Wildlife Management - Foxes

Feugh

Well-Known Member
I shoot rabbits and the occasional roe on a farm relatively close to where I live. The roe are not really a problem to the farmer because the population is not huge, but there are significant numbers of rabbits, which I am slowly decreasing.

The land also contains one fox den that I know about, and there is always plenty of fox sign around. When lamping it's an unusual night if I don't come across at least one. Now, since the farmers main concern is the number of rabbits and the foxes will undoubtedly be taking out a fair number of these (along with the buzzards that nest on the land and the badgers) should the foxes just be left, or in the interests of wildlife diversity should some be removed? Up until now I've just left them alone and accepted the rabbit control assistance.
There are no sheep lambing on this land, and as far as I know no poultry are kept locally.
 
Im sure many will disagree, but if they're not a threat to lambs or poultry then you could leave them be. In forestry foxes are known to help reduce vole populations within new plantations, thus reducing damage to newly planted trees. I'm sure they will be assisting in reducing rabbit numbers too.
There is also an argument for leaving a stable fox population alone as shooting a dominant fox will result in an influx of younger animals into the now vacant territory so increasing the population and subsequent predation on wildlife etc.
Depends a lot on other factors too, eg land area, if its a small farm then the neighbour might well be shooting them on site so makes little difference what you do to them.
If your happy to have them around then leave them, if you think they're detrimental to local wildlife, ground nesting birds etc then fire away :fox::)
 
It depends on what the farmer does. Not only do foxes kill wildlife (hedgehogs, skylarks, woodcock, snipe, etc., etc.) and livestock, they spread a number of diseases including:

a) Neospora - a parasite that causes spontaneous abortion in cattle, sheep and horses
b) Toxocara canis - a horrible parasitic worm
c) Lungworm
d) Tuberculosis
e) Sarcoptic mange

And others. So if none of these affect what he farms, then leave the foxes alone.
 
Shoot the foxes as you see them, they too need control as they have no natural predators. The rabbits they take will not be as many as you think.
 
If there not causing any problems leave them alone , you don't have to wipe out everything that moves
 
If there not causing any problems leave them alone , you don't have to wipe out everything that moves

Agree, they are as much a part of our native fauna as deer (more so as most of our deer Spp are non native). Personally deer cause me a lot more trouble than foxes, if deer were treated the way many treat foxes there would be uproar on this site! eg indiscriminately shot on sight, females shot during breeding season with no regard for dependent young etc

Just a thought
 
Fox den equals problems for any poultry , no matter how far away they are .vixens will travel miles hunting in spring to feed cubs.Best shot on sight.
 
If there not causing any problems leave them alone , you don't have to wipe out everything that moves

Nobody has said wipe them out, the damage they do to other wildlife alone justifies shooting them. It's not all based on damage they do to human owned animals.
 
Nobody has said wipe them out, the damage they do to other wildlife alone justifies shooting them. It's not all based on damage they do to human owned animals.

True they can have a detrimental effect on other wildlife, particularly vulnerable species that are under pressure from other things such as habitat loss etc. But the op mentions wildlife management of foxes, I think that for example a large well managed estate with plentiful habitat will hold a sustainable fox population that is not detrimental to other wildlife. As I said before shooting out a mature dog holding a large territory will alter the population dynamics and may increase the number of foxes in the locality.
Its about knowing your ground, sure if you have a intensive arable farm, with bare hedges and no ground cover then charlie will hoover up the few ground nesting birds that try to breed there. The ground I manage has had massive habitat restoration and surveys show that ground nesting birds have increased year on year despite there being a large (unshot) fox population.
 
Have you asked the farmer who's given you permission to shoot, what he wants done with them? I remember an arable farm in North Yorkshire I used to shoot on when I lived there, foxes were to be left alone
 
My view is that there are basically four reasons to shoot an animal;

1) Food.
2) To put the animal out of its suffering and/or stop the spread of disease.
3) Environmental conservation (arguably covers the spread of disease) and/or protecting your wildstock.
4) Self defence

Number 4 is less relevant in the UK, but in Alaska where there are bears its a valid concern!

