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“Cull
This Urban Pest,” screamed a headline from the Evening Standard
earlier this week. Not, as you may expect, referring to grey squirrels or
feral pigeons, but to that more recent arrival on the urban scene, the red
fox.
This is the most controversial of the animals in our community, provoking
strong feelings both for and against. On the one hand, they are admired for
their grace and beauty, and for their slightly menacing undercurrent, which
never lets us forget that this is a predatory animal. It is claimed on
their behalf that they make a valuable ecological contribution, cleaning up
carrion and keeping down the rodent population, which historically formed
the lion’s share of their diet. Their population, it is argued, is
self-regulating – more or less the same numbers are killed on the road every
year as new cubs are born, and any excess population is compelled of
necessity to find a new habitat.
On
the other hand, many people are unhappy at what they perceive as an
explosion in the population of urban foxes, and looking at the statistics,
it is easy to see why this perception has arisen. Estimates of the fox
population in Greater London vary hugely, between 30,000 and 80,000, but
either way, this represents an astonishing proportion of the entire fox
population of the
UK.
Last year, nearly 9,000 foxes were shot in London gardens and streets by
private pest control firms, and this figure does not take account of those
killed in public parks.
Many
residents feel threatened by having to live cheek by jowl with an aggressive
carnivorous predator. Concerns are raised about the danger to small
children and pets, although it must be said that attacks of this nature are
so rare as to be almost unheard of. However, as easy access to rubbish bins
and the questionable practice of feeding foxes in back gardens encourages
them to lose their fear of human beings, one hears increasingly of the
inquisitive animals entering houses. And of course, they continue to foul
lawns, dig up plants, and create the most fearful noise at night,
particularly at this time of year.
The
great fox debate sees people divided into three camps – there are those who
would like to encourage the fox, those who would like to see them deterred
and those in favour of culling. All three approaches have their drawbacks,
although one thing seems clear – foxes are here to stay, and whatever our
feelings, we need to learn to live with them, if not exactly love them.
The
fox is the ultimate opportunist. Provided they have a secure lair and
access to food and water, they can live almost anywhere. They will eat
almost anything, with their natural diet consisting of rabbits, rodents,
insects, worms, berries and windfall fruit. However, the fox (like many of
us) is a naturally lazy fellow and won’t hunt for prey unless he has to.
Why should he catch his own rat if some kind soul provides him with the
remains of last night’s Macdonald’s either discarded in the street or in an
insecure dustbin?
It
is argued that deliberately encouraging the fox is the most dangerous of the
three approaches. This is, after all, a wild animal. There is an ample
supply of naturally occurring food which encourages them to contribute to
the ecology of the area, whilst feeding them and treating conditions such as
mange encourages them to come even closer to people with all the attendant
problems that would bring. Even the Tunbridge Wells based Fox Project, when
asked what we should be feeding to urban foxes, responds “preferably
nothing.”
Foxes can be discouraged by the use of chemical deterrents. It will also
help to block access to spaces under sheds or cellars, and to ensure that
your rubbish is not left out overnight. But the difficulty here is that
this approach simply has the effect of moving the problem elsewhere rather
than eradicating it. This also needs to be an ongoing process, as it will
otherwise soon attract another family of foxes to fill the vacant habitat.
The
culling option is draconian and criticised by it’s detractors as an
expensive waste of time, as it simply opens up a space which will soon be
filled by more foxes.
Alan
Hay
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