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| Lizzy (right) |
The foxes involved are thought to be a pair of city foxes, that have been recently trapped and then relocated from a populated urban area, probably by do-gooders thinking they were doing the poor animals a favour.
Desperately hungry and displaying the usual city disregard of humans, these foxes had no skills to adjust a country existence, and in a matter of weeks had killed a considerable amount of the locals' animals, which of course provided them with the only sure way of survival.
Local farmers shot these unfortunate animals and put a stop to the carnage, but the whole situation raises an interesting question of what can or should be done with urban foxes, who have successfully evolved to a scavenging existence away from the countryside.
Country foxes are much shyer animals, that generally keep away from small holdings until dusk and dawn. In my view any bird out of the safety of it's coop or house at these times can be deemed fair game to the natural predator instincts of a fox....to me that's fair..........the presence of a city fox in a rural location is not fair to the fox itself or to any daytime lamb, hen or duck..and the only answer can be the elimination of the animal involved...........
Do-gooders!
Sometimes there is just not enough practical thinking going on!
Off to rake the veg plots!
I agree with you John, it's unfortunate that people sometimes don't realize that in solving their 'own' problems they are creating a bigger one. I feel bad for the foxes that were/are caught in the middle.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough our local foxes (and we're very rural) have always struck in broad daylight. It's not like they must be starving either as there's boat loads of rabbits to eat.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI bet your'e going to miss the bad-tempered one!
I'm of a like mind to Little Blue Mouse above - foxes here come during the day, and we too are inundated with rabbits which they could eat if they wanted. I suspect "animal lovers" feed the foxes and that makes them less nervous of people than they would otherwise be.
ReplyDeletebit of good news mixed with some bad news.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's a shame about the foxes, but they had to be shot.
Glad Lizzy has found a new home.
Gill in Canada
No matter what obstacles you place in our way, we will outfox you! You can't beat a chunk of fresh chicken. The feathers add a certain piquancy, I'm sure you'll agree.
ReplyDeleteYou're right! Lizzy does look like she has an attitude problem.
ReplyDeleteYour Friend, m.
That is so true, John. People often don't look at the scope of the problem, or consider the ramifications before acting.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
We had a problem with too many porcupine in our area years ago and I guess the dog-owners and what-not put up enough stink that the Govt. arranged to have Fishers brought into Ontario from up north to kill the porcupine. If they had researched a little more they would have found that there was nothing that would kill the fishers. Now we have way too many of those (they are of the badger family) and they will kill cats, small dogs and anything they can get. They are very vicious. Now they have an arranged killing by Govt. employees every once in awhile. If they would have just left things alone...........
ReplyDeleteAm I missing something or have you sent the poor Turkey off to a cetrain death at the hands (or paws) of said Mr Fox? xxxxx
ReplyDeletediane!
ReplyDeletethe foxes in question were shot! you weren't reading very carefully!
x
Good luck Lizzy! Your 'party' is over!
ReplyDeleteUrban foxes she be retrained to work as ushers and ice cream sellers at cinemas. It would give them a valuable source of income, and might even make going to a vast toilet to watch a film while other people eat crunchy stuff and do sex to each other a little more bearable.
ReplyDeleteOur local wildlife rehabbers do the same thing with raccoons, they "release" them in our rural community. Most of them end up dead on the highway or trapped because they're breaking into poultry pens. There is just not enough food for them along the riverway because there are already animals there. Of course people also dump dogs and cats in our neighborhood, as if they could actually survive on their own. The cure of course is to stop letting developers bulldoze wildlife habitat and put up more monstrous big houses that no one can afford to live in anyway.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Lizzy's "Reign of Terror" will be over - unless she beats on her new mate!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Lizzy girl will mind her "p's and q's" around a new gentleman, she'd best change her ways or she'll be supper.
ReplyDeleteIt's a quandary what to do about the foxes, they are obviously the innocent ones trying to survive, yet an obvious threat to farmers. We have people dump city dogs in the country, with the same attitude, that people will love them and take care of them all in the country. They end up running in packs and killing livestock to survive.
Thanks for asking, knee is stiff as an old peg-legged pirate, but I'm getting really good at kicking people up the bum ;)
Hope your day is a good one !
~Jo
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ReplyDeleteI have mixed feeling about the foxes that patrol our allotments. On the one hand, I don't want my chooks tearing apart, on the other, I respect the fox's need to eat and survive.
ReplyDeleteOne arsehole on the site decided it might be a good idea to poison a chicken carcase and leave it for the local fox population to scavenge and die painfully and slowly!
Needless to say I disposed of the poisoned item myself.
Why cause something to suffer like that?
Unfortunantly, your foxes sound a lot like the coyotes in our area. They have learned that there is a big old sign reading "FREE FOOD" where there are people in town, this is cat food, garbage... and people's pets. This leads to no good end for them, I might add. Fortune would have it, that is the one animal we have NOT had problems with here. (Unless you count stepping in poop regularly...)
ReplyDeleteCat
I definitely agree with you John. We're fortunate that we have our huge Shep guarding our farm although heaven help a poor chicken who flies over the fence! Too many roosters meant mayhem and the poor girls felt they had no choice but to 'fly the coop' but now we're down to only one rooster and there is now peace in the valley...so to speak. Hope your day is a good one.
ReplyDeletethank you guys
ReplyDeletecathy: does your dad come from Trelawnyd???
Around here, it's illegal to relocate wild animals like that. It's not fair to the animal, nor to the people whose lives it will end up disrupting.
ReplyDeleteThank god Lizzy is gone!! I wonder if she'll hen peck her new turkey stag? IMHO, She's lucky she got a mate instead of a pot full of potatoes...her attack on the other turkey hens is still fresh in my mind. I'm relieved for the other girls!
ReplyDeleteGreat post about the relocated foxes. I remember a dog that dragged itself onto our land once when we lived in the country. Someone had abandoned him thinking "at least he'll have a chance to live!" He was nearly starved to death and had been horribly mangled when hit by a car. We gathered him up as carefully as we could, took him to the vet, and held him while he was put to sleep. I was SO angry. It was like abandoning a small child out in the wild thinking "at least they'll have a chance to live!" Honestly, it amazes me how little some people understand about animals. Although then again, it's not really possible to understand without some kind of practical, first hand experience, which so many who live in urban centers lack. Poor darlings.
Again, great post John!
Dxxx