Why shoot the foxes?

[Bo Diddley]

I hope they have a weld mesh fence because if they get in mayhem will start. Also allows foxs to get in.
I have watched hundreds of badgers whilst foxing and they can cover a vast distance in a short time if they need to.
Re Roe kids. The major cause of kid mortality is silage mowers and then foxs.
D

I watched a fox last year trying to take a Muntjac fawn off its mum, it gave up in the end, mum was having none of it, wonderful to watch, one of the joys of a half decent thermal.

 

[jall55]

I watched a fox last year trying to take a Muntjac fawn off its mum, it gave up in the end, mum was having none of it, wonderful to watch, one of the joys of a half decent thermal.

I shot a fox a few years ago tracking a roe kid - its mum was trying to protect it but the fox was determined so i did a better job !
!

 

[Cyres]

Two weeks ago were were out on a early evening walk. Going down the lane had a good view over a cultivated field next to a wood. Using a loan Telos 35mmLRF spied a fox on the bottom hedge. Passed it to my partner she said two foxs. I looked again yes looked like 2 foxs. Then had a look through my Geovids. No first one a fox second a munty. Then proceeded to watch the munt follow the fox across the field for 100 or so yards. Thanks to Geovids it was a female munty and a vixen. When the fox reached they water trough a bit of a stand off and fox continued to crosscheck field and the munty retraced her steps. I assume she had a fawn in the wood and was making sure the fox was well out of the way.
D

 

[25 Sharps]

In the late 60s, the road was closed for a while to allow a sewer to be laid in the next village. We set snares along the road hedges and caught 50% more badgers than foxes. Can't remember how much we got for badger skins, but they took some skinning!
If the badger culling is stopped by Labour, people will do what is necassary to protect their livelihoods

The badger cull has already been stopped by the tories, no new licences and supplementary licences cut from 5 years to 2.

 

[Smellydog]

This fox took some getting, dont be fooled by the short video.
It hunted the long grass better than a pack of terriers before I finally got a shot.
There is never any ground nesters here!

 

[Buchan]

It would make no sense though would it because anyone properly culling foxes - would cull more as any increase happened - and if they are doing the job right the foxes cant breed as fast as one can cull them - simple really

There's a lot of studies on this and, not surprisingly, it's similar to the impact on badgers in that to be effective in population reduction, the cull has to be over a large area. THe immigration of foxes from outside the cull area will have more food, so more cubs. This scholar link shows some: Google Scholar

 

[Bowland blades]

Badgers are bad but honestly and i dont want to argue with you - they dont - foxes are absolute killers - even the nice ones

They might in certain areas . We are looking at a large omnivore a big threat to Bees , Hedgehog , ground nesting birds and a major vector in the spread of bovine TB, as the young boars get expelled from the family set . We are the only European Nation that has given them full protection and guess what we have very likely done irreparable damage to the Badger itself as the population can only grow to the point of drastic measures being employed.

 

[jall55]

There's a lot of studies on this and, not surprisingly, it's similar to the impact on badgers in that to be effective in population reduction, the cull has to be over a large area. THe immigration of foxes from outside the cull area will have more food, so more cubs. This scholar link shows some: Google Scholar

So the foxes that come in - get culled too - simple really - Overall population reduced not increased

 

[Buchan]

The comment in most of these is that the culling pressure has to remain. Populations show compensatory regrowth if the pressure reducing them is removed - something comment to many species, especially ones with multiple offspring

 

[jall55]

The comment in most of these is that the culling pressure has to remain. Populations show compensatory regrowth if the pressure reducing them is removed - something comment to many species, especially ones with multiple offspring

Well yeah - thats what i said - If you are doing it - do it !

I honestly imagine the local fox population to me is drastically down - any that come for a look that have territories in the locality are simply dealt with - meaning a far extended area rather than the other way

 

[The Green Man]

Of course, if you keep chickens or pheasants, you need to eliminate foxes.

