Brighton residents fear foxes are killing pets (From The Argus)

I live in Seaford and have nightly visits to my garden by at least one fox and the 'mess' it leaves is awful. He also took a full bag of fish food shut in the greenhouse.
How do we stop them.

Bears and wolves were once native to this country. We killed the last ones off in the 17th century. However, in other parts of Europe, America, Asia etc they are still commonplace. All we've got left is the rather timid urban fox, and now some idiots are complaing that they're destroying their lives. Seriously, GROW UP. Put your fish-food in a more secure place and your guinea pigs in more secure cages - better still, don't keep guinea pigs at all. Then be thankful a grizzly bear isn't running away with your offspring. If you, a human, can't find a way of outsmarting the notorius cunning of a fox, then god help us.

Rabbits and guinea pigs are the most abused domestic animals in the UK according to pet charities. Most are kept in tiny cages for hours and days on end and only being let out when the kids come along and bend down to pick them up. Then the kids get bored with them as they don't do much and mum is left to clean them out and care for them and many get fly strike.
The little creatures then cra* themselves when they are being picked up as they think they are being eaten as they are 'prey' animals in the wild.
Being gobbled by a fox is probably a welcome escape.
Free the rabbits and guinea pigs!

Metadadaist wrote:
Bears and wolves were once native to this country. We killed the last ones off in the 17th century. However, in other parts of Europe, America, Asia etc they are still commonplace. All we've got left is the rather timid urban fox, and now some idiots are complaing that they're destroying their lives. Seriously, GROW UP. Put your fish-food in a more secure place and your guinea pigs in more secure cages - better still, don't keep guinea pigs at all. Then be thankful a grizzly bear isn't running away with your offspring. If you, a human, can't find a way of outsmarting the notorius cunning of a fox, then god help us.

Agree entirely. Foxes wouldn't pay so much attention to these properties if they didn't have food, in the form of waste or live guinea pigs, rabbits etc all over the place. People say they're vermin, OK so stop carrying on in a way that attract vermin and the problem's solved.
Or perhaps you want to p!ss and moan and wait for some-one else to do something about it for you.

Foxes doing what comes naturally... SHOCK HORROR!

Get over yourselves.

Small animals out in gardens may well get eaten by foxes, such is life. It's nice to let them run around in the garden but that is always going to be a risk. It's just one of those things that happens. If they were in a cage then shame on their owner for not making sure they were secure, that's the whole point of a cage. I don't particularly agree with keeping pets like that anyway, it forces them to live miserable little lives quite often in solitary confinement, it would be better to not have them at all.

Who are these people keeping their doors locked and windows shut at night "for safety" from the foxes and what do they know about these foxes that I don't? Are they highly trained ninja foxes, waiting for us to fall asleep before breaking into our houses and stealing our precious jewellery?

Frickin townies.

Are you sure it's 'foxes' screeching, and not Seagulls? The racket they make is unbelievable at 4 am, especially now they are 'nesting'!!

Lucky for us that the dinosaurs became extinct before we evolved. Foxes and gulls wouldn't be on our minds then!

Fox's & Badgers
For the last six years our garden has been visited nightly by both. two things you will not find in your garden when they visit, are slugs & mice/rats. for two years we had badgers living under the shed and fox's were sharing with them neither of them caused any damage, also we have two cats and six Guinea pigs plus stray cats roaming the garden at night, I have film taken on the CCTV cameras of cats following the fox's and eating with them. So it annoys me when you hear people accusing them of attacking anything in sight
So please do not ma-line them unless you see them attacking.

They are so tame now, also they seem to be such a part of urban life. I saw one advertising bingo on TV and it certainly fooled me.

Serious question here - is a fox liable to dig holes in my garden?. We know we have a fox that visits at night but we are also finding gert big holes all over the place. Some people insist that a fox will not dig holes,so it must be a badger. I've asked my two dogs and they tell me it's not them digging the holes and that it must be Brer Fox. Perhaps my doggies are lying to me.
All this just two minutes walk from Eastbourne town centre.

Serious question here - is a fox liable to dig holes in my garden?. We know we have a fox that visits at night but we are also finding gert big holes all over the place. Some people insist that a fox will not dig holes,so it must be a badger. I've asked my two dogs and they tell me it's not them digging the holes and that it must be Brer Fox. Perhaps my doggies are lying to me.
All this just two minutes walk from Eastbourne town centre.

So how come my post is on here twice?.

thatfatbloke wrote:
Serious question here - is a fox liable to dig holes in my garden?. We know we have a fox that visits at night but we are also finding gert big holes all over the place. Some people insist that a fox will not dig holes,so it must be a badger. I've asked my two dogs and they tell me it's not them digging the holes and that it must be Brer Fox. Perhaps my doggies are lying to me.
All this just two minutes walk from Eastbourne town centre.

