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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To leave some food out for the fox in our garden.

407 replies

MrsMotherHen · 25/02/2018 15:23

We have a fox that frequents our garden last few occasions hes been out in the day and DH has just seen him sunbathing on the patio. We are not rural but live about 50m away from the beach front along a promenade with a park quite close.

To leave some food out for the fox in our garden.
OP posts:
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5
TTCI · 26/02/2018 08:39

@Frillyhorseyknickers not you again 🙄😴

HarrietKettle · 26/02/2018 08:40

Thanks Bluesheep, unfortunately it seems to have gone over the heads of many on here!

RadicalFern · 26/02/2018 08:42

OP- the fox likes your garden already, clearly because of the nice sunny spot. It looks like a healthy fox, and therefore doesn't need you to feed it.

If it were me and I was happy with the way things are at the moment, I'd just let them continue.

Raybon · 26/02/2018 09:21

I am not pro hunt. Feeding a clearly healthy wild fox might give the OP the feelz, but it isn't sensible or warranted.

SoupDragon · 26/02/2018 09:23

And a lot of negativity around them are pro hunt.

I disagree that it is “a lot”. I am certainy not pro-hunt and I personally don’t know anyone who is.

ginghamstarfish · 26/02/2018 09:59

Really would not encourage it to hang around, same for any wild animal that is not injured. It's no more disgusting than a stray dog though ...

Megs4x3 · 26/02/2018 10:12

I had a fox take up residence in my garden some years ago.S/he made a den near the bottom and it was never an issue. No horrible smell, no screaming though I didn't feed her/him because s/he was clearly not in need of it. I had small children who were never alone in the garden but we were all fascinated if we sat her/him, along with the squirrels and hedgehogs and other beasts that visited. We were on the edges of the city and the house had backed on to fields some 30 years before. We were encroaching on their habitat not the other way round and there is a complete ecosystem that needs caring for. Don't feed him it's not necessary but don't run him out either. Being around other animals is a privilege we are fast losing. He's not a pet. Enjoy him at a distance if you can. They really are lovely creatures.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 26/02/2018 10:16

I think they're beautiful and I love that photo! I probably wouldn't leave food out as they survive pretty well on their own, but I also wouldn't discourage these gorgeous animals from my garden.

mydogisthebest · 26/02/2018 10:37

I would definitely feed it. I love foxes and wish I had them in my garden.

People who think they would hurt a child need to stop believing what some newspapers say and get some sense

JamPasty · 26/02/2018 10:38

I'm so glad the fox was ok HundredMilesAnHour, she's gorgeous!

JoeyMaynardssolidlump · 26/02/2018 10:43

Hi op we have foxes all year round in our garden and we usually buy an extra chicken to cook and throw out for them every Sunday.

In the week they have sandwiches with honey/jam etc. We have cats and a dog who exist perfectly well with them. They are beautiful wild animals. We have badgers too who stopped digging up the garden when we fed them.
My grand kids love to stop and see them. It’s magical.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 26/02/2018 10:43

Foxes are beautiful creatures to look at ; in the wild where they belong

True, but sadly we are gradually taking away their "wild" and building on it. However, no don't feed them, I used to feed a family of foxes in our garden but they started chasing my cats so I stopped.

JoeyMaynardssolidlump · 26/02/2018 10:47

Gosh our neighbourhood is full of cats and foxes and they seem to co exist fine.

People who use the term vermin for beautiful animals like foxes are quite scary I would imagine in rl.

mydogisthebest · 26/02/2018 10:53

Foxes DO NOT kill for fun. I can't believe the stupidity of some posters on here or are you all just letting your hatred of foxes blind you to the truth?

Just read about them. They also don't hurt children. Some parents may say they do but I think they have just about all been proved as lies.

If humans don't want foxes or other wild creatures in their precious gardens then we should stop encroaching on their land. Where the hell are they meant to live?

SoupDragon · 26/02/2018 11:10

People who use the term vermin for beautiful animals like foxes are quite scary I would imagine in rl.

🙄

Is it ok to use it for ugly animals though?

Megs4x3 · 26/02/2018 11:38

Had a thought for those who are less informed - when we kept chickens it was domestic pet dogs who caused mayhem with our flock, on one occasion savaging multiple birds and a goose before we arrived home and chased him off. Wild hunting animals picked off the occasional meal and left the rest unharmed if stressed and shocked so we got no eggs for a few days-they saw the birds as a living larder, so to speak. Foxes get an undeserved bad press, along with any other animal that humans deem a nuisance.

DullAndOld · 26/02/2018 11:40

" People who use the term vermin for beautiful animals like foxes are quite scary I would imagine in rl "

but it's OK to call animals that are not 'beautiful' vermin then is it?

I am not scary, you are...:)

MichaelBendfaster · 26/02/2018 12:04

FFS they do NOT kill for fun. How ignorant. A simple google for 'Do foxes kill for fun?' will tell you all about cache or surplus killing. Many animals do it, not just foxes, and it isn't recreational.

HarrietKettle · 26/02/2018 12:07

The 'foxes kill for fun' line ALWAYS gets trotted out. As does 'foxes bite babies' bullshit. It's really tiresome.

FairiesVsPixies · 26/02/2018 12:32

I often feed the foxes round here, especially in the winter. Funnily enough they have never attacked my cats, dog or 4 kids Hmm

And as a pp said the only animals that kill for fun are human beings.

I despair at the ignorance on this thread.

George199 · 26/02/2018 12:33

Don't feed the foxes, if you do they a gang of them will arrive in a stolen van and steal your tv and menace the elderly/infants/hamsters of the household. They will rip the lead of the local church roof and team up with the local badgers for a post office heist. They will take all the cakes and buns from your kitchen and leave crumbs everywhere. Foxes are all immigrants and in league with Jeremy C to create a ginger world order. ( Foxes are lovely, give them some grub ) Smile

HarrietKettle · 26/02/2018 12:38

George Grin

I bet there's some idiots on here that still believe foxes carry rabies.

DullAndOld · 26/02/2018 12:39

" I bet there's some idiots on here that still believe foxes carry rabies. "

foxes do carry rabies, they bring it from France by running through the tunnel...:)

HarrietKettle · 26/02/2018 12:40

Oh Dull, you are a card....

DullAndOld · 26/02/2018 12:41
Grin