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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be so upset to be told a near neighbour has just tried to poison our fox?

118 replies

tinalane · 28/12/2009 12:28

We have a local fox & one of the things that makes DP happy is to spot the fox out the window, walking about at night.

A neighbour has JUST THIS MINUTE been walking about unannounced in the back garden & told me that something just got his chickens, so he put some meat down with poison & was looking to see if he's killed it.

(weep)

Why didn't he put better fences up???

Why did he have to poison what makes DP & me happy?

I said he'd better put better fences up then & closed the door before I cried or said something I'd regret.

I don't want his chickens hurt either but he seemed so sadistic it was horrible.

(shaking)

What if poor DP find out? How horrible!

OP posts:
thedogsgottago · 28/12/2009 13:04

diedandgone - Im not precious about foxes, just dont see why some old man should feel it necessary to put poison down where any animal could eat it just because a fox is doing something that comes naturally.

ThumbleBells · 28/12/2009 13:07

YABU, having had 2 friends whose chickens have been destroyed by a fox, despite apparently excellent fencing. If they really want to get in, they will.

Although the random poisoned meat is dangerous for other animals, as has been said, and should be discouraged.

I am sorry that your DP needs this fox to increase his joy in life - perhaps you could consider getting him a pet? Stroking furry things has been shown to improve depression in some people. (But don't get a pet that can get into your neighbour's garden, obviously)

Missus84 · 28/12/2009 13:11

YABU to be quite so precious about a fox, but YANBU to be cross about the poison - there are better ways to kill/move it.

sarah293 · 28/12/2009 13:11

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ZuzuandZara · 28/12/2009 13:12

ThumbleBells why are you sorry that the OPs DP needs the fox to increase his joy in life? Having a domestic pet to stroke, love etc is great 'therapy' but enjoying wildlife is something completely different. That's why so many people enjoy bird watching, feeding hedghogs, wildlife photography, watching foxes......

ThumbleBells · 28/12/2009 13:17

what a strange question! I am sorry that his health is not as good as it could be, that is what I meant.

MitchyInge · 28/12/2009 13:19

a huge part of my mental well-being rests on wildlife and the natural world around me - but sentimentality just can't come into that

I do hate it when people torture and kill animals for no reason though, especially those we owe so much to

InMyLittleHead · 28/12/2009 13:24

Why does anyone need to keep chickens in the first place? Anyway, if you really want to have them then lock them in a hut at night, easy. That's what we used to do (the chickens were not my choice).

I would have been furious at someone just leaving poisoned meat lying around where any animal could get it, and I would be a bit upset if I had watched a wild animal for a while and then found out someone was trying to kill it.

Don't understand the definition of 'vermin' tbh. It's just a label people use when they don't like the animal in question, it's not an objective definition.

cornsilkcremeeggspotter · 28/12/2009 13:26

Your neighbour is a twat. Why can't he put his chickens in a shed at night so that they are safe? There will be more than one fox in the neighbourhood anyway. If he kills this one another will incorporate it's patch eventually.

BellasSparklyBaubles · 28/12/2009 13:32

YANBU

Edam summed it up pretty well, IMO.

And I've lost plenty of chooks to Foxy Loxy, but no way would I poison a fox or put pets at risk by attempting to do so.

LetThereBeRock · 28/12/2009 13:32

YANBU.

A death by poison is a very cruel death and it's so indiscriminate that any animal,perhaps someone's pet, could consume it.

He should look first as the security of his chicken enclosure,and if the fox has to be killed then shooting, by someone who knows what they're doing, would be much more humane.

I know what you mean about you and your r dp enjoying watching the fox.It's very pleasurable to be able observe wildlife in such close proximity.

