We Are Seeing More Cruelty Toward Foxes

 And that cruelty comes from feeders not anti-fox people.

Go head- I have heard it all before:

"Nasty man. Doesn't care about foxes!"

"What a horrid person my furry fox babies are well fed!"

And the ever perrenial:

"I shall carry on feeding my foxes as they face so much cruelty from humans!"

There are variations and I've come across them all on fox groups -including finding that I have been blocked despite my politeness (I am never rude to people so I am basically being blocked because the truth hurts).

Let's make sure that everyone is aware of my credentials: I started the British Fox Study in 1976 and that has been continuous and ongoing ever since so 50 years. I have written books as well as papers and many articles on foxes and like most sane people oppose hunting. After four months of arguing and 18-20 hour days I succeeded in getting official approval for the Fox deaths Project set up to collect and submit foxes that appear to have died unusually for post mortem examination by what I consider to be one of thye top pathologists in the UK. All foxes are from within the Bristol area and by finding out how or why they died it helps give vets and rescues (that are interested or can be bothered) and understanding of fox deaths/illnesses nationally. That is persuading authorities (not including Bristol City Council who refuse to cooperate) to put thousands of pounds into this...mainly because "fox lovers" were not willing to donate financial help. The work is groundbreaking.

I regularly advise on fox health issues: again, many feeders mistreat mange and that results in mild mange developing into severe and life threatening mange. One rescue in 2020 asked feeders to let them know if a certain leash (group) oif foxes was coming into their gardens. The foxes had serious mange and needed to be caught and treated then released back into the area. Many feeders refused to coopertate or give information. Why, if you "love foxes" would you not cooperate and rather see the foxes die from mange. I've seen that and it is not nice and when you see a cub a few months old dying in front of you from mange it is heartbreaking. 

In my own area there are fox feeders and in 2021 and 2022 two foxes were sighted with mange. I asked any feeders who could identify the foxes to get in touch privately via messenger on FB so I knew whether the foxes were being treated or not because I did not want to overdose if it came to treatment. Not a word. Apparently fox feeders had my message passed on to them but decided it was all "jolly secret". 

In another case a fox in Bristol had to be rescued and treated by Secret World because it was heavily manged. It turned out that two feeders living opposite each other had both been treating the fox but either the cross-meds was making treatment ineffective or the fox was not getting the meds. Left longer the fox would have gone to far and organ failure would have set in. Feeders keeping it all their "jolly secret" until they had to contact me and I told them what to do.

I haver seen the images of foxes so far gone with mange that organ failure probably set in not long after the photos were taken. The feeder alerted me as he had 'discovered' what appeared to be a new type of super mange. What I wanted to call him will remain in my head.  Basically, he had been using the homeopathic drops (because, like most feeders he got them for free) which seem to work in some early stage cases but what this person did was watch the mange get worse and worse and rather than alert a rescue allowed the foxes to slowly die. If -if - you are serious about helping a fox with mange, early signs or not, then spend the money and buy the correct treatment from the pet store and do not dare say that "it's a bit expensive" when you are putting out at least £40-£60 of chicken legs/wings per month to feed a wild fox that can find enough rats, mice and insects to survive on. 

"Oh I bought a load of discounted chicken for my babies" is an obscene statement. That food was discounted because there are families in financial crisis and there are parents who actually eat the scraps left from their childrens meals and that is in the year 2022 and that cheap chicken is not used to feed them and their children but foxes. When you are a child going to bed with hunger twisting your stomache is not pleasant -I know.

Sensible feeders support feed wildlife in hard winters or when a vixen has had cubs and needs to get extra. Even I have done that because I know thge local area and what is available. Feeding twice or three times daily, putting out a huge mound of food for foxes (and badgers) is an obscenity and if there were laws as in other countries it would be a wildlife crime. "Horrid hunters killing poor fluffies!" How about "Horrid humans overfeeding foxes to the point of obesity and creating health problems for foxes and weakened systems allowing disease to kick in"? Anyone want to see the post mortem photos?

There ius a reason why, if you feed wild birds, that you need to move where you put the food and also regularly disinfect feeders: disease and viruses -with pigeons, etc, PMV is a nasty virus and unless you can find someone to take them in a keep them for life (they cannot be released as itr spreads the virus) they have to be killed. No softly softly "PTS" -they are put down, killed by a vet and that is the law once they are handed in. 

Badgers and foxes, domestic cats -all feeding from the same heap day after day can have very serious implications and we know Avian Influenza Virus has jumped to foxes who eat infected birds (in some cases being fed them deliberately) and we do not want that to jump to humans because it woul;d make Covid look like a summer cold. It is a serious risk (as is covid cross over) especially when areas of feeding are not regularly cleaned and people coax foxes to take food from their hands or coax them into their homes (same with badger feeders).

AIV or Covid becomes widespread in foxes (and badgers) then there will be mass culls "for human health and safety reasons" and there is absolutely nothing you could do about it other than watching pest controllers bank balances getting fat. Oh, buy ear plugs as the one thing you will become familiar with is the sound of  the work going on.

Bang

Bang

Bang

Bang

Infected or not there is no testing and a bullet is an easy solution.

These are wild canids, not garden pets or your fluff babies. Use your brain. Here are images of trim and naturally feeding foxes.

Here, not naming names yet, is what is an obese fox.  If this were a pet dog the owner's vet would be using termns such as "It is obese and that will leave it open to disease" and "Put it on a diet".  

Social Media "Like" feeding should constitute a criminal offence under the wildlife act, however, the anti-fox people love you because this is killing foxes: they cannot run as fast as a vehicle approaches -"Splat!"  They cannot outrun a dog -Bite, rip, tear. They certainly are open to other threats that a trim and healthy fox would avoid and the risks include leg and head injuries as they cannot naturally jump fences, climb over things and so on as a trim fox might. The health ramifications for newly born fox cubs is bad. 

I have studied and researched foxes for 50 years and I have only seen this overfeeding in the last (lets say) 15 years. I want to see foxes live long and full lives and some can, if they avoid cars, live up to 8 or 12 years but that is while living naturally. They eat rats and mice so less poisons are needed and that makes a better environment for us all (I am not even going to mention the people who feed and photograph their "garden rat!").

I have been accused of thinking more about fox welfare. I do not see that as a negative. I want to continue to see urban foxes living naturally and healthily and to outlast the original three British fox types and for future generations to see them -from their windows or from trail cam footage/photos.  On a weekly basis I see how many foxes are found dead and that in itself makes it important to me, not just as a naturalist but also an animal lover, to fight and educate people. Ignore the homeopathic drops for mange and buy a guaranteed, effective treatment (and not from some "local expert" who is buying in bulk which in itself is very shady) and cut back what you are feeding the foxes and badgers IF you want them to live long lives. 

If my writing this upsets feeders -good. It is a wake up call because at the moment I can foresee just one thing going wrong and fox culls being the norm in towns and cities. I do not want to give the anti-fox people that 'joyful' sight.

THINK.

CONSERVE WILDLIE.

In future I may well be naming and shaming the bad feeders because action IS needed.

Now go off and say nasty thi9ngs about me.