"I have a fox den under my shed can I move it?"

 Well, Chuckles: you cannot touch it.  I get asked this every year despite all the info put out. People are that thick that they just will not learn and I state that after almost 50 years researching foxes. 

 Just a few weeks back info posts were sent out....you know this one

Schools: "We have foxes in our school grounds how do we move them on?"! Got that from three schools last year and I explained that foxes are no threat to children or adults. Leave them alone and they move on once the cubs are old. In fact, stop pretending you are teaching kids about wildlife and the environment and use the opportunity to educate them. Get a camera hooked up so they can see wildlife on their doorstep so to speak. But, no, the utter ignorance of "educationalists" shines through.  

One school did try to call my bluff and called in the Health and Safety Executive and what did they tell the school? "You have to leave them where they are. They are no risk to adults or children. They will move on at which point you need to block everything off so they do not den there again".

Recently some fox cubs were found in a cardboard box in some woods. The vixen most certainly did not put the very young cubs there and she certainly did not carry a cardboard box around. That was literally a death sentence for the cubs but luckily someone walking a dog thought they were abandoned kittens so took them to a cat rescue where they realised these were canids not felids and so they went to a wildlife rescue. This would all stress the vixen who was probably looking for her cubs and it also has very serious repercussions on her as she is at risk of mastitis.  Want a photo of a vixen with mastitis we sent for post mortem?

Now, who would remove cubs from a den and place them in a cardboard box out in woods? oh...there is a school very close by and an easy walk to the spot where the cubs were found. If I could prove that school got rid of these cubs on the quiet I would take out a private prosecution against the head teacher and board of governors as well as local education authority.  This was a wildlife crime and the law is quite clear on this. 

Regarding fox dens:

"If the space is occupied by foxes or other animals, it's illegal to trap them by blocking the entrance. Instead, wait until the foxes stop using the space and then block the entrance before the next breeding season which lasts from December to May. Foxes don't usually stay in a den after they have reared their cubs."

It is that clear and with the fox population rapidly decreasing at a rate that even the British Trust for Ornithology after its mammal survey stated that foxes may need to be placed on the Red List every fox lost by vehicle is bad enough but through deliberate tampering with a den and the devastating consequences it can have on cub and vixen -people need to be further educated and those who carry out this type of crime whether Harry Smith at no. 45 or a school/business they all need to be named and shamed. I have reached the point that I can no longer be polite on the matter. You mess about with any wildlife den then you are stupid scum.

You complain about badgers and a badger sett that existed before you were born or moved into the property then you should have asked around before moving in. Touch or harm a badger or mess with a badger sett and there are going to be consequences because it has reached the point that human wildlife crime can no longer be accepted and if it means hitting people in their wallets or purses then good.

Learn to live with wildlife that was there before someone decided it was a good place to build houses because of the view and countryside. Learn to enjoy watching the wildlife and if you have kids let them experience watching wildlife from nearby (but indoors).