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Talkback: Urban foxes

Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
in Talkback
i have a family of foxes that daily come into my garden,mum fox has had baby-cubs [3],realy lovely and sweet...sadly though for 10 days now i havent seen dad fox i hope he is ok....
with all the news at the moment about the fox attack,,,im now wondering should i stop them coming into my garden,,will be difficult as i back onto woods and there are many foxes in our area,also many of my neighbours on a daily basic feed the foxes either in there back gardens or they leave food out the front of there gardens,i know lots of people will dissagree but its lovely to watch and also to monitor there behaviour and patterns of movement.the only thing i really dont like is the screaming they do,are they fighting?? is it aggression,or playing,as at moment the screaming is very loud and it sounds like someone is getting hurt,is this why dad fox has dissappeared.?.?.?.
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  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I have foxes that visit regularly and have never been a problem. The parents had 4 fox cubs last year but then they all seemed to disperse and left only two. These two seem to have paired up and are now regular visitors. I feed them regularly each evening and they patiently wait for me to go out and feed them. I certainly won't stop feeding them due to the recent attack which was most unfortunate but obviously very rare. It's strange that an attack on two small babies by a fox calls for a cull of all urban foxes yet attacks by parents on small children doesn't call for a cull of all parents!!
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    here here foxie lady ...couldnt say it better myself...
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I love Foxes i watch them every year and put my bones out for them i have a family with 3 cubs my other neighbour trys feeding them tinned cat food and i just laugh every time the Foxes leave it for some fresh chicken bones might be better if the neighbour didnt put the cat food in a dogs bowl for them people feed birds i see no reason not to feed Foxes they have a hard life
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    although fox's are lovely to look at, I am glad that I haven't got one in my garden, after one chewed the legs off my friends goose to immoblize it before the kill,I cannot bring myself to love them, my friend installed electric fence to protect the two geese but both were mutilated then killed, leaving my friend traumatised.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    The fox is a true survivor. Over the years they have survived many encounters with man. I understand kaycurtis being so unwilling to love foxes. i know them well and yes they are ruthless killers but no worse than cats(have you never seen a cat play with a mouse before killing it)i have a few tricks for keeping them away and am happy to share them if you would like. in the mean time please cut the fox some slack he is what he is because of us.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I have fed foxes for years and love watching them - what proof is there that the attack was by a fox? I hope the bites have been investigated and swabbed for evidence that these were fox bites. If legal matters were decided in the way the papers have gone to town on the issue of the fox attack there would be many more miscarriages of justice. I am still skeptical that it was a fox attack and keep an open mind.

    muddyboots: the screaming is sexual activity, the vixen calls in this way to attract a mate.

    foxielady: well said, re: the culling of parents and maybe some domestic dogs, there are many attacks on children by those.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Bushman, I have a friend who would love some tips on keeping foxes out of her garden. They do a lot of damage there and she doesn't want them. She doesn't want to harm them; she just wants them to go away.
    I'm plagued by rabbits so foxes are welcome here!
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    hear hear foxie lady - I'm sure that there are dogs out there which are as wild where they aren't trained properly, too- yet a wild fox which is used to its own wild life existance should be left alone. As for the Fathers - and Mothers come to that perhaps they should also consider training them more!! or as you say - a cull wouldn't go amiss. Save us tax payers some of the prison space where they have it made so simple and free.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    we have many rats wandering from garden to garden, I WELCOME the fox and the cubs because they at least try to keep the plague of rats at bay. I have on occasions had the dear old dog fox asleep at the top end of the garden, whilst i am gardening in the bottom plot, he is always very wary of me and is off at the first hint of meg etting anywhere near to his area.
    With regards those poor children who were mutilated by the SO CALLED fox, may i say that even if a fox is cornered it will still try to get away from humans, it will climb walls, curtains just about anything rather than be in contact with the human population. I will leave my rant there.
    Leave the fox alone and it will get on with its own affairs, it is wildlife like the BADGER, and magpie, starlings, wood pigeon and collared dove, now those last two could do with some culling.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Hi could'nt agree more with all your comments I have a hard time beliving that a fox could manage to jump from one cot to another attacking the two babies, let alone going upstairs unnoticed. I have the pleasure of the occasional vistor that uses my garden as a short cut to where ever that may be going not that my dog would think so!!! We live near the sea in hampshire and I've seen a neighbour putting out scraps from Sunday lunch and if by magic the foxes start climbing up the cliff and running to this person's house it's a lovely sight.
    The poor fox has had to put up with alot over the years same as the badger so it's about time we all left them alone they are doing no harm. Ok the bin men in our area may disagree when they have to clear up after them but hey!!!
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