Town fox, catch and release

[Euand]

Hi, I recently shot a manky looking fox that was sniffing around in the garden. My thoughts are a town fox that has been caught and released. Surely that's crultey rather than shooting the dam thing in the first place ? It obviously wasn't going to last much longer than the trip into my garden sniffing around the chickens! Poor bugger was skin and bone, sores all over it and very mangy looking.
Thanks
Euan.

 

[MarkD123]

See it all the time, rescue centre’s releasing urban foxes into the countryside, and they have no idea on how to hunt.
Once ended up shooting a three legged fox that was on the verge of starvation, with scars to show an operation had been conducted on the lost leg.
These centres are full of good intention but zero common sense sometimes.

 

[Gunner223]

At my last house i was right on the outskirts of the village, i was lucky my permission was all around the house , anyway someone released 10 foxes one night in a large lay bye up the road a field away
and some of those had operation marks ( shaved areas with stiches ) they lasted around an hour.

 

[Farmer_J]

Yeah we live next to a drop zone for the city foxes. They really have no chance at all.

Wife’s friend works for an animal shelter. They had a litter of fox cubs dropped off a couple weeks ago. I asked what happens to them once they’re grown? Well, you can guess the answer.

 

[shakey jake]

its a crazy practice but sadly money talks. like the dog trust that never puts a healthy dog down even if it cant be rehomed because its nuts. people think killing is wrong and happily donate to a charity that says they will release. you would think vets would know better but it doesnt seem so. i havent heard of a professional pest controller releaseing caught foxes, im sure some have done as again if a customer demands it and is willing to pay some one will. not fair on the foxes

 

[Phil fox man]

its a crazy practice but sadly money talks. like the dog trust that never puts a healthy dog down even if it cant be rehomed because its nuts. people think killing is wrong and happily donate to a charity that says they will release. you would think vets would know better but it doesnt seem so. i havent heard of a professional pest controller releaseing caught foxes, im sure some have done as again if a customer demands it and is willing to pay some one will. not fair on the foxes

when you've been foxing as long às I have ( god that makes me sound and feel old!) nothing will surprise you.
I've seen amputation, stitching,shave marks for drips and one with a GPS collar!.
just last year I had my first mass drop on my pheasant shoot just as I released my birds.
I ended up with 25 on one field!.
I thought it was very inconsiderate not to ring ahead so I could lay out a welcome meal and a desert of 50gn vmax.

 

[shakey jake]

when you've been foxing as long às I have ( god that makes me sound and feel old!) nothing will surprise you.
I've seen amputation, stitching,shave marks for drips and one with a GPS collar!.
just last year I had my first mass drop on my pheasant shoot just as I released my birds.
I ended up with 25 on one field!.
I thought it was very inconsiderate not to ring ahead so I could lay out a welcome meal and a desert of 50gn vmax.

i dont see a sensible way to stop it happening. contacting the charities that you think might be doing with a report of the number you have just shot isnt going to end well, like wise talking to the press about it will no doubt end up with a negative spin on our side. at least they are not difficult to remove

 

[Phil fox man]

i dont see a sensible way to stop it happening. contacting the charities that you think might be doing with a report of the number you have just shot isnt going to end well, like wise talking to the press about it will no doubt end up with a negative spin on our side. at least they are not difficult to remove

yes totally agree,all you can do is use your gun and keep stum!

 

[Toddy222]

Target practice simple

 

[Phil fox man]

yeah but after a few it becomes anoying

 

[Woodsmoke]

I don't shoot foxes on my ground, primarily due to the fact they cause little harm (in my particular scenario!) and I'd rather have the 'devil you know', so to speak. I can't imagine the hassle some of you guys must be experiencing though, and to have it compounded by bunny-hugging do-gooders must be frustrating beyond belief

 

[purdey24]

Is it not illegal to release captured foxes.
I seem to remember seeing that on a web site for a council area somewhere in England.
Certainly illegal for grey squirrels.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Is it not illegal to release captured foxes.
I seem to remember seeing that on a web site for a council area somewhere in England.
Certainly illegal for grey squirrels.

Not per se, stupidly enough. It only becomes an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 if it can be shown that the animal can't fend for itself (I think)

 

[mudman]

As a city boy I have never seen a manky town fox, the opposite in fact. Most daft foxes can be explained by the symptoms of toxoplasmosis. Are foxes caught and released randomly in the countryside, I would say yes, but I imagine very rarely in big numbers, just private pest controllers trapping a fox for a fee then letting it go again in the countryside.

 

[404Boar]

when you've been foxing as long às I have ( god that makes me sound and feel old!) nothing will surprise you.
I've seen amputation, stitching,shave marks for drips and one with a GPS collar!.
just last year I had my first mass drop on my pheasant shoot just as I released my birds.
I ended up with 25 on one field!.
I thought it was very inconsiderate not to ring ahead so I could lay out a welcome meal and a desert of 50gn vmax.

I am intrigued. Has anyone any pictures of these three legged foxes with operation scars and stitches? Or better still The ‘Elusive White Van Man’ dropping them all off in the dead of night?

 

[Euand]

i dont see a sensible way to stop it happening. contacting the charities that you think might be doing with a report of the number you have just shot isnt going to end well, like wise talking to the press about it will no doubt end up with a negative spin on our side. at least they are not difficult to remove

I agree, whatever we do or say isn't going to go down well. Just I wish these animal rescue people would realise that their efforts in particular towards foxes are a waste of time as I would assume that any cub born in town isn't going to have the capabilities to fend for its self. They all end up dead with a piece of lead or starved !!

 

[Euand]

I am intrigued. Has anyone any pictures of these three legged foxes with operation scars and stitches? Or better still The ‘Elusive White Van Man’ dropping them all off in the dead of night?

I have a pic of the fox i shot but cant work out how to load up to this

 

[404Boar]

A mangy Fox is no proof of a catch and release situation. Three legs, stitches, operational scars, white van man....

 

[Pedro]

It would at least be interesting to ask those establishments what they think they are achieving releasing foxes that have not lived wild before. I guess some small percentage who have the luck to find a food source and last awhile might survive when they eventually learn how to hunt/scavenge. But it's pretty obvious that those that are shot for the most part will have had the easy way out. And releasing foxes near to pheasant release pens? That's only ever going to end one way.

 

[Phil fox man]

hi Pedro,to answer your last two points.
I don't think they were dropped off intentionally near my pens but were released on some marshland some 600yds away.probably didn't see the pens or know it was a shoot.
secondly no it didn't end well!.
hi 40boar,if we all took pictures who would we show them to to ? it's to none pc for anyone to stick there neck out for..
I would not complain to the fox sanctuary 5 miles down the road as I would not want any undue attention on my shoot.
all us keepers and fox controllers can do is do our jobs and hope they alternate drop off area's.
lastly and more annoying is a man's word not enough anymore?