Yes, There ARE British Grey Foxes...Ring-tailed Foxes and More

So as not to give any possible clues as to the location of the foxes in the photographs each is credited with "(c)2025 respective copyright owner". This is also because some of the photographs appeared on Face Book groups uncredited.

One thing that I have always, for obvious reasons, been interested in is colouration of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the UK.  Our Old British foxes were wiped o0ut along with true wild cats in the 1860s -the First Modern British Extinction Period (FMBEP) - but even before this foxes had been imported from Europe to replenish depleted "hunting stock" as far back as the 1700s (evidence suggests even before that period).  

 There was a shortage of foxes from around 1900 and numbers hit an all time low and so English hunts sent people to trap foxes in Ireland and bring them back to "continue the sport". As outlined in The Red Paper this had serious political ramifications and questions were asked in Parliament.  This can be seen as a period where the imported fox population was on the brink of extinction.

After the First World War hunts claimed that no fox control meant the population was bursting out of control.  This, again, is a provable lie and probably created due to the amount of anti hunt feeling at the time. Importing foxes from post war Europe was a problem and In the 1920s, Great Britain implemented measures to eradicate rabies, including mandatory quarantine for imported dogs and cats, which was successful in declaring the country rabies-free by 1922.  No more big shipment of foxes.

This led to the Great Scarcity of 1923 at which point foxes were increasingly pushed toward extinction.  The population slightly recovered into the early 1950s before more mass deaths (starvation though likely disease) hit. The fox population never recovered.

This all means that no "fresh stock" was being added to the UK fox population and while foxes were trapped and released in hunting areas (something that still goes on today with the snatching of urban foxes and cubs) it did not help build up the population. The failure of UK fur farms meant there was a certain shot of new blood from the many foxes released.  These fur farm foxes would still have fallen victims to snaring, poisoning, shooting and hunting.  Therefore, any changes we see today are due to an isolated population and characteristics we might find in the populations their ancestors came from.

 The above fox clearly has melanism in its DNA and the leash (group) of foxes this came from had similar traits. (c)2025 respective copyright owner

 This fox has some diagnostic features that seems to indicate that it could be of North American Red Fox (NARF) heritage and when I first saw this I had to triple check where this fox was a regular visitor and it is in an area where releases from fur farms would have taken place.   (c)2025 respective copyright owner 

Another member of the leash noted in the first photo and, again, the melanism trait is obvious.  (c)2025 respective copyright owner

Clearly a red fox but with melanistic traits (c)2025 respective copyright owner

 With the above fox we can see the melanism and something that has become very familiar these days -the sooty underbelly (c)2025 respective copyright owner

This one was a real eye opener as it was the first of this type (alive) that I saw from the South West of England and although there had been one or two cross fox types photographed in the 1990s this was the first full on "Grey"  (c)2025 respective copyright owner

Following on from reports of a "black fox" being seen by office workers we soon found that it was far from melanistic (all black).  The impressive fello0w even sat and posed for a photograph before running off. (c)2025 respective copyright owner

The above is how we, sadly, see so many of these foxes and not killed by a car in this case but by a moron with a gun. Whether this cross fox was to become a taxidermy due to its unusual colouring we have no idea (c)2025 respective copyright owner

The above fox was from Southern England and there was at least one other individual looking the same in the area.  When I asked the photographer questions about this one I was asked "Is it an unusual colour for a fox then?"  (c)2025 respective copyright owner

This one was the victim of a speeding driver (we know that for a fact.  Again the clear grey fur can be seen. (c)2025 respective copyright owner

Above fox shows the strong melanistic traces (c)2025 respective copyright owner

 The above is one of a leash of foxes in which the grey fur is rather dominant over what is seen as the recognised "red" (c)2025 respective copyright owner

You are not seeing things; yes, this fox has a ringed tail!  This ringing of the tail can be seen in some very old illustrations but those are not considered evidence. Photographs of living foxes or even taxidermy examples are.  There is a fox descended from foxes imported into Australia for 'sport'  that was killed in the 1930s and it's tail is very strongly ringed. In conversation with the dealer who was selling the item I found out that this was not a fake tail attached to the fox but it's actual tail that it had in life and death.  The grey fur is still clear.by English colonists (c)2025 respective copyright owner

Another magnificent Grey and other members of this leash also exhibit the grey and "sooty" fur (c)2025 respective copyright owner

This one was photographed in Scotland and has clear melanistic traits  (c)2025 respective copyright owner

 A fox from the south of England and is one of several Grey foxes in the area (c)2025 respective copyright owner

This is one of a pair and although I thought they had been over fed later photos show this is their winter coat and once it is shed they are quote healthy looking. From the SE and in an area where fur farming was attempted  (c)2025 respective copyright owner

It has been found that a good few foxes checked after (RTA) death have had the sooty coloured underbelly -has have some rescued foxes.  This along with the darker (melanistic trait) fur has now become quite common and I have a large photo archive of such foxes and, eventually, there will be black foxes appearing (full melanism) and we have already had some unconfirmed reports of these from the South of England and well away from the North of England where silver fox-red fox hybrids are known and recorded.

The Grey foxes are obviously not related in any way to the American Grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) but it's easier when we fox people are discussing foxes to say £there are a couple of Greys in my area" and with the melanistic traits we just refer to them as "melanistic foxes". 

These  are not the only traits seen in fox coats as a number of white (non albino) foxes are known in two main areas.   In fact, there are a number of "oddities" in fox fur these days and they appear to have emerged more in the last 25years.  When DNA testing is rarely carried out it is to look at a particular aspect such as whether UK foxes share DNA with European red foxes; that really does not need to have DNA work carried out just research of all t6he easily available historical reference sources. Yes, today's British red fox is of European ancestry because our Old foxes went extinct in the 1860s.

What would be more valuable from a research point would be to see whether there are other DNA traces from Scandinavia, Russian or NARFs and to what extent that DNA dominates areas or the overall fox population.   One might also ask why we are seeing more in the way of Cross foxes?

Foxes really do require more scientific research and education of the zoological and scientific community as well as the public on foxes and their history and how we have lost so much and are about to lose even more.