A Few Words Before 2023

 

Just to show that nothing changers when it comes to dealing with sick and dead foxes I had another jaundiced looking dead fox reported yesterday.

Although jaundice is something that we are looking out for in foxes this one also seems to have had (untreated?) mange.  I made a commitment that no dead foxes with mange would be submitted for post mortem and that is only fair. I would not even like to calculate how many thousands the post mortems have cost to date after Fox no. 33 (I think -I get so many dead fox reports that it is lucky that Zoe Webber keeps track of the ones we handle!).

Mange causes eventual organ failure and other problems so either a fox with mange died from that or was killed by a car and died.

If we do come across a dead fox with no apparent external injuries so no visible cause of death (COD) then that does not mean there are no internal injuries caused by being hit by a car. We submit those as "No Apparent COD"   but we do try to be picky so things such as jaundice will almost automatically get us submitting it.

As the fox Deaths Project is the only one of its type in the UK we use Bristol, with the largest urban fox population outside of London, as a sort of national petri dish: what is happening to foxes in the City and County of Bristol is likely happening across the UK. Whether foxes in Ireland are affected by any of this we do not know since it is a separate island population and probably needs its own study.

We are all very aware that the budgets are being tightened and cut and some things the pathologist (an excellent one who digs until he gets answers) had access to before are now no longer available.  So we have to be picky.

There are some European countries where any dead wild animal -obvious road kill or not- undergo post mortems. This helps to show the current status of animals; is there a virus or illness running through lynx, wildcats, boar or foxes -post mortems can detect those and plotting where each animal was found can show whether it is a local population problem or more widespread. We have so far found and confirmed babesia and much more and it has certainly opened my eyes and slaps down the argument I was constantly hearing of "A dead fox? It was hit by a car!" Well, yes, in some cases, but pm examinations then reveal much more.

With proper funding I would, personally, like to see post mortems carried out on all dead foxes whether RTA (road traffic accident) or not. However, I have to be firmly in the real world where, despite all the claims and supposed environmental campaigns, wildlife is not a priority or consideration in most cases. In fact, butterflies, pretty birds and flowers tend to be of higher interest than large mammals such as foxes and the still much maligned, tormented and killed 'protected' badger. As the Bristol Badger Group falls under our work we have made arrangements that, should a suspicious badger death be reported, we can get it for post mortem under very strict conditions. Health and Safety Executive more or less bans badger post mortems under the "risk of bovine TB" clause even though badgers in Bristol have had anti TB treatment. Of course, that ban does not apply when it suits the present agenda.

One thing that has disappointed me is the fact that people are still reticent to report a dead badger or fox and during cub season that can be vital to helping cubs survive if the sow/vixen is killed on the roads.  We have plotted as many setts or territories as we can in preparation for 2023.  We may not take every dead fox or badger but I do register their deaths -dates and locations- so there is at least a record.

We do need far more education, not just in Bristol but nationally, on foxes and badgers and pointing out that if a fox is killing rats in your garden that is good for the fox and environment since rodenticides kill so many mammals and some birds and are a risk to house pets. No poisons then the fox can take care of your rodent problem for you and DO NOT believe the pest control (local authority or private company) lie that "Only rats and mice are affected by the poisons" and that there is no such thing as secondary rodenticide poisoning -I have the post mortem report and 50 years knowledge on that matter.