs and in some cases even the stuffed remains. In one month someone whose observation and identification skills I do not doubt has observed two cats dead by the side of the road but in places where the traffic meant they could not pull in. One cat was clearly a youngish puma. These will probably be left there to rot. We also hear of wild boar being hit by cars.

Of course, the fox like the badger is not officially threatened and it is adaptible and has enough numbers. We are told by people making guesses. In fact, those guesses could be far too high if you look at all the sources of fox deaths -you can find someone selling "new fox skulls -30 in stock" or Ebay and I think the most I have seen being in stock and from the UK not imported was 50. And when you have 4-6 sellers offering similar numbers you realise that killing is out of control. In fact the old respectable term for killing every single fox to wipe them out was "vulpicide". Apt.

But "just foxes" do not count when it comes to the academic approach of the more pretty or donation grabbing animals. In the UK the foxes have faced one extinction -we only have them here now because of the thousands imported by hunts from around Europe. Even those have faced near extinction 3-4 times (the subject is covered by posts in the Fox Forum).

Even some of the foxes we have dealt with in Bristol that died from other causes have shown the sign of car strike.

Roads and the vehicles on them are the biggest killers of foxes and badgers -the latter a 'protected' species when it suits authorities. Add all the other causes of death and they take their toll. But what is the solution?

For badgers ban the cull immediately and stop the people selling 'road kill' badgers to taxidermists. In fact, badgers are not allowed to be post mortemed officially due to Health and Safety therefore taxidermists should be prosecuted for handling and dissection of a species seen as a threat to human health. Pure and simple. You cannot have one rule where you kill badgers "on the off chance" that they MIGHT have TB and not allow a post mortem due to H&S regs but then allow anyone to handle, transport and sell a dead badger to a taxidermist with no bio-hazard precautions.

When someone says they find 4-6 badgers EVERY WEEK on a small stretch of road and photo them on the roadside to 'prove' they are RTA victims that is suspicious. When I question that number of badgers dying on a small stretch of road every week and ask for the location so the local badger watch group can look into it...I get booted off the taxidermy group on Face Book.

You totally protect an endangered and protected species not toss a coin to see what is convenient at the time.

The same applies to foxes. They are protected like any other wildlife yet day after day on Face Book or one of the online shooters sites you see the gurning idiot proudly holding up the domestic cat sized animal he killed at a distance with his high power rifle and night-scope.

There is plenty of evidence online -photographs and more- of many foxes killed each week by snarers and they ARE operating snares in and around cities and towns and we have the post mortem evidence of this.

In the UK the fox is NOT classed as vermin and that is a term used by hunt supporters to justify their 'sport'. You can only kill a fox if it is a threat to your livestock and one has to ask if you only farm wheat, barley and other crops where is the threat to your non existent livestock?

You are a dairy farmer -how many of your cattle succumb to 'fox packs'?

In 2022 if you are losing chickens, etc then that is bad farming practice. Save the money the shooters or your ammunition costs you and buy a trained flock dog that protects sheep and free ranging chickens. Unless you just enjoy killing?

There has to be a total re-assessment of how we treat and protect wildlife in the UK and to be honest I cannot see any government or local authority spending money to make over or under roads wildlife passages. Just foxes and badgers.

It would be nice to see a political party (I exclude the friends of hunting aka the Conservative Party) actually grow a back bone and stand up for the environment and wildlife rather than bitch back and forth at each other.

"Environmental emergency" refers to the habitat as well as wild animals in it and not just a quick press opportunity of planting some wild flower seeds or a few saplings (and constantly trying to build on greenbelt land). And threats to ALL species need to be included not just the "money hugger" ones.

All of them