So if the farmer has no live stock to protect, the foxes aren't damaging the environment, spreading diseases or decimating another species then I'd say leave them be.
 
A lot may disagree with this post but that is what "debate" is all about - For those that do disagree I've got my tin hat at the ready!
I have heard some say "The only good fox is a dead fox" but I personally never have and never will subscribe to this line of thinking! Fox control (In my opinion) is exactly what it says, controlling the numbers of foxes in any given area, not totally eradicating them - Not that anyone would ever be able to do totally eradicate foxes from the British countryside!
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem in shooting foxes and regularly do so - IF the landowner says that any foxes I see must be shot on sight or if their numbers are growing out of proportion to the land they're on. However, most (Not all) of the farmers who own land that I shoot on say that they are happy to have an odd fox about as they help clear up any dead carrion as well as taking rats, mice and moles etc; - As long as their numbers are kept to what they feel is a reasonable and acceptable level and are not causing any problems with their livestock.
Vermin control and wildlife/land management (In my opinion) is about trying to keep a balance in nature, not about shooting every living (Legal quarry) that moves.
 
I sit here listening to my ducks, chickens and geese noisily going about there daily business. They are all free roaming.
I have lived on my small holding now for 8 months and in that time I have shot 5x foxes and trapped 13x magpies.
There are now a single breeding pair of Foxes left and a couple of pairs of Magpies.
Do I mind them, not really, but I do keep an eye on them, a very close eye on them.
If the foxes start to get too close they will go down. If the magpies get too many they will be trapped.
Only you can judge what your level is and what you are happy with. It is all about balance.
 
Catch 22 situation. You will be able to shoot far more rabbits than the foxs will take and also studies in Scandinavia show the biggest cause of mortality in roe kids is foxs, so if you control the foxs hard (you will never be able to get them all) then the roe population might be given a boost.

We have noticed quite an increase in wild pheasnts and hares on two farms we control foxs on, however magpies are currently in plague proportions so cause problems but I think to smaller song birds.

I also agree a vixen will travel miles to get a poultry and RB in his book says often local foxs don't cause the problem so your foxs might be somebody elses issue.

Must say we do shoot on sight howver we have a reserviour of what appears unlimited foxs at present, I have shot 5 dog foxs in the last week, 3 off a chicken farm where I expect we average 1 per week all year. I expect you have far more foxs than you suspect so unless you have a big dump of snow and can spot the runs or a good thermal you could be seriously underestimating your fox population.

Your call

D
 
Thanks for all of the replies, which show a very interesting mix of opinions. In answer to the questions about the farmers, he's not a hunter or shooter, which is one of the reasons I'm on his farm shooting the rabbits. Does he care about the foxes? No, although I think that he would if it hurt his bottom line. The rabbits do hit his bottom line, and he usually gases them in the spring time (which I think is a waste of meat. I shoot the rabbits for the meat, which are eaten by my family and some work colleagues). My main reason for shooting foxes on this farm would be to encourage more wildlife.

I do shoot another farm which has lambing sheep. ALL foxes there are shot.
 
Whatever you decide I think common sense and best practice should prevail. If they are doing no harm then then refrain from shooting them in the next couple of months a vixens will have dependant young....which also will rely on food from the dog too!
If someones livestock are at risk as result you may be under more pressure and it may be needs must but i agree with others when they say there is no need to kill just for the sake of it.
Having said that im not disputing that they do need controlling and in some situations its apparent that they cannot be tolerated at all. Depends on the situation!
 
Farmers choice.


I`ve shot plenty when there was no commercial reason but they were doing untold damage to fauna. They were havoc on grey partridges for instance.

On the flip side, I`ve left a few when I`ve been asked to or there has been no need to control them.
 
I've just been called by a local chicken farmer - he was hit again last night, with untold numbers of birds having been pulled out of the sheds and slaughtered. The animals responsible for the killing were almost certainly pushed into his area by the hunt which went through the valley the day before. My shooting partner and I have shot about 100 foxes on his ground over the last 18 months, but still they keep coming. He was facing the loss of his chicken contract until we came on the scene, but it sounds as though we still have more work to do.
 
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