The red fox, Vulpes vulpes

From: Derek Moody (derek_at_farmdirect.co.uk)
Date: 08/10/04 

Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:16:33 +0100

 http://homepage.ntlworld.com/munkeyboy/website.page4.html

    
The red fox, Vulpes vulpes, is found throughout most of the northern &
some of the southern hemisphere, it is one of the few species that
thrive alongside man. It has adapted perfectly to urban & suburban
environments, this is probably due to it's unobtrusive behaviour,
small size, about that of a large cat, & it's adaptability in eating
just about anything, including, worms, beetles, berries, carrion,
small rodents, rabbits, birds, & human waste.

There are many stories of foxes eating anything from children to
cattle, sheep & cats. The fox is an opportunist & basically lazy. They
will not bother with elusive prey, anything larger than a chicken or a
young lamb. It would rather go scavenging which might produce an
easier meal. Larger prey will be buried to insure against future hard
times, when food may be scarce. There has never been a documented case
of a fox killing a cat, it is usually the other way around, & only one
case of an unprovoked attack on a human.

MISUNDERSTADINGS
The fear of foxes might be that man has always been nervous of animals
that move around under the cover of darkness. Fox screams often wake &
scare people, but they are no more than fox conversations. This is
usually only problematic for short periods during autumn, when
juveniles are dispersing & in the breeding season, between Christmas &
late January.

The real fear of foxes probably stems from the hunters, who have a
POSITIVE affect on the fox population in rural communities by
continually disrupting territory boundaries, provoking more foxes to
inhabit the area. In the south east of England hunters have an
INSIGNIFICANT effect on population as most foxes live in urban
environments where food is in abundance due to human waste, here the
main causes of death is traffic. Many urban dwellers revel in the
knowledge that a wild animal like the fox is likely to pass through
their garden every night, they are also beneficial as they clear up a
lot of what we waste & keep down the populations of many species of
rodent. As foxes search for food in gardens, damage may occur,
particularly where fish, blood or bonemeal fertilisers are confused
with buried food. Most garden damage can easily be prevented by using
chemical repellents which move foxes on humanely.

Concern is sometimes expressed over too many foxes being present in an
area. The population like that of all carnivores, is self regulating &
is limited by the amount of food & territory available. Cubs born
simply replace the number of adults lost since the previous breeding
season. Which counters the fox hunters claims of fox population
control. Foxes are loners, not pack animals.

The fox is quick to recieve blame for behaviour that is usually the
work of pet cats & dogs. It is a scavenger, looking for easy meals, so
to attack a dog, cat, child, cow or sheep is a waste of effort. It is
true that a fox will take livestock such as chickens, rabbits & guinea
pigs if they are not properly secured. Captive fowl will always be in
danger, as we clip their wings, preventing them from escape, & we keep
them in high density in poorly secured cages. A fox will kill all of
them, so that it can return & take them off to be buried for later
use. As they can only carry one at a time, it will obviously take a
while to cache all of them which they will if not disturbed, which
they usually are. The behaviour of man in removing the birds escape
response, & not providing adequate protection afterwards is more at
fault than a hungry fox.

When a fox kills, it does so quietly, with a quick bite to the back of
the neck. Many 'fox' attacks can be attributed to dogs, who attack the
soft underbelly of their prey first. Hunters will say that hounds kill
foxes with a quick bite to the back of the neck, whilst video footage
will show them tearing at the foxes stomach. It is also true that many
upland foxes will take lambs, but when you consider that a lamb is
enough to feed it for a few days, then calculate the population size &
deaths attributable to the fox, the blame must not lie entirely with
the fox. Also the majority of lambs taken will already be dead (still
born etc.) Wrestling a lamb & pulling it away from a far larger ewe
would not be an easy task.
The incidents regarding foxes taking lambs is very small as even MAFF
(Ministry of Agricluture, Fisheries & Foods) don't reagard the fox as
'vermin' or a 'pest'. Fox hunters on the other hand will tell of the
fox mutillating the farmers livestock just to try & justify their
method of 'pest control'. When what they are actually doing is to the
contrary!

The foxhunter has been instumental in the conservation of foxes, as
they project them from being a pest to that of fair game & a worthy,
cunning oponent. By removing a fox from it's territory, they create
space for another to move in. This disruption, as said above, allows
more foxes to take up smaller territories, reducing conflict between
them & allowing more individuals to breed. So because of the
foxhunters themselves, & what they do they will always have a fox to
hunt, which obviously suits them.

Two other common fears is that all foxes carry rabies & should be
exterminated as they pose a threat to our health. In fact many on the
european mainland do, but as the disease has yet to have reached much
of France, it is not yet time to worry & as it is also carried by dogs
& cats, should we also exterminate them? The other fear that we have
is sarcoptic MANGE. This disease is carried by mites, which cause
characterristic bald patches, usually originating at the base of the
tail. This is canine mange which cannot harm cats or humans. Affected
animals can be treated by medication in food. The mange mite can
survive off its natural victims for a considerable period, so physical
removal of infected animals will not create a mange free envionment.

The fox is a victim of much bad press, it deserves the right to a
change of image & thanks to groups like THE FOX PROJECT & THE NATIONAL
FOX WELFARE SOCIETY & various 'fox watch' tv programmes we are
beginning to understand this red canine that dwells in our gardens &
countryside.

Thanks to The Fox Project for the above information!

   

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