So why shoot foxes?

[Taff]

We use to say for everyone you shoot seven will come to the funeral, they do kill poultry ,I have 38 free range chickens don,t lose any in the day light, farmed sheep for many years never had a healthy lamb taken. Keep 30 cows, all Calve outside alone never lost a calf to fox. But do I shoot foxes Yes,

 

[norma 308]

yes i do shoot em ,but this year i am going to give the huntsman a chance as long as he does what he says he will do ! ! will shoot anything even remotely near my pens but will give him a chance to get his young hounds going soon as crops are off .badgers are a big problem especially in a dry year ! the boss,s son is home now and he is mates with the masters so they want to see a fox now and again

 

[Harry mac]

You will never shoot the last fox. Do not worry on that front.
Facemiester

I'm sure they said summat similar as they discharged their muzzle loading fowling pieces into the vast flocks of passenger pigeons that used to fly over North America.

 

[nell]

I'm sure they said summat similar as they discharged their muzzle loading fowling pieces into the vast flocks of messenger pigeons that used to fly over North America.

They said the same about the PASSENGER pigeon

 

[keith@honda]

dont matter how many you shoot some bugger will come a release 20 more

 

[big_dog]

when i was part time keeper shot them on site & snared the rest.

 

[MrYou]

Only the ones doing harm, in the wrong area. I like to watch them hunt & play also, crafty sods they are.

 

[taln]

Shoot them on site,even if theres a good shot on a deer.one less predator on the roe fawns,and lambs and birds in the area.

 

[trouble]

im a keeper , bit of a them or us thing

 

[njc110381]

It depends a lot on the wishes of the land owner. I don't shoot all the foxes I see, I actually quite admire them.

Having said that I was out stalking earlier and happened to bump into one. Land owner says gone and it was so - with the .338WM! The little bugger still ran 10 yards or so which truely amazed me.

 

[Harry mac]

They said the same about the PASSENGER pigeon

Well spotted. Just testing

 

[Monkey Spanker]

A new born set of cubs and its mother will eat more than a ton of food before the vixen sets them free and i don't want my ground game to be part of that ton. Stupid question for a stalking forum as the newborn fatalities due to foxes is well documented.

Is that a bad thing?

The main reason we need to cull deer on our island is because we have no natural predators. The fox is indeed a natural predator of young deer. Are we helping him, or is he helping us?
He is the 'natural' predator and should surely take priority over us?
Game shoots are an unatural occurance and are difficult to justify in the eyes of the anti's. They are also fox 'breakfast bars' and half the reason why the fox population is so high in the first place!
Foxes also eat rats, squirrels, voles, mice, etc....
If you take the time to watch one up close, they are beautiful creatures and definitely have their place in the countryside. if you would like to see them eradicated, then you are no better than our predecessors who killed all the wolves, cats, bears, etc...
I shoot foxes on some of my estates, but leave them on others where I see they are doing good. I suppose that makes me some kind of hypocrite, but I personally wouldn't want to see the extinction of one of our largest and most beautifully cunning mammals. Would you really like to be responsible for their permanent demise??????
If so, then you should probably remove your head from yer arse and review the bigger picture!

MS

 

[re'M'ington]

I shoot them where they need shooting and not where they don't,but,if I have permission to shoot deer on the land they all must go,and here is why......

 

[wag]

Not trying to provoke an argument but more interested in peoples' insights regarding keeping a balance in the countryside.[/QUOTE]

I think shooting foxes does keep a balance. Yes rabbits are one food source, but a fox will always take the easy option. A roe kid,lamb, pheasant in a pen is an easier option Lets face it you'll never get them all. Especially with urban foxes on the increase. I shoot close to norwich and there seems a never ending supply as foxes wander out of the city.

 

[cousin jack]

If your arguement for shooting them is based on protecting ground game and nesting birds, unless you take the time and effort to have a good trap and snare line going from 1st March to the 31st July, you may as well not bother. The rats, stoats, weasles, corvids and all the other predators will do the job.

 

[bewsher500]

I think the biggest issue in the UK is not the presence of the fox as the natural predator of (young) deer it is the density of predators to prey in the limited habitat that we have.
Consider any rural area in the Southern half of the country and many in the North of England and Central belt of Scotland.
The proximity to any urban area is significantly less than larger countries where natural predators do more to control numbers than man does.
Foxes (as most vermin class predators) are extremely adaptable and do not suffer the same habitat pressures as their prey do.

As a result they are always going to have a population that is unrelated to that of their primary natural prey.

In short they need more control than the deer do

 

[DazT]

The permission i've got has had a bad time from foxes in the past with lambs being taken/eaten.
The farmer wants me to keep their numbers down so his lambs and chickens are protected.
Before i was shooting on the farm a pair of foxes got into the barn and killed 28 chickens the only bird left alive was the cockerel.

So to answer your question - yes i shoot em when i see em.

ATB
Daz

 

[Uncle Buck]

I'm all for shooting on SIGHT, as Charlie is a habitual Killer,!!!

Rgds, Buck.

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[www.yorkshireroestalking.]

Great photos when my pens are full of birds.
think i might get out first thing and have a sit.

 

[dave1372]

Following on from Post 21 :

I shot 6 in the last couple of weeks so that would make 42 foxes for the funeral then .....now wouldn't that be a fun with the rifle