Black Foxes UK CIC REALLY Do Need Your Help In Saving Escaped Pet Foxes

 

 #BarryFox UPDATE: Luna is recovering well and set to move to her new home early next week after a period of convalescence

Instructions For New Sightings:

For the safety of the rescue teams and the foxes involved, we are reassessing the situation and our coordination of sightings for the TWO domesticated #SilverFoxes that remain on the loose in Barry, Wales (interim holding at a fox rescue secured). In order to prioritize the injured fox (donations needed to cover veterinary costs), we need those who see the foxes to;

1) Put the location into the website linked here >> what3words.com

2) Once you have the What3Words code, hit the copy button

3) Open a Direct Message (DM) to

Black Foxes UK CIC

or a text message to 07490127017

4) Paste in the What3Words code into the message

5) Add the date and time the fox was seen to your message

6) Make a note of whether the fox was injured or uninjured, attach a single photo/short video, if you have one, and send.

Example:

///treatable.accordion.ketchup

Date & Time

Uninjured/Injured

Photo/Video attached

Please bear in mind that due to the sheer volume of reports, it may not be possible for us to respond to all the messages received, but please be assured action is being taken.

-------------------------------------------

*** Under no circumstance are you to attempt physical capture of a fox, especially an injured fox, unless you are an animal welfare professional ***

FOLLOW Covid regulations/movement restrictions at all times

DO NOT feed these foxes at this time

DO NOT chase injured animals

DO NOT chase foxes near roads or traffic

DO NOT attempt to catch a fox by the tail

DO NOT leash foxes, it can be deadly without a quick release

DO NOT attempt to handle, their bite can cut deep through leather animal handling gloves

THANK YOU

blackfoxes.co.uk / foreverfoxy.co.uk

#Donate here >>> https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick...

Luna's story here >>> https://barry.nub.news/.../abandoned-pet-silver-fox-has...

Black Foxes do great work trying to capture and re-home escapee pet foxes and where necessary once caught get the animal veterinarian assistance.

PLEASE if you can donate any amount to this ongoing work it helps these foxes before they are killed by cars or by snares put out for them. Please read Luna's story linked above.

THANK YOU

Foxes with Mange -FREE Treatment

 

 In case anyone needs this in future as mange has been reported in a fox from St Werburgh's...

If you contact the Nationsal Fox Welfare Society they offer free mange meds (drops that go in food) and I've used it and it seems to work, If you contact them just tell them I gave you the contact details.

https://www.national-fox-welfare.com/homeopathic-potion-request

Trail Cam update

 

eBay - ebec16 theEbay seller I purchased the last two non working cameras from asked for video from the not working cameras then when I responded told me they were on holiday.

Today I got their response:

Dear ,
Good day.
Thank you so much for spending time to deal with this issue with us.
We will respect your final decision for sending this item back.
GCReturnG279
Unit 1 Common Lane, Fradley Park,
Lichfield,
Staffordshire,
The United Kingdom,
WS13 8NQ

I sign my emails so "Dear," and MY 'decision' to return the cameras -two bus trips to the local Post Office and in the middle of lockdown? Quite obviously Lichfield is a warehouse and these people are in China.

My advice is NEVER buy from them.

Northern and Arctic foxes

 Checked Animals of the Arctic The Ecology of the Far North by Bernard Stonehouse (1971) as I knew there was info on foxes but my memory deceived me. A small amount of info and two photos of arctic foxes plus some photos showing the change in a northern foxes coat.

Seriously, foxes were not really studied and you read the same info over and over ad nauseum.

The Foxes

 The foxes that used to come to my garden are no more sadly.

Trail Cams and the Problems

  Obviously with the UK Fox, Wild and Feral Cats as well as EAR work ongoing it reached a stage where what was required was more photographic/video evidence to assess.  There is no funding for such a project and there were other things that needed consideration when purchasing trail cams on a low budget.

I hear from other naturalists and they have had a number of set up cameras stolen. Second cameras as well as talking to locals revealed that badger baiters, poachers and those involved with fox hunt groups were removing such cameras. The reasons why they do this I will leave up to the reader's own mind.  However, it goes on and obviously these cameras can be resold by the thieves.

Spending £70-£120 ($98 -$167) on a single camera to have it stolen and then get it replaced is not something 99% of naturalists could ever afford (police and insurance companies will tell you that if you put something out away from your property then if it gets stolen you can't go crying for help or compensation).

As my budget is very limited despitre the results of the work I have carried out so far I needed a good camera and as there are properties that would require several cameras to be placed I was happy when someone recommended this camera:

MPN:	Does Not Apply	Features:	1080p HD Video Recording
Tripping Time:	1s	Image Sensor:	3MP color CMOS
Type:	Wildlife	Material:	ABS
Video Rresolution:	FHD 1920x1080P 25FPS	Megapixels:	1.2MP

Working Mode:

3Photos + 10sVideo

Model:

PR100

Seemed fair enough and at £25 it was worth a try. I got one and tried it in rain, fog, sleet, clear weather and so on. Worked. Good clear images and video. Therefore I purchased a second one; this one did not work and the seller vanished off Ebay (suprise). I tried everything suggested online and it worked....for a week.

I went to another seller and purchased two since they were recommended and "based in the UK", which I later found out meant a Chinese company with a warehouse in the UK. 

The above photo shows 5 trail cams and an investment of over £100. I bought the first in July 2020, the second in August and the last ones in October 2020. Out of 5 cameras only 2 work and one of those is not that great.

Now, I changed batteries -three different brands and each time a new set. Never worked. I changed the micro SD card (oh, yes, that's another £25 to add to that £100) but nothing.

Complaining after initially pointing out the faults to the seller has resulted in a request for a video from the camera to see what might be wrong -when they were told the camera was not working and if a camera does not work then you CANNOT get a video from it. Then I was told everyone was off on holiday but they 'really' wanted to help.

Not one seller has ever replaced a faulty camera or offered money back. Once I find out what the currentoutcome will be I shall post the names of the sellers so you can avoid them.

Really, if you are a naturalist or areeven thinking of one of these cameras for home security I could not recommend them, especially if the seller just wants your money and there is no after sales service. 

I was looking at a more expensive camera but I'm reliably informed that the camera in qurestion and others are Chinese made and basically not much different.

My eight months of camera trials have not gone well.

Black Foxes and White Foxes...oh, and Blue ones

 

 Looking at the Index cards for the Ashton Vale Wildlife Group (AVWG) which dealt with the non exotic animal stuff I found the following:

Back in 1999 I, and people from the University of Wales, Camarthen, were in touch with locals over cat reports and we found out that an area in Mid Glamorgan had a strong population of "Blue foxes" (Silver foxes). These had apparently been brought over from Europe to fight terriers. Some of the foxes escaped. A local forester confirmed this only after I prtoved that I knew the area involved, etc and was not just digging for info.

Paul Garner, a biologist who worked with the EAR noted an albinistic fox in an area of Cambridgeshire in 1999.

1997-1999 melanistic foxes were seen in Devon. One taxi driver who only did night shifts and was a keen naturalist saw them on several; occasions.

Forgot most of this but I think it is in Red Paper.