To think there are good arguments for an urban fox cull

[OwlCapone]

Firstly, I'm not actually suggesting there should be one and I wouldn't actively support one because I don't actually like the idea of killing them.

However, I am fed up with the amount of fox poo (one on the drive yesterday and one on the front doorstep this morning and it's like an obstacle course on the walk to school in the morning) and the area around my doors smells rank from fox urine too.

Also the damn things keep destroying my garden fence so that I can never let my dog our off the lead as he is like bloody houdini and can go missing for hours. (Ther is a chance it's being destroyed by badgers, to be fair)

The problem seem to have got far, far worse recently. Why is the urban fox population so strong now?

The fox population has remained static for 30 years or more and that isn't to say that there was an increase before, that's just when they counted it. More people live in urban areas now, and what was rural land has been built on. That's why it seems to us that there are more foxes but there aren't.

The fox population self regulates so if there is a cull, new foxes move into the area. They actually keep pigeons and rat populations down so even if there were fewer foxes, there would just be more rats - potentially worse for us as they can get into houses.

The famous story of the fox attacking the baby was looked at in great detail in case fox behaviour was changing. It was a juvenile fox unused to hunting and most likely attracted by the smell of the baby's nappy and was going for that rather than the baby. Doesn't make it any better for the people involved but it does mean foxes don't intend to attack children.

Completely agree about leaving rubbish in bags on the street - it should all be in lidded bins (this is surely also cleaner for the people having to pick it up as no chance of it spilling on them). The amount of chicken bones thrown on the floor is ridiculous and I can't understand why it's necessary. If people were eating at home they would leave them on their plate, so why can't they leave them in the box and then throw that away? I don't understand why people litter anyway - it's hardly inconvenient to carry an empty bottle or wrapper for a few minutes until you find a bin.

Cantbelievethisishappening Fri 03-Oct-14 22:54:03

Oh the fucking arrogance of the human species. Yes.... because our needs and wants are sooooo much more important aren't they.
Am sick to the back teeth of culls. If it moves shred it, shoot it, snare it, gas it.
The human species are responsible for a hell of a lot more damage than a few mangy foxes.

Bravo .. Completely agree with you Cantbelieve.

The human species are responsible for a hell of a lot more damage than a few mangy foxes.

"It’s frightening but true: Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals — the sixth wave of extinctions in the past half-billion years. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural “background” rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day [1]. It could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century [2].

Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans. In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming [3]. Because the rate of change in our biosphere is increasing, and because every species’ extinction potentially leads to the extinction of others bound to that species in a complex ecological web, numbers of extinctions are likely to snowball in the coming decades as ecosystems unravel."
www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/