Injured Fox in my garden - what to do.

[Cuchilo]

a bit of a silly point surely? Are you insiuating foxes are bad or vermim because they have evolved to catch and kill all available food and (hopefully) eat it later. Of course if they were green conservationists all would be fine.

Vermin and should be killed on sight if they are near live stock .
The only thing i think is silly is you lot thinking they are nice animals .

 

[Profpointy]

Urban foxes thrive in an urban environment because of their adaptability and intelligence. They rarely need to kill, as they can eat carrion, food waste, slugs and worms. Rural foxes will overkill, but that has a lot to do with food scarcity. The intention is to return and collect the surplus at a later date. Quite often a fox will behead its prey and for some reason takes the head with it rather than the rest of the body. This is actually because it is playing the averages and is more likely to escape successfully with half a rabbit/chicken than lugging a whole one with it. This beheading may be one of the reasons that they have a reputation for gratuitous killing.

Rural foxes come into conflict with farmers because of the coincidence of lambing with the rearing of the fox litter. Born in March and now growing at a massive rate, the cubs spend the first month in the den with mum, with the father foraging to feed her as she nurses the cubs. In April they start to emerge and explore around the den, not straying very far, so this is perhaps the best time to see them.

As they grow they will be fed by both Mum and Dad, and potentially other "helper adults". Average litters are between six and eight cubs, and a considerable amount of food is needed. Many foxes don't make it to six months, with food scarcity and competition the biggest factor. Those that do survive will start to forage for themselves and by six months will be on their own. This is another critical time, as they are very territorial. Vixens will be looking for mates, and dog foxes will be wandering about trying to establish a territory. Autumn is therefore another prime time to spot foxes in towns and cities as the young dogs are effectively homeless and tend to be seen wandering the streets. Virtually indistinguishable in terms of size from their parents at this age.

Mating season is midwinter. Depending on the environment, foxes are believed to be chiefly monogamous, but studies have discovered females with more than one suitor in mixed dens. The female is ready to mate for less than a week in January or February , and it is this time that we hear the bloodcurdling screams as she advertises the fact.

Adaptable and not particularly fussy about dens, they will make use of other animals' abandoned earths, and of course in an urban environment they find garden structures and other outhouses particularly useful.

Urban foxes are one of our environmental success stories. They are fascinating and endearing to watch, and apart from the occasional sensationalist baby eating stories they are pretty good at living alongside us. It's come at a cost to them, with endemic levels of sarcoptic mange as one of their biggest enemies. Because they scavange rather than hunt, the conflict is lesser in towns and cities, although there are still plenty of instances of pets such as hens and bunnies being taken by the opportunist Charlie.

My personal view is that the fox in the OP should be humanely despatched. The thought of a slow and painful death because of misplaced sentimentality is anathema personally. Firearms are not the answer however, as the (I assume) urban location means their use would be unlawful or unsafe. Many pest controllers have the means to trap or catch the animal, and it could be that the local council will have access to such a service.

Sensible post at last. We lost a loved cat in those circumstances (found headless corpse matching your description - but it was ultimately just very bad luck and one of those things, and a very much lower risk than cats being run over. I've seen films of cats decisively seeing off foxes and reckon it's the more likely outcome, at least for an adult cat. To impose some sort of moral hirearchy on this is just silly as the fox is a wild animal which is, despite said loss, a joy to see in the city. Likewise I acknowledge my current cat is at best semi-tame - after moving house we let her out for the first time today - and within a few hours she'd brought back a (live) mouse - which she subsequenly ate.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I like foxes.

 

[Profpointy]

Vermin and should be killed on sight if they are near live stock .
The only thing i think is silly is you lot thinking they are nice animals .

How much live stock do foxes kill? We're back to the bollocks about squirrels now

 

[Cuchilo]

How much live stock do foxes kill? We're back to the bollocks about squirrels now

36 out of 40 chickens was the latest i heard of .
Six chickens taken .

