This item appeared on the Wildlife Aid Face Book page and shows exactly what I have been explaining for a few years now. You may think that 11.3 kg as a weight doesn't sound much but that is 24.91 lbs!!
With the Bristol fox deaths we weigh all foxes and the heaviest we have had out of 80 foxes are 7.1 and 7.5kgs so 15 to 16 lbs in weight and those were exceptions and not overweight but in good condition. The fox weights can be found here along with other information
Unfortunately, Wildlife Aid does not have FB Messenger and I cannot find an email for them so hope that they do not mind my sharing their post.
https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2025/04/bristol-foxes-study-looking-at-causes.html
https://www.wildlifeaid.org.uk/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ_fUtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA2eERWOFBteVc3YkhUVXpLAR43kIuo4YQFUMGboLuwcqaxg4JWslaTsmn1XOSDcB4V8KEOhI0OnX8fNqxCGA_aem_m-xTr2b9BitdQeED8umvcw
No, this is not a fox suffering with balloon syndrome; this fox, we think, might just be a WAF record, and certainly not something we see every day! He weighs a whopping 11.30kg
Foxes are usually pretty good at self-regulating their food, commonly digging up lawns to cache it for a rainy day! Unfortunately for this guy, he seems to have had many (and we mean many) rainy days
! Having been told that "Tank" is being regularly fed, this takes support feeding to a whole other level. On average, a healthy fox weighs 5kg. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; we have seen healthy 8kg foxes and even tiny, but healthy, 3kg foxes, but this guy is struggling!
(c)2025 Wildlife Aid
His respiratory rate is higher than it should be, even for a wild fox in a stressful environment, and he's not a fan of being active. Currently, our vet and rehab team are working together to determine the best course of action for Tank, as, understandably, this is not a healthy state for him to be in. Whilst we understand the desire to support our wildlife, and the joy and connection it brings to many of us, it is so vitally important it is done responsibly; these are wild animals and they need to maintain their ability to fend for themselves, without the help of humans.
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To try to explain to fox feeders why this is a serious matter I reposted the item along with a note to the two biggest Face Book fox groups. The posts were "declined" and it is not surprising why.
The amount of food and 90% of it a fox should not be given is incredible and in many cases it is for social media "Likes" via photos and video clips of enticing foxes into homes as well as hand feeding. One person (with some financial support from his fans) feeds heaps of food that would feed a family of foxes for a couple weeks -all in one night. The result is the posting of anywhere from 25 (on bad nights) to 100+ photos and clips and they all get "Likes" and praise for his great work -and he has been made a group fox 'expert'/
These are sadly not classed as wildlife crimes but they should be. The occasional support feed under certain conditions (not daily) especially when medicating is acceptable but a line of 5-10 foxes lining up at "feed time" every night is wrong.
We have a huge rodent problem in the UK and foxes are the best rodent controllers you can ask for and there are no poisons killing other wildlife and it makes a far safer environment. Foxes are not garden pets (that as soon as they get a problem are ignored for someone else to deal with).
We have so few foxes left now so let them be what they are -wild canids.
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