newcountrygirl Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I have just watched the new programme which started tonight about foxes - Foxwatch or something like that. I just got more and more angry with all these people saying how lovely foxes are. Even the guy who had his hens decimated was saying he didnt blame the fox. People are feeding them and re-releasing them into urban areas. I just don't think people should be encouraged to think of them as a nice fluffy little animal. Yes - they have a place in the wild - but don't make them out to be fluffy. They are cruel hunters and a lot of them are mangey. Rant over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I didn't see the programme, but would say that although I have lost hens to foxes, I don't really dislike them, and see it as my responsibility to keep them out of my garden rather than the other way round. If I didn't have the girls I wouldn't care too much if they were in my garden, and so I can see why people feed them etc. Sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I'm with Sadietoo really. Leave any animal bigger than a gerbil with chickens & they're sure to have a go. I think my cats are fluffy & cute, but the littliest bought in a rabbit the other day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I saw it. I agreed with the chap who had had hid chickens killed by the fox. It was doing what foxes do ... and given the flimsiness of his set up, frankly, he only had himself to blame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloss-Hen Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I watched and found it horrifying that the fox or "chico" had killed 12 chickens and they were going to release it a few metres away though this might teach him to make his coop fox proof. People that don't have chickens don't understand what all the fuss is about. I have 2 very close friends and 1 of them keeps chickens as a farmer the other doesn't she thinks foxes are harmless little creatures. But everyone has a different view on foxes but I personally hate them and I am also very scared of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Foxes are not harmless little creatures, they are predators, but that is their nature. They are no different to lions etc in that respect, and I really can't condemn them for it. I would be very sad if my chooks were killed by a fox, but I wouldn't blame it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I hated seeing the 11 year old 'tame' fox that was in the shopping centre being petted and fussed by all sorts. I would not trust a 'tame' fox around small children in pushchairs It was also really stressed and really was not enjoying it. They very quickly cut away when it was in the studio and whipped around rather quickly to bite when the presenter went to stroke it. It was also rather fat as a result of overfeeding and under exercise. Why on earth he felt the need to pan fry chicken for it I don't know I hand reared a fox cub some years ago and whilst they can be 'tame' a first generation 'tame' fox maintains an awful lot of wild instinct and behaviour. Not to be trusted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcountrygirl Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 I dont hate foxes - I just don't hold with all this keeping them as pets or re-releasing them after they have been caught doing damage. They should be left in the wild whatever their fate. People should have respect for wild animals and not try to make them conform to what they want them to be. Also feeding them is just ascerbating the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I only saw 10 minutes whilst eating my tea, the part where the cubs died and the poor mother was trying to get the cub to suckle. it did bring a lump to my throat, and a tear to my eye. Foxes are indiscrimate killers, and I do agree their numbers should be checked. If I was farming and the population where I was was too high then I would look to reduce it to a manageable level. A bit like my mice, I don't want to get rid of them all, but when they take all my feed and bedding its time for them to go back to the woods. Urban foxes living on our unhealthy leftovers in our overcrowded cities look ill, they are in poor condition, which says a lot for our lifestyle that they are living off! Easy access to poor quality food, with little effort, intensifies the breeding and you get more, but worse quality animals, more prone to spreading disease. Country foxes living well are beautiful animals. The foxes have a high infant mortality rate, with many not reaching adulthood, so they do have a lot to deal with. I agree that I wouldn't trust one, but there are plenty of badly kept dogs that I wouldn't trust around small children either. (There are plenty of small children I wouldn't trust around my dog either) We humans are very natural in our behaviour too, we want to eliminate everything that threatens us and ours. I don't believe that we have a right to wipe everything out though, despite our "superiority". We need to live and let live, if we can help then we should, and protect our own in ways that we can without causing harm to the threat. Its us humans that have messed up the natural balance of things, destroying habitats, disrupting the food chain, in our ever increasing need for more. We wont change though, neither will the foxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NannyOgg Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I only saw 10 minutes whilst eating my tea, the part where the cubs died and the poor mother was trying to get the cub to suckle. it did bring a lump to my throat, and a tear to my eye. Foxes are indiscrimate killers, and I do agree their numbers should be checked. If I was farming and the population where I was was too high then I would look to reduce it to a manageable level. A bit like my mice, I don't want to get rid of them all, but when they take all my feed and bedding its time for them to go back to the woods. Urban foxes living on our unhealthy leftovers in our overcrowded cities look ill, they are in poor condition, which says a lot for our lifestyle that they are living off! Easy access to poor quality food, with little effort, intensifies the breeding and you get more, but worse quality animals, more prone to spreading disease. Country foxes living well are beautiful animals. The foxes have a high infant mortality rate, with many not reaching adulthood, so they do have a lot to deal with. I agree that I wouldn't trust one, but there are plenty of badly kept dogs that I wouldn't trust around small children either. (There are plenty of small children I wouldn't trust around my dog either) We humans are very natural in our behaviour too, we want to eliminate everything that threatens us and ours. I don't believe that we have a right to wipe everything out though, despite our "superiority". We need to live and let live, if we can help then we should, and protect our own in ways that we can without causing harm to the threat. Its us humans that have messed up the natural balance of things, destroying habitats, disrupting the food chain, in our ever increasing need for more. We wont change though, neither will the foxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