 

[winjim]

Quite often a fox will behead its prey and for some reason takes the head with it rather than the rest of the body. This is actually because it is playing the averages and is more likely to escape successfully with half a rabbit/chicken than lugging a whole one with it. This beheading may be one of the reasons that they have a reputation for gratuitous killing.

Foxes are similar to cats in that they require a high dietary intake of taurine. Brain tissue is particularly rich in taurine which is why they go first for the head.

 

[Cubist]

Foxes are similar to cats in that they require a high dietary intake of taurine. Brain tissue is particularly rich in taurine which is why they go first for the head.

Every day's a school day, thank you!

Would the occasional can of Red Bull help!

 

[Profpointy]

36 out of 40 chickens was the latest i heard of .
Six chickens taken .

yebbut surely the problem is security of the chicken shed? I don't want various creatures in my kitchen but I don't go killing on sight in the garden or street all potentially undesirable kitchen pests. If we killed on site any potential predator of chickens the world would be a pretty sorry place.

The now extinct Tasmanian Tiger had a vermin bounty on it probably after the last one was dead

 

[Cuchilo]

yebbut surely the problem is security of the chicken shed? I don't want various creatures in my kitchen but I don't go killing on sight in the garden or street all potentially undesirable kitchen pests. If we killed on site any potential predator of chickens the world would be a pretty sorry place.

The now extinct Tasmanian Tiger had a vermin bounty on it probably after the last one was dead

I gave facts and you are being silly so sleep tight sweet cheeks

 

[winjim]

Every day's a school day, thank you!

Would the occasional can of Red Bull help!

I'm not sure what effect the caffeine would have!

I do know that cat food is supplemented with taurine, but dog food isn't. So don't feed dog food to your cat (or fox I suppose).

 

[Cubist]

They do cause havoc to poultry farmers and will take young weak or poorly lambs given half a chance. Many of the farmers I know are in the middle of lambing, an incredibly stressful time of year, so they don't tend to debate the niceties of statistical percentages unfortunately.

I tend to occupy a middle ground. Increase security but also recognising that rural fox control does have its place. Food chain wise, if we hadn't buggered about with rabbit numbers in the fifties the food chain wouldn't have so many missing links.

We've messed about with the ecosystems to such and extent that the balance needs to find equilibrium with our responsible help. We don't need indiscriminate slaughter, too many species have gone to the wall, but one current example is the proliferation of buzzards across the country. A couple of decades ago they were only seen in pockets of the UK. Nowadays they are making a very welcome comeback, and I was thrilled to see one near here only the other day. They too depend on rabbits and carrion, so we need to see a sustainable landscape with plentiful prey species.

Thanks to a very real shift in attitudes across certain sectors of the the rural economy I see a far more informed and responsible attitude being taken towards rural stewardship. There are exceptions as ever, often caused by corporate greed in the name of "tradition", and these exceptions fan the flames of conflict between various pressure groups, with a massive amount of misinformation peddled to caricature and discredit the very real efforts made by the majority of responsible country dwellers. They may be only the green shoots of change, but in my very real experience the farmer and gamekeeper slaughtering everything that moves is a horror of the past.

 

[slowmotion]

This small detail aside, agreed.

On reflection, my grammar was a bit dodgy. Too many "of"s.

 

[slowmotion]

Here's an article about the RSPCA from a media source that isn't exactly fashionable hereabouts. It's worth reading anyway, if you don't feel utterly defiled by doing so.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/02/off-the-leash/

 

[slowmotion]

What of it?

I'm glad you survived.

 

[Crackle]

Here's an article about the RSPCA from a media source that isn't exactly fashionable hereabouts. It's worth reading anyway, if you don't feel utterly defiled by doing so.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/02/off-the-leash/

Except the thrust of attacks like that is for the Government to be able to change animal welfare laws to benefit their buddies in the industry, as we are currently seeing.