Urban foxes are being culled
WHILE fox hunting is a very relevant political topic at present, it is also important not to forget other horrors facing foxes in urban environments - namely culling by “pest” controllers.
Animal Aid has been inundated by concerned members of the public who are horrified at news of urban foxes being culled near their homes. Foxes are generally trapped and shot.
What’s even worse is that at this time of year, fox cubs are still reliant on their mothers to survive - if a mother fox is trapped and killed, her babies will starve to death.
Culling foxes is not only cruel, but ineffective. If a fox (or indeed a family of foxes) is killed, the vacant territory will quickly be taken over by new foxes - thus resulting in an endless cycle of trapping and culling. As such the gov- ernment recommends the use of non-lethal, humane deterrence as the most effective way of resolving any conflicts one may be having with foxes.
Humane methods of deterrence are not only better for wildlife, but they are often cheaper in the long-term and satisfy everyone - those who do not want foxes to be unnecessarily killed, and those who do not want them on their property.
Animal Aid produces fact sheets on humane wildlife deterrence for foxes, birds, rats and mice, moles, and squirrels. If you are interested in receiving any of these, please email info@ animalaid.org.uk Tod Bradbury Campaigner Animal Aid