My dp is from a hunting background, his father is a master of foxhounds and he grew up with hunting and shooting,and is still pro field sports but when he returns from working away he takes great pleasure in observing the local foxes and he feeds them, not that he'd ever tell his father that.

norfolkBRONZEturkey · 28/12/2009 13:34

Riven - I had my quails on paving and rats got up the tiny weeny gaps in the paving and had four of them in one night
I do blame the feckers but that is slightly different

I don't blame the fox and I dont think poison was a wise move but I'm not overly sentimental about foxes either. A lot of the time you'll find that people who spend a large quantity of their time our in natural surroundings are often the ones who are most pragmatic about these things

ThumbleBells · 28/12/2009 13:49

norfolkBT - we lost 10 of our finches to rats in one night as well . Not good. As well as reinforcing the aviary, DH is on a mission to poison the rats without killing other wildlife - not easy, it involves him setting the alarm for 4:30am to be sure to remove the poison from the garden before the wild birds start to feed. (We're in Australia so dawn is early at the mo).

sarah293 · 28/12/2009 14:12

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ChickensHaveNoTinsel · 28/12/2009 14:20

YANBU at being upset that he is using poison. I keep chickens, and have luckily not had an issue with a fox (yet). I agree that it is up to the chook keeper to keep the hens as safe as possible. However, urban foxes can become a serious pest. Only a few weeks ago, someone posted on mumsnet about a fox taking a neighbours cat. They are not cute and cuddly, they are predators.

BellasSparklyBaubles · 28/12/2009 14:21

Thumblebells - pets and other animals can also be poisoned by eating poisoned rats

Poison is such awful stuff - hunting and shooting by far the most humane .

We actually found ultrasonic vermin repellents to work best in the case of rats.

sarah293 · 28/12/2009 14:24

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edam · 28/12/2009 14:30

We have urban foxes round here - including a vixen who raised her cubs earlier this year - but none has ever taken a cat. And there are a dozen cats in this road.

Anyway, doesn't matter whether you like foxes or consider them the spawn of Satan, putting poison down is irresponsible and illegal, a danger to other animals and potentially to idiotic curious small children (I know someone whose child was poisoned this way - yes, of course child should not have mucked around but children can be astoundingly stupid sometimes. Not as stupid as the fucker who puts poison down, though.)

midori1999 · 28/12/2009 14:31

no, YANBU. Poisoning foxes is illegal and he is breaking the law.

it is entirely possible for him fox proof his chicken house, we live in a very rural area and several friends successfully keep their chickens safe from foxes.

Hopefully he won't poison someones cat....

JInglesBells · 28/12/2009 14:31

so this neighbour was putting poisoned meat in your backgarden without letting you know??? Is that right????
That's bloody outrageous and I would have a fit..
I've kept chooks for the last 8 years and yes, we've lost a couple to foxes but it's our responsibility to keep them safe and protected, you can't just poison wildlife, vermin or not!
I'd report him to the RSPCA

Heated · 28/12/2009 14:36

Neighbour needs this guy

curiositykilledhaskittens · 28/12/2009 14:37

Clearly poisoning the fox is bad but jeez, how do you and your DH survive normal life being so very sensitive or is there something else going on here? My 3 year old would handle this better!

ThumbleBells · 28/12/2009 14:38

Bella, can't use ultrasonics with a guineapig in the house. DH doesn't have a night-sight rifle or other form of gun so shooting is out. Traps are vile and don't get rid of enough of them. What else is there? One would hope that other animals are wise to the smell of poisoned rats and would avoid them, but I don't know. We are not prepared to have our garden overrun with rats that are bold enough to be out en masse when DH goes out the back door in the evening.

DuelingFanjo · 28/12/2009 14:40

I like foxes but it's not your fox so YABU.

pandora69 · 28/12/2009 14:49

I own chickens. They are kept in a wooden shed with a light-sensitive automatic door, surrounded by a pen made of wire netting dug under the soil, which in turn is surrounded by a 'fox-proof' electric net fence. This year I have lost 6 chickens to the fox. And yes - I would use whatever means necessary to eradicate that particular fox.

You cannot say that someone should take better care of their chickens. It is not possible to create a 100% fox-proof pen unless you are only keeping a couple of hens and you are able to use some pretty heavy-duty materials in building it.

For example. In the recent snow I was horrified to discover that the weight of the snow on my electric fence was causing it to short, rendering it useless. The fox had managed to get into the outer area of the pen, but fortunately had managed to snack on a rat - I did have heart failure though when I saw the blood on the snow.

Poisoning is a particularly cruel way to kill an animal. But sadly it is one of the methods which is used when the preferred method - one which has been proven over centuries - is taken away as an option.

Wildlife is beautiful, but if it comes down to the fox or my chickens, the fox is going to get it any day of the week.