I have, for almost two years now, but more intensely since January 2021, been contacting every and any museum with a natural history collection. These include small local or regional ones as well as national museums. I have been asking whether any possess fox specimens (masks or full body) dating to prior 1900?
To date all have responded that they have not (Hayley de Ronde is set to undertake a survey of one museum's collection soon to see whether there is anything there that might help our work), Everything is post 1900. One national museum only had "3-4 masks all post 1900".
Just an aside here as it will become relevant shortly. My Wildcat and Ferals Study began in 1980 and since that time I have found only one clearly identified English (as opposed to Scottish) wildcat in a museum. I am still tracking down Welsh wildcats but it seems that every museum has (I wonder why they almost died out?) examples of Scottish wildcats post 1900. There are no English or Welsh wildcats apart from in one museum and Scotland has no pre-1900 wildcats which would be historically important.
Now, the British Canid Historical Society has the most superb person involved in tracking down and buying (where possible) specimens. These specimens are obviously important if we can get future DNA work carried out but they are also important in showing us features of Old foxes that do not exist in New (European imported) foxes. This alone shows that we had a unique species of fox in the UK which was separated for for millenia from Europe and the same applies to Irish foxes.
That we have these fox specimens is down to sheer hard work and a large outlaying of personal finances by the acquisition manager. Even as it stands the collection has some very rare as well as historically important fox specimens.
Our acquisitions manager even managed to get two historically importnt Scottish wildcats from the 1830s.
This means that the collection is the largest along with some of the most historically important specimens (not just foxes and wildcats) in the UK. If I might brag for the acquisitions manager for a moment; the collection could not be rivalled by any established museum even on a national level.
But this is not about how many we can collect. This is, firstly, about educating people on the lost Old fox types and establishing what they looked like and how they lived. Secondly, it is about scientifically establishing facts as to what type of fox we had up until at least (possibly as hybrids) 1880.
We have a museum of canid history in name only and if you have ever read The Red Paper you will know the type of canids we had running wild in the UK and we now have physical evidence as well as experts confirming identifications. If you are into wild canids then the collection would quite literally make you pass out from excitement (I almost did twice).
So what is going to happen to the collection? Well, we are looking at developing a virtual museum so that people can check the collection out and, possibly, fund further research at the same time. We are waiting until The Red Paper 2022 is completed before we "show and tell" some of the collection.
There is, however, one big problem.
Funding.
There is no funding for this type of research because, sadly, we live in a country of supposed animal lovers who either have no interest in foxes other than the false information on the internet or TV or who only want to see social media "Fluffy foxes"and will not even take a minute to sign poetitions to save them.
We are a fox ignorant country. But we are not alone. The work carried out has discovered enough anecdotal evidence to establish that Western Europe had its own Old fox type(s). Scientifically and historically this is important work but there are no research grants or funds available to keep the work going. There are important specimens out there that we cannot ask someone to keep spending their money on even if they are a dedicated naturalist. We want to carry out DNA -rather like with Leicester University in the 1990s on 'big cat' samples but in an organised way because we have the specimens and are not just sending in any old hair sample.
It all takes money and, again sadly, very few purchased copies of The Red Paper which I wrote hoping that sales would fund future research (I was that naiive).
Please look over the BCHS site and if you hink it all worthwhile then please consider donating to help the work continue -we also accept pre 1900 foxes!
Thank You
https://britishcanids.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR0VoMHPvnK1kF2Nr18f2gZ80eX5HVXBYcIbss4Llumb9oninHxKRimhAVQ
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