AIBU boyfriends neighbour sets his German shepard on the foxes

[Lhun96]

My boyfriend lives on a neighbourhood close to several large parks. There are plenty of cats that roam freely here, I know foxes don't attack children/cats/dogs and luckily most of the people here have that sense too. One day however I was watching a familiar pair of foxes roam the back gardens when my boyfriends next door neighbour emerged from his house and set his German shepard on them. I immediately freaked out, I'm completely against fox hunting and I was terrified that I was about to see a fox be mauled right before my eyes. It escaped luckily but I just KNOW that this guy wants to see his dog kill the foxes. He was watching the scene, bemused, hand on hip. I hear barking out there often now but I don't go to look. I know what's happening. My boyfriend informed me that his last German shepard had killed foxes before too.

I don't think my boyfriend quite understands how utterly disgusted I was by the situation. This is their home too. We build on their habitats, all they're doing is trying to survive. And it's illegal to set pets on wildlife. He doesn't get it because his parents don't like foxes either but I was raised watching foxes raise their cubs in my grandparents garden.

I don't want to confront his neighbour because I get the sense that that would thrill him even more, but I can't stand it. I just hate people who are cruel to animals, and his dog could get hurt from this too.

Can I do anything about this? Report it to the RSPCA? Ask the nearby neighbours to stop leaving them scraps so they don't come here anymore? Try to lure them elsewhere with regular food? It just makes me so upset and I feel helpless.

Yesterday one of the foxes had a limp front paw, I'm scared she'll get caught if she goes in that garden again.

@Lhun96

I dont feed them, this is my boyfriends house. I don't exactly control the waste bin in his parents house🤔

You don't feed them yet We leave cat food and small meat scraps ?

It has! He's done it before.

At MY house. Not my boyfriends house. My house backs onto a huge woodland.

OP call the RSPCA, explain the situation ask their advice and listen carefully to the answer.

You come across as living in a bit of a fantasy world, in which you imagine you have far more control over others than you actually do. Thinking that you can direct the RSPCA to write a letter for you, for example. Then, that you'll forge one, based on the say so of one random on the internet. Thinking that you have the power to lure foxes from one place to another, when you're just feeding other scavengers.

You call. You explain. You listen. You take their advice.

Recognise that the professionals might know things you don't and have ways of assessing and dealing with things that you might not fully understand.

I live in Australia and foxes are a destructive force to the natural environment, but I would be horrified if I saw someone set a dog upon one. They are more likely to be injured and die slowly and painfully from that or from a horrible infection than be killed humanely and responsibly. (Australia and UK entirely different ecosystems and they belong there, and they are beautiful animals, without a doubt.) I would have no hesitation in calling RSPCA. Secondary note, German Shepherds are not innate killers. He is teaching his dog to be aggressive. They will want to know this. (I have had them for most of my life, and they are sensitive, intelligent, calm dogs that pick up on “the vibe” like no other.”

@Lhun96

At MY house. Not my boyfriends house. My house backs onto a huge woodland.

It's irrelevant where you feed them, you are feeding them and you shouldn't.

Oh no I absolutely don't think I have any control in this situation whatsoever. That's what's so upsetting about it, knowing it will happen day after until the dog eventually gets big enough and smart enough to maul them. I don't think any plan I come up with will make this stop, I can only think of things to try that might work. I'm sure I will understand things perfectly though, I'm not stupid. 😌

This is what I was thinking! The dog is building this association between smaller animals and chasing. And it will be a BIG dog one day.

It's not about stupidity vs intelligence, it's about knowledge and experience.

I've worked for a charity before (not the RSPCA). I recognise a 'type' here; 'What I want you to do is write this letter, saying x, y, z because old men...blah, blah'. Us 'if you could explain what's actually happening, we can asses the situation and decide how best we take this forward'. Me, thinking 'what makes you think you are in a position to direct our work / tell us what response is correct before the case has been assessed / tell us how much work we need to do on this issue, with no idea about our priorities, capacity and other demands upon our resources / tell us which staff member or trustee you deem worthy of acting on your behalf?' etc.

Call them, if you haven't already. Action will move this forward, not thoughts or feelings.

I've never argued with an expert about how they do their job 😂 I would be grateful for ANY expert advice if only I could get it. Phone lines are very busy, submission form is available. Hence why I thought requesting a letter would be a non-invasive, low cost, non-confrontational idea. There isn't an opportunity for back and forth chat here

Erm, you were certainly planning to...

I've decided that I'm going to ask the RSPCA to write him a letter informing him of the laws and of the danger to his own dog.

So what did the RSPCA advise when you called them?

