To feed a fox in our garden?

[MuseumofInnocence]

We live in a village. Recently I’ve seen a fox walk past my window twice in the past week, and being soppy, I considered feeding it. I did some googling and some recommend it, some are really against it. Would I be unreasonable to put some food out?

Those figures are disingenuous according to the Campaign for Rural England Plainspeaking. They are averages for the while of England and include areas such as Northumberland and Westmorland.

If you live in the SE or south a far higher proportion of land is built up and the amount of land that’s not useless for wild animals as a result of being fenced or dissected by roads is increasingly small.

I feed mine and had the cubs visit. I have dogs but check the gardens clear before they go out. I also feed the birds and hedgehogs.

The fox is feeding young at the moment as can see where her belly is bare.

you've obviously not had to deal with a mass slaughter of hens or not one, but both rabbits - just hacked about, not eaten. It's not hunger. It's in their nature. Prey is prey and they can't resist.

I disagree. I have worked with foxes for several years now, and I work with some of this country's most highly regarded (and award winning) experts on foxes and fox behaviour. Foxes do not kill for fun. It multiple chickens/rabbits etc are available, they will kill them all eating a little now and saving some to eat for later by usually stashing some of the bodies 'somewhere safe' (although they are often disturbed while doing this so don't get to move the bodies to their hiding place).

Foxes are awesome. We have several who pass through our (suburban) garden, and when we are very lucky we get cubs. The foxss like to lie in front of the chicken run in the sun and watch the chickens who are supremely unconcerned.

Just to lighten things up a little, I wanted to share these photos I took of one of our lovely patients at The Fox Project.

We have a lot of foxes round here - we are right on the edge of a large city with fields to one side. Neighbours two doors down (corner house) feed foxes and last year they had cubs. Very cute, very sweet.

But corner neighbours had a garden full of fox shit. The foxes are very bold, very confident and don't seem to have got the message they're nocturnal. Also the neighbours can't let their grand daughter out in the garden because of them.

Treat with respect. Don't feed them.

HundredMilesAnHour

What a beauty. Is he/she ok now?

@SleepingSloth. He's very handsome isn't he? He was following me round while I was cleaning. Yes, he's fully recovered and back in the wild now.

He's very handsome isn't he? He was following me round while I was cleaning. smile Yes, he's fully recovered and back in the wild now.

He is absolutely gorgeous. Good to hear he made a full recovery. It sounds like you have a nice job....and I'm a bit jealous😀

NO WAY!

I find it incredible when the ‘they kill for fun!’ comments come out.
As if it’s some terrible sickening trait.

ALL predatory animals kill for fun!

Cats are notorious for torturing and killing (and not eating) animals.

Look at all the dogs who delight in chasing and ripping up (and not eating) sheep.

Not to mention the vast numbers of creatures killed by people for fun....

The hypocrisy is absolutely astounding.

Foxes do not kill for fun.

I've never understood the rationale of the idiots who claim they do.

When someone comes down to find all their chickens dead, and then sees a couple of foxes a short distance away, pointing at them and giggling, then I'll believe it. Until that happens, I'm going to assume they don't kill for fun, but kill because millions of years of evolution has driven them down that path.

And it's clearly a good strategy. Foxes, like humans, are very successful, and have adapted to live virtually anywhere. Desert foxes and artic foxes. Not many creatures other than us and foxes have mastered those two environments.

Foxes do not kill for fun.

I've never understood the rationale of the idiots who claim they do.

It's really not hard to grasp. They appear to kill and then just leave the bodies, thus it looks like they haven't killed just for a meal.

I found this from a piece in the Guardian

According to Bristol University's Mammal Research Unit, led by Professor Stephen Harris, the pioneer of urban fox studies. Foxes are not big: the average weight of the largest vixens is 5.7kg (13lb), a little heavier than the average cat and less than half the weight of a skinny whippet. Foxes do not hunt in packs, nor do they kill for pleasure. If let loose in a hen coop they will kill everything in sight but their intention is to bury their prey for leaner times.

Foxes are not big: the average weight of the largest vixens is 5.7kg (13lb), a little heavier than the average cat

Interesting. All the ones in my garden were bigger than my 7kg cat and he was a big cat (not just fat!). We must have all the ones at the top end of the scale!

HundredMilesAnHour thank you for all you and The Fox Project do for these beautiful animals. MIL donates regularly and has bought an annual membership for the DC who love to see the updates the Project send.

I would leave a healthy one on or near my property alone, but I would take advice on one that looked ill from somewhere like TFP. Never the RSPCA, who could not have given less of a shit when an injured fox appeared at the back of our house. A neighbour had to take it to a vet that does wild animal work.

I’ve never understood the logic of an ever growing population expanding further and further into countryside, building houses closer together, getting rid of natural food sources and replacing it with bins full of scraps, dropped food etc. getting annoyed that foxes come into their gardens. Where the hell else are they going to go?

Calling them “vermin” is incorrect and inflammatory. Claiming they “need” to be culled is also ridiculous. “Need”?? No animals need to be culled, it’s a want from humans.

Don’t feed foxes because it means there’s potential for them to lose some of their hunting ability which they’ll need if you move away or stop feeding them for whatever other reason.