AIBU to ask a stupid question about this fox cub?

[Sundiamond]

So around 6pm every night for about a week/10 days, a fox cub has come to our back door and tapped. I believe there are foxes living somewhere over one of the back fences that are in our neighbourhood.

Why? What does he want? Food? Is he intrigued by our dog? We never feed him, we shoo him away. Although I have to say, he has the most gorgeous little face...

I always wonder about the mentality of people who hate animals.

I always wonder about people who struggle with reading comprehension and interpret "don't feed them" as "I hate animals".

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland it is the foxes home too you know. We share the earth with many things. Where would you like them to shit? And it is the responsibility of the owners to make sure rabbits and chickens are safe.

I personally would love this although as someone previously said speak to a wildlife organization and see what they recommend

Put out a bit of grub for him, my mums gets them around in the winter and leftovers are gratefully received, particularly on such a freezing 🥶 night.

@930onaTuesdayNight

Foxes are everywhere in our London neighbourhood and they are vile . They wake everyone up with their screams at night, break into the rubbish bins, chew through anything left outside, including buried electrical wires, and worst of all they poo everywhere! I sometimes see dead ones on the road and once we had a big dead one in our garden. We’ve had cubs before and they are cute but personally I would NEVER, EVER do anything to encourage foxes to stay. They are invasive and do not belong in residential areas.

it was definitely the humans that were invasive. You're right though, they dont belong in residential areas, they belong in the woodland and grassland that used to be there before humans invaded, chopped it all down and stuck houses there and declared it for humans only. Unfortunately, we didn't leave them much so we have to coexist with wildlife unless you want to live on a barren brick and concrete world.

I am fond of foxes, but they are wild creatures and I wouldn't want to encourage them to lose their fear of humans: a) because humans can be cruel and b) rarely, incidents such as the one below can happen.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/10251349

I personally would love thissmile although as someone previously said speak to a wildlife organization and see what they recommend

They usually recommend putting some food out, making sure they look healthy but not trying to hand feed them. They don’t really become dependent as there’s always more food.
Foxes are beautiful creatures, clever and playful. They’re not classed as vermin.

If he’s definitely young, he can probably smell your dog and wants the comfort of another canine type animal

I would give him a little food. It would be my dream to see this

I would enjoy the cub but not feed it. I'm now a country dweller but the biggest healthiest foxes I ever saw were while we lived in London.
Also fox poo is VILE!

We have a lot of foxes living around us - they often sit at our front window - one of our cats can regularly be seen playing with them in a game of chase (first time it happened I panicked thinking they were going to eat my cat but they seem to enjoy each others company)

We live in a very urban area - sometimes it can be like the animals of farthing wood between the foxes dashing about the garden and a bloody great owl which has appeared in the last couple of weeks and hoots so loud!

We live near a golf course and have foxes regularly visiting our front garden (seen on camera) - we put peanuts out for them.

I love foxes and while part of me would love this I don't think I'd leave food out.

Contacting a local organisation for advice would seem best.

Can you get some footage of it and post it?

I have a trail camera, spent ages watching the foxes and recognising them, only one cub this year.

There was one that would come and peer through the glass door but I think she was killed on the road a while ago.

They are not vile, humans are far worse with wanting to kill and destroy nature and take over all the greenbelt and woodland.

They leave disgusting bacteria filled piles of poo that are a hazard to children in particular.

Dog shit is a far worse problem

If any of your neighbours has chickens or pet rabbits they will attack them like a shot.

We have had foxes and properly secured chickens for years with no issues.

They will also tip out rubbish bins and leave a filthy mess everywhere.

Never had this either

Foxes are gorgeous OP. I always feel slightly honoured that they choose to live alongside us.

The problem with leaving food out is that unless you have a camera to check, you cannot be sure it's not rats feeding on the food. Honestly I love foxes but I really wouldn't feed them. It invites other visitors

@Lolalovesmarmite

Don’t feed it. They’re vermin and if you encourage it, it’ll start pooing in your garden and trust me, you do not want that.

They are much loved British wildlife. Get over yourself, other species get to share this land too, humans are so over entitled.

Threads like this make me despair.

Please do not feed him

1. any food you put out is less good than him catching eg a squirrel. Foxes need the bones and whole animal, not processed food
2. they become dependant on the food you put out and their behaviour changes, they no longer behave as wild animals
3. they begin to associate the smell of humans with good food, and that is when you get disasters like foxes coming in through open windows and attaching babies. Rare but happens.

Foxes are amazing wild animals. But it is always better to allow wild animals to remain wild.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Please dont feed them. They leave disgusting bacteria filled piles of poo that are a hazard to children in particular. If any of your neighbours has chickens or pet rabbits they will attack them like a shot. They will also tip out rubbish bins and leave a filthy mess everywhere.

If they are well fed they are, perhaps, less likely to attack pets.

I love foxes, even if they do make me think someone's shagging outside at 2am.

They kill rats - which are genuine vermin.

@derxa

Threads like this make me despair.

How? Most people are saying “that’s nice but probably best not to feed them”. Which I think is the official advice.

We used to have a fox that called for our big ginger cat. They used to go off together and play.

This is what I miss about living in London - I live in the countryside now and only see one streaking across the fields once in a blue moon. I used to love watching them climbing about, agile like cats. I was walking through Poplar one night and I saw a fox waiting at the zebra crossing, McDonalds bag in mouth, which tickled me.

If they are well fed they are, perhaps, less likely to attack pets.

sorry, not true.
Foxes naturally will kill far more than they need to eat. Hence the fox who gets into the chicken house and kills all of them. In th ewild, they would then bury some and come back to them another day.
Also, a fresh chicken is like 5 star meal for a fox compared to anything put out by us, so they will still kill and eat chickens and rabbits.

We have had both and I see it as my responsibility to build a fox proof run, as we share the land with the foxes.

They are invasive and do not belong in residential areas.

They probably think the same about you.