The Urban Fox
Please see the bottom of this article for a list of the references I used while researching this subject.
Why Have Foxes Moved into Urban Areas?
Their natural habitat is being eroded by human development. To survive, they have adapted to live among us. The move into urban areas has also led to some dependency on us for food. The website allthingsfox.com explains:
“On top of that, human developments have threatened their natural habitats…The urban fox as we know them today are survivors. However, part of their existence in the urban world is also due to them becoming dependent on humans.”
Why Is the Urban Fox a Problem?
They are considered a pest for a variety of reasons. Some of these are; being noisy, digging up gardens, transmitting disease, and causing concern to the public that they may be attacked or that their furry family member, or infant, may become a fox’s next meal.
Are People Right to Be Concerned?
According to an article in The Guardian, Urban foxes: are they ‘fantastic’ or a growing menace? from 15 October 2022, not necessarily:
“According to research conducted by Professor Dawn Scott, executive dean for Nottingham Trent University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, cats are far more likely to chase away foxes than the other way around. “Cats nearly always win,” she says.”
The perception of the fox as vermin and nasty (partly due to children’s fiction) may also be playing a role in how people feel about foxes in the countryside and urban areas.
“Yet the fox remains something of an outcast in the popular imagination, characterised in children’s fiction as nasty and cunning, like the Foxy Whiskered Gentleman in Beatrix Potter’s story, who plots to cook Jemima Puddle-Duck. They’re “heavily villainised”, says Scott, and that has shaped deep-seated views of an animal often incorrectly thought of as vermin – a classification it has never received.”
It cannot be denied that foxes have attacked people, but these are a small number in relation to dog bites, as advised in the BBC Wildlife article Urban foxes, your questions answered:
“Will the foxes attack me or my children?
There few reports of foxes attacking people – a handful a year, while the NHS report that more than ten people a day go to hospital for treatement for dog bites.”
The article also explains that foxes often attack in self-defence if cornered:
“A fox may bite or defend themselves if cornered (most recent instances of fox bites happened when a fox was cornered or in unfamiliar surroundings).”
Like other animals, foxes get diseases. Most of these diseases also occur in domestic dogs. In that respect, they are no more a health hazard than any other animal.
How Should Urban Foxes Be Dealt With?
There are many ways to deter foxes without resorting to killing them. It is illegal to poison foxes. Examples are:
1. Put fencing up around your garden and keep it well maintained.
2. Close off any places where a fox could crawl into and live.
3. Using an animal repellent from a garden centre or DIY store.
4. Clean up any discarded bird food from feeders.
Resources
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/foxes/garden
https://www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/urban-fox
All opinions expressed in this article are mine, not Kelp Social’s
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