However, on arable farmland where I manage the wildlife, we had got to the point where there is a beautiful harmony with rabbits and mice kept down to numbers that do minimal crop damage because there is a rich array of predators: stoats, foxes, both barn and tawny owls, as well as buzzards and other birds of prey. Deer numbers have been brought down low enough that the trees surrounding the fields and the plants in the margins are their food, rather than the crop, whilst still giving new deer each year for the freezer. The bucks are all great, as the rifle does the genetic selection. It has become a wild life reserve, where the crop is untouched and all the mammals we have in the UK are in a harmonic balance: nature at its best.

Then someone comes along, unauthorised, on a motorbike with number plate obscured, with rifle exposed on his back, dressed in black, complete with balaclava, and shoots the vixens. So her cubs will starve, and rabbits will increase. The tool keeps on doing it, usually Saturday nights.

What is it about foxes that drive people to takes risks like this? Any ideas on how to prevent it?

NB: Police have been out a few times, farmland is easy to escape from. Residents now call me if they see things going on, but they are not out in the middle of night. They find the remains of the foxes the next day or so. I do a patrol at night, which helps in my mind, but I then go back to bed.

Inform your local branch of Sabs! They'll sit out all night every night completely free of charge!! They love you arable boys, all that tasty vegan friendly grain cuz it's never needed any insecticides or fumigation of the grain store!

 

[AlexD]

Inform your local branch of Sabs! They'll sit out all night every night completely free of charge!! They love you arable boys, all that tasty vegan friendly grain cuz it's never needed any insecticides or fumigation of the grain store!

That would put them to good use!
Observing the foxes here, their main diet seems to be mice. They do their prancing up and down in the middle of the field, and on margins, and when I go there, the only thing to be seen is mouse holes. They are also taking some young rabbits.

 

[AlexD]

It's not the foxs on my permissions it's the badgers.we had lots of curluws.lap wings etc.hedgehogs are none existent.they do far more damage than any fox can

I would love to cull the badgers, starting with the half dozen that keep digging up my lawn. It is only respect for the law that stops me doing it.

Despite the rubbish it says on Are Badgers Good For The Environment? - Worldwide Nature, I am not aware of a single positive contribution that badgers make to the environment, unlike foxes who at least kill a lot of mice. We have lots of mice around the house, yet I don't see badgers digging where the mice are. Badger setts do not improve drainage: they are smart enough to build their setts where they won't get flooded! As regards eating insects, if they did not eat the birds eggs then those birds would eat a lot more insects than any badger.

The badgers have eliminated all the hedgehogs around here - I have not seen a hedgehog here in 10 years, which is when the badgers moved in.

Badgers will take any ground nesting birds they can, and are a general menace.

Limiting badger culling was fine 30 years ago, but now the population of badgers has ballooned, the law needs to change to keep up with the times.

 

[hedge hunter]

I would love to cull the badgers, starting with the half dozen that keep digging up my lawn. It is only respect for the law that stops me doing it.

Despite the rubbish it says on Are Badgers Good For The Environment? - Worldwide Nature, I am not aware of a single positive contribution that badgers make to the environment, unlike foxes who at least kill a lot of mice. We have lots of mice around the house, yet I don't see badgers digging where the mice are. Badger setts do not improve drainage: they are smart enough to build their setts where they won't get flooded! As regards eating insects, if they did not eat the birds eggs then those birds would eat a lot more insects than any badger.

The badgers have eliminated all the hedgehogs around here - I have not seen a hedgehog here in 10 years, which is when the badgers moved in.

Badgers will take any ground nesting birds they can, and are a general menace.

Limiting badger culling was fine 30 years ago, but now the population of badgers has ballooned, the law needs to change to keep up with the times.

Badgers are part of the British countryside and I love watching them just wish there wasn't so many of them

 

[big ears]

I would love to cull the badgers, starting with the half dozen that keep digging up my lawn. It is only respect for the law that stops me doing it.

