We have a fox family in our garden

[ForCluckSake]

We've got chickens so we quite often get a visit from the fox. The chickens are in a super secure fox proof location so am not worried about them. I have started leaving a few extra eggs on the lawn and tonight instead of 1 fox there was 3

That twins attack story…I’ve always thought there was something very off about it. I always suspected it may actually have been down to the family Jack Russel, and an urban fox was a convenient scapegoat. Of course we’ll probably never know. The foxes I come across are gentle and shy- they do have very noisy sex though.

I had 3 living in my garden this year, I'm in London. Yes they wreck the place - broke my solar lights, shit everywhere, dig holes. I still love seeing them, but don't encourage them with food. They moved on eventually.

I did see 2 in the road the other night up on their hind legs fighting, until a 3rd one swooped in and intervened. I've not seen that before.

Some lovely photographs on here

@HeartsAndClubs

Urban foxes are vermin.

They trash everything in sight, they shit everywhere, they cause untold damage, and a lot of the fault for that lies with the people who think they’re cute and feed them.

And there have been cases in the news of foxes entering people’s houses and in one instance attacking sleeping twins in their cots.

They spread disease and filth where they go, and although they’re cute people really shouldn’t be feeding and encouraging them.

if you stop then they will make a nuisance of themselves around the neighbourhood.

exactly this.
People who dislike foxes in towns (which is the wrong environment for them anyway ) are not ignorant as a pp put it. I grew up on a farm, lived in the country most of my life and remember the horror when foxes attacked chickens or small mammals. They did not kill them all to eat because they were hungry - they destroyed (bit off the heads) and left carnage in the henhouse. They are wild animals and can kill or maim pet rabbits, cats and birds.
They are not your furbabies - leave them alone to get on with their natural life in the country.

Completely irresponsible and illegal to be feeding them. Sorry but I cannot believe the stupidity on this thread!!!

I love foxes. They're my favourite animal of all time. I wish our family visited again. They haven't been for a while. The cubs and one of my cats used to sit watching each other.

It’s not illegal to feed them 😂😂

www.lancswt.org.uk/blog/charlotte-varela/how-feed-foxes-badgers-garden

www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/urban-fox

Don’t be ignorant.

How the urban foxes of Ealing supposed to go off and enjoy their natural life in the country, exactly

They don’t kill all the hens in a house for fun, don’t be ridiculous. Only humans kill for kicks. They would kill them all because they are cache killers and would plan to come back later and get the rest, but more likely they’ve been discovered and prevented by then. And yes I know it is extremely traumatic to lose chickens or other pets to wild animals. That’s why it’s up to you as an owner to properly safeguard them against an animal acting on instinct and out of prey drive.

@HeartsAndClubs

Urban foxes are vermin.

They trash everything in sight, they shit everywhere, they cause untold damage, and a lot of the fault for that lies with the people who think they’re cute and feed them.

And there have been cases in the news of foxes entering people’s houses and in one instance attacking sleeping twins in their cots.

They spread disease and filth where they go, and although they’re cute people really shouldn’t be feeding and encouraging them.

if you stop then they will make a nuisance of themselves around the neighbourhood.

No they're not vermin. God people are awful.

The foxes were wherever your house is first.

@WheelieBinPrincess

It’s not illegal to feed them 😂😂

www.lancswt.org.uk/blog/charlotte-varela/how-feed-foxes-badgers-garden

www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/urban-fox

Don’t be ignorant.

It's against the countryside code and against lots of local bylaws actually!

People who feed foxes should be responsible for the cost of damage they do imho

They're beautiful OP. When I was little I pinched my parents binoculars and stayed up way too late watching a fox and her cubs. They would play on my street every night for months. I named them cookie, crumble, caramel and cupcake 🦊😂

@Dobbyafreeelf not illegal. I don’t live in the country. Never heard of such a by-law here. Because there isn’t one.

No damage from the visiting fox here- I don’t know where he actually lives. I think people who don’t secure their own rubbish properly have a lot to answer for if they don’t want a naturally scavenging animal to make a mess of it.

It isn't bloody illegal. Jesus wept

The countryside code is only guidance, and clearly doesn't apply to urban wildlife anyway. I love foxes. They visit our garden daily even though we don't feed them.

No they're not vermin. God people are awful.

The foxes were wherever your house is first.

Ah so we now have a movement to protect the 'indigenous' fox.
Foxes are becoming a pest because they have no 'indigenous' predator.

I hate that people are being so sentimental about these so-called 'furbabies' and suggesting that people's pets being attacked is the fault of the owner. Tell that to a traumatised 6 year old who has lost his cat or rabbit.
They are wild animals. They do not belong in towns. They belong in the country where they can keep the rabbit and small mammal population under control.
Face the reality that the fox is a vicious animal who should not be being encouraged to live and scavenge in towns.
I despair of the sentimentality about them.

They are wild animals.

I am fond of the foxes that breed in my garden but I do not feed them, aside from bits of bird food they may find underneath my feeders. I would not if I lived in an urban area as I'd be too worried I might be unwittingly responsible for the demise of someone's pet rabbit (my sister lost all hers to foxes). A neighbour leaves out peanuts and a badger got into a fight with her dog one night. This would terrify me!

I was feeling all happy and cosy about the fox babies this year until my neighbour told me she saw the mum carrying a dead one and that this may be because they sometimes kill one of their own young. Nature is brutal!

nowhere on this thread has anyone been silly enough to refer to foxes as ‘furbabies’ 🤦🏻‍♀️

@bunnybuggs

No they're not vermin. God people are awful.

The foxes were wherever your house is first.

Ah so we now have a movement to protect the 'indigenous' fox.
Foxes are becoming a pest because they have no 'indigenous' predator.

I hate that people are being so sentimental about these so-called 'furbabies' and suggesting that people's pets being attacked is the fault of the owner. Tell that to a traumatised 6 year old who has lost his cat or rabbit.
They are wild animals. They do not belong in towns. They belong in the country where they can keep the rabbit and small mammal population under control.
Face the reality that the fox is a vicious animal who should not be being encouraged to live and scavenge in towns.
I despair of the sentimentality about them.

They are wild animals.

Where did I refer to them as furbabies? Pet dogs and cats cause worse injuries to kids and destruction to the general environment. Leave the fucking foxes alone.

Foxes are very adaptable so are actually well suited to urban / suburban living. It's really not as simple as saying they belong in the countryside.

People on here calling foxes pests when we all know that humans are the real global pest 👀 As if we haven't destroyed billions of natural habitats, killed not only to eat but also for sport and leave litter everywhere including the oceans... We have no leg to stand on moaning about their nuisance, if people want to feed them let them feed them, jesus.

Yes I definitely do not refer to them as fur babies
I have opened a can of worms I think.....they are not causing havoc so I will continue feeding them to make there life's a little easier they get a hard time around here they are just trying to live

Yes, didn't they say on Springwatch that the shape of their nose has changed over time to make them more adaptable to urban areas? Fascinating.

@Mocktail

What countryside anyway ?
Being decimated by the day

@ForCluckSake
Sorry that your lovely thread has been derailed but very predictably !

@incywincyspiders
Absolutely spot on

This always happens Wetherby foxes are discussed! I don’t care and will continue to stick up for them. People that hate them are usually fucking clueless about their behaviour as usual.