The Fox Deaths Project is not just about local foxes but a lot more.

 

I have mentioned before that the Bristol Fox Deaths Project is the only one of its type in the UK. Ever. 

While Bristol City Council refuses to cooperate in any way we nave the cooperation of the official bodies that can carry out the post mortem examinations and have a top pathologist to carry them out.

Initially, all the reports were of foxes that had been poisoned and there was, and some times still is, the scream of "fox poisoner!" The results so far are that poison is very low down on the list.  We will hear from someone that they say a perfectly healthy looking fox collapse, convulse and die. "POISON!"

In fact neither myself nor Zoe Webber give any public on cause of death as that is speculation and, in all honesty, a fox found dead and looking as though it was in good condition is highly deceptive. Zoe will normally examine the fox in situ and check for injuries but normally none are found. For that reason we assume that the fox did not die naturally and is "one for us".

The post mortems usually reveal the cause of death as "RTA" (road traffic accident) or "car strike". All of the injuries, which can be fairly minor to major, are internal. Slow bleeds or massive haemorrhaging.  There are other injuries but we do not just decide "RTA -no use" and throw the body away. Each death has taught us something from illnesses and diseases and how the fox must have spent its last few hours at least. We were all surprised at some of the results and the pathologist wants to see whether the results of the past year are duplicated in 2023.

A unique study in Bristol which  can be a major guide to any future fox research in the UK and it may well be that what we learn here will also be shown as common in other cities in Europe. 

Sadly, I doubt that there will be any shortage of dead foxes but getting them is a problem. Zoe checks and collects (and does much more for which she deserves credit) but we often hear of a fox found dead 2-3 days (in one case 5 days) after it was found dead. These tend to be what we call "maggot surprises" -they look okay until you turn them over and -surprise! Rigor mortis can set in after 10 hours and weather conditions can speed or slow this up. Winter and cold weather are our best friend because it keeps the body chilled until it can be collected.  We do not have funding so purchasing a chiller for the purpose of preserving evidence is out. This creates problems.

We have lost a number of dead foxes (around ten) because they were reported on a Friday. With the correct storage facility no problem but the pathology lab where foxes are submitted closes after 1600 hrs on a Friday and do not accept dead animals until the following Monday. We get bank holidays and Christmas when, again, the lab is closed. Reported on a Thursday we can get a body to the lab on Friday and breath a sigh of relief but that is it. 

I have had a few sharp comments from people about being "not that interested then" when I explain all of this. Every time I have to be very polite and take the abuse because I have to show the public that we are serious and do not engage in arguments. People are rude to me and I ignore it as arguing is nothing to do with the actual work. There are also people who think we are here to pick up road-kill or dead foxes when there is a delay in the council collecting (again, weekends) and if a fox is found dead in the road the cause seems obvious and although I would love to pick up every dead fox and see what we can learn we have one pathologist and criteria that I set up for submissions.

We have had certain people (and we have a suspicion as to whom) trying to waste our time with hoaxes. A fox found dead on green in a populated area...placed and posed. "There's a dead fox in----" a quick check with someone and -no dead fox at all. A report of a dead fox that seemed to have been in excellent condition and the location is a wood or "in a field" all miles away from anywhere and we do not search woods that may cover acres for something the  size of a house cat that might not be findable. It goes on but it is part of the work.

We can be contacted via Face Book messenger at the Fox and Canid Study Project page or if I am on a FB group just tag me.

Foxes found need to be reported as soon as possible and we ask that a photo is taken of the fox where it is found -it tells us a lot and proves we are not being hoaxed. The only photos we would have otherwise would be those from the post mortem report.

If we cannot get it that day and the weather is good enough a body will need to be covered or put into a bin bag until it can be collected. We prefer to have the body left in place and covered as in the past we took a lot of effort to travel and collect a body that was bagged as "looking fresh" but was decomposed or maggot laden and no one is going to carry out post mortems on those.

By the end of 2023 we hope to at least have a good picture of how foxes in Bristol die. How illnesses or diseases they have affected them and that may well help rescue foxes in future and, most importantly, a new generation of vets is being trained through all of this so that means they will know far better what to expect during their careers rather than guessing "poisoned" or "RTA". 

The project is not just about local foxes but a lot more.