Despite the rubbish it says on Are Badgers Good For The Environment? - Worldwide Nature, I am not aware of a single positive contribution that badgers make to the environment, unlike foxes who at least kill a lot of mice. We have lots of mice around the house, yet I don't see badgers digging where the mice are. Badger setts do not improve drainage: they are smart enough to build their setts where they won't get flooded! As regards eating insects, if they did not eat the birds eggs then those birds would eat a lot more insects than any badger.

The badgers have eliminated all the hedgehogs around here - I have not seen a hedgehog here in 10 years, which is when the badgers moved in.

Badgers will take any ground nesting birds they can, and are a general menace.

Limiting badger culling was fine 30 years ago, but now the population of badgers has ballooned, the law needs to change to keep up with the times.

What you are describing is the effect of humans on a balanced eco system. When we started using the land from 3500BC onwards we have systematically damaged the balance.

Like it or not Badgers are an important part of that ecosystem.

You are right there are too many badgers in some areas but wiping them out is not the answer. Controlled culling of infected badgers is. When a farm gets TB reduce the numbers on that farm. Blanket culling can increase the spread of TB not make it less.

They are a nuisance in other ways as you say hedgehog numbers are down as are bumble bee nests however habitat loss because of human intervention probably causes a bigger effect than badgers do.

Sadly foxes and badgers get the blame for a lot of problems we cause. Let your manicured lawn go to wild meadow and the badger won’t dig it up and you will support a huge numbers of insects and pollinators maybe.

Sorry that was facetious but shows a point that we as humans are creating many of the problems and not realising it.

 

[Demetrius]

"We as humans are creating many of the problems".........the main one being that there are simply too many of us.

Pete

 

[VSS]

.

Sadly foxes and badgers get the blame for a lot of problems we cause. Let your manicured lawn go to wild meadow and the badger won’t dig it up and you will support a huge numbers of insects and pollinators maybe.

Sorry that was facetious but shows a point that we as humans are creating many of the problems and not realising it.

No, that doesn't sound facetious at all.
A manicured lawn is a pointless thing, unless you need a bit of smooth grass for playing croquet.
If everyone were to let half their lawn go wild each year, the benefits to wildlife would be tremendous, particularly in urban areas.

(Incidentally, I've just started giving my lawn it's first cut for this year. Probably be its only cut, to be honest).

 

[Smellydog]

Local birds love my lawns for the abundance of moss for their nests and bugs.
Blackbirds are always fighting for a corner of it.

 

[Smellydog]

Why shoot fox's?

Because farmers find them a worrying pest and on a new old farm I've just started visiting again fallow have arrived and I've been given the go ahead to monitor and remove some.

So it was worth it then!

 

[AlexD]

What you are describing is the effect of humans on a balanced eco system. When we started using the land from 3500BC onwards we have systematically damaged the balance.

Like it or not Badgers are an important part of that ecosystem.

You are right there are too many badgers in some areas but wiping them out is not the answer. Controlled culling of infected badgers is. When a farm gets TB reduce the numbers on that farm. Blanket culling can increase the spread of TB not make it less.

They are a nuisance in other ways as you say hedgehog numbers are down as are bumble bee nests however habitat loss because of human intervention probably causes a bigger effect than badgers do.

Sadly foxes and badgers get the blame for a lot of problems we cause. Let your manicured lawn go to wild meadow and the badger won’t dig it up and you will support a huge numbers of insects and pollinators maybe.

Sorry that was facetious but shows a point that we as humans are creating many of the problems and not realising it.

To clarify, I was not suggesting wiping out badgers, but reducing their numbers when they are in excess.

Badgers are nice to see. It is grossly excess numbers in an area that cause issues. I believe their contribution is low, but would never wish to see them eliminated entirely.

There a law of unintended consequences that you allude to. Changing the balance by removing any species, often illustrates how little we know about how the balance works.