Maybe I shouldn't pre-empt the action plan, but I don't think suggesting a letter is as fantastical as you've made it seem.

'Requesting a letter'. Ha.

You get to request a letter of someone you are paying to write letters for you e.g. a solicitor.

Good luck getting through anyway, be that to the RSPCA or non-emergency police, anyway. I do think it's worth taking that action. Hope you can get the man to stop.

Excuse me, but why are you being so awful and condescending this whole time? You're projecting your past work experiences onto me for next to no reason. I just want to help. The phone line is for current emergencies they don't give advice. What shall I do, NOT make a request because YOU think it's a silly idea that won't work? If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I can make the request or I can do absolutely nothing.

No. I am being supportive and helpful. I have agreed with you that this is worth taking further. I have advised that you set out the facts, then listen carefully to the advice given to you by the people who deal with this stuff professionally.

I have made the point that I've decided that I'm going to ask the RSPCA to write him a letter informing him of the laws and of the danger to his own dog. is not a realistic expectation, because you don't know the RSPCA's procedures, or direct their work. You need to listen to them tell you what they can and can't do, not try to tell them what to do.

You are reacting very badly to someone not telling you precisely what you want to hear. Which does give some credence to my point about you fitting a recognisable 'type'.

Anyway, good luck.

Many people view foxes as vermin. They’re riddled with diseases, losing their fear of humans and increasingly becoming pests in some areas (chewing wires and pond liners, killing cats and small dogs, digging and defecating in gardens, ripping into food bags etc). Lots of people don’t want a fox infestation in their garden and it sounds like this man was just letting his dog chase them away.

What if he had a Jack Russel terrier and let it chase and kill rats on his land?

Letting a dog kill a fox isn’t illegal, nor is shooting foxes or using a bird of prey to kill them. The hunting ban states it’s illegal to hunt foxes with a pack of dogs (more than 3). Foxes aren’t protected or endangered.

Our neighbours had a fox problem in our last place, the foxes were coming in and ripping up their kids paddling pool, chewing kids toys, leaving a mess on the lawn, generally creating hazards by pooing everywhere. They hired a pest control company to get rid of them (also legal).

I think you need to be less sentimental about foxes and accept not everyone likes them or wants them on their property.

There have also been cases of foxes attacking human babies so they’re not as harmless and cute as some people think.

I do love foxes I really do, but one killed our rabbit last year.
They dig up the garden constantly and the shit they leave is quite honestly awful!
Since I have lived here they seem to have become more accustomed to humans and are more daring.
It's really not there fault though as we have built all over there land.

I wouldn’t be happy with foxes in my garden tbh for many reasons. It’s the same with cats I don’t want them in my garden either.

I would definitely let my dog out to chase them away.

Not wanting to see foxes die a terrible death by mauling is not particularly 'sentimental'. It's rather normal to be adverse to gruesome encounters

Phone line is for emergencies not advice, there is a one way submission form, not an opportunity for back and forth conversation in which I can ask for advice. I've said all this already but you choose to ignore it, rendering your advice useless.

@Lhun96

Not wanting to see foxes die a terrible death by mauling is not particularly 'sentimental'. It's rather normal to be adverse to gruesome encounters

When did you see that? How awful.

Um, ok then

You've decided you won't receive a response to your form? That this response could not possibly include a phone call, or back and forth messaging of any kind? How do you know this?

But clearly, you know best.

So I'll leave you to it and stop wasting my time (responding constructively and supportively to someone who posted asking for opinions and advice. Bad, bad, 'useless' me).

Not wanting to see foxes die a terrible death by mauling is not particularly 'sentimental'. It's rather normal to be adverse to gruesome encounters

But you haven’t seen that happen, just imagined it could?

Foxes mauling cats, lambs, small dogs, squirrels, rabbits, chickens, other foxes on their territory etc are also gruesome acts to watch. Foxes don’t just kill for food they kill far more than they can eat because it’s in their instinct to kill (and scavenge).

I really hate this attitude to wild animals of where they DARE to encroach onto human property and do things that wild animals will do, like attack other animals, poo (shock horror) that it’s just not acceptable. Let’s build houses all over their habitat and then expect them to just stick to their own tiny areas shall we. ‘Disease riddled’ well yes, they’re wild animals, some of you make it sound like they’re going around spreading diseases on purpose with an evil grin on their faces.
Ffs we just expect nature to deal with us and if they still insist on coming onto our land then tough shit they face the consequences. Meanwhile everyone loves their cats who also go and shit everywhere. That’s ok. Cat poo is fine fox poo is not. Ok.

Cat poo is also not ok in my book