Only two minutes away from the Town Centre! HA! Amazing, and to think people think that nothing happens in Eastbourne except the perpetual fires reported on here and the incest stuff that Social Services say is endemic.

Give it another couple of years and foxes will be a common site in suburbia, walking the streets and gardens just like cats ,and then some poor baby or child will get savaged and then what?

what happened to the comments about the nice man parked at the town hall?

Yes, foxes do poo a bit and they do dig small holes in lawns looking for grubs. The noise at night is not usually fighting - it's to do with making more little foxes. However, the local cat population create more mess (and would be just as likely to take a guinea pig). Cats are bolder and frequently sneak into houses. The extremely isolated incidents allegedly involving foxes and children are insignificant compared with the proven fatalities caused by dogs and the harm caused by cat and dog faeces. We once had mice in a flat - we didn't trap any; we just cleaned up regularly and thoroughly and they soon went away.

Yes, foxes do poo a bit and they do dig small holes in lawns looking for grubs. The noise at night is not usually fighting - it's to do with making more little foxes. However, the local cat population create more mess (and would be just as likely to take a guinea pig). Cats are bolder and frequently sneak into houses. The extremely isolated incidents allegedly involving foxes and children are insignificant compared with the proven fatalities caused by dogs and the harm caused by cat and dog faeces. We once had mice in a flat - we didn't trap any; we just cleaned up regularly and thoroughly and they soon went away.

one of my daughter has a cat that happily brings home frogs, snakes, sloworms, guinea pig and wild rabbits to name just a few, last week a fox took a pet chicken in broad daylight from a coop, and also enjoyed my neighbours fully grow rabbits, all wildlife and pets are at risk from both sweet little **** and renard, be sensible put pets and chicken away at night

rolivan wrote:
Give it another couple of years and foxes will be a common site in suburbia, walking the streets and gardens just like cats ,and then some poor baby or child will get savaged and then what?

Probably someone like you will exclaim 'woah! a fox took my baby'. It will probably expire that it wasn't the fox at all, but more than likely a pitbull or a paedo or something, but everyone will whipping up hysteria and clamouring for the foxes blood. If you think a fox is even remotely interested in 'some poor baby' then you need to see a shrink. And if there are parents so irresponsible that their children are savaged by these 'killer foxes' - they really don't deserve to have any. There's a big bad world out there, and the fox is the least of our worries.

Such old news. I have seen urban foxes in Hove on and off for the last 15 years! If back doors are left open in the summer and there is not alot of human activity around them, then various animals are likely to wander in - usually it's cats. They soon scarper when a human appears - they're alot more frightened of us.

jacsuejan wrote:
Fox's & Badgers
For the last six years our garden has been visited nightly by both. two things you will not find in your garden when they visit, are slugs & mice/rats. for two years we had badgers living under the shed and fox's were sharing with them neither of them caused any damage, also we have two cats and six Guinea pigs plus stray cats roaming the garden at night, I have film taken on the CCTV cameras of cats following the fox's and eating with them. So it annoys me when you hear people accusing them of attacking anything in sight
So please do not ma-line them unless you see them attacking.

Any fair-minded intelligent person knows the fox is the most persecuted animal in the wild and that generally it is the hunting fraternity spreading evil lies that give the fox a bad name. They do this is to justify their sadistic pursuit of the fox. And same as jacsuejan, I have pictures of foxes happily sharing their supper with cats. And unless its mating time you won't hear a sound at night from foxes. Cats are a different matter - they love scrapping at night.

I don't know about foxes taking pet rabbits and the like, round here they seem more interested in taking shoes and leaving them in my garden. I haven't had a pair yet but someone must have the other halves - who keeps leaving their shoes out at night anyway?

I sometimes wish the foxes would climb up onto the roof and get rid of a few seagulls - at four in the morning this is a very attractive idea. I don't know why the gulls are protected, the way they breed and the numbers around here (up to 50 at the time) you'd think there were plenty.

As Andy R says - cats love scrapping at night. There are eight cats in the houses immediately around mine and they seem to be at it every night. One stupid cat gets beaten up every time but still picks a fight with the local bully-boy cat rather than backing off.

You can't get too worked up about any of it though - it's hardly a big problem com[ared to everything else going on in the world.

Got to say that Foxes leave less mess on the streets and nature reserves than the filthy travellers. Still shows how far behind nature some humans are.

I get a family that come in my garden at night and it is a lovely sight to see them playing around. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and they do not seem bothered by them. I get a nightly visit from a frog. I just say enjoy them, because in generations to come they may no longer be here.

Personally I just shoot 'em... but, mind you, I am a crap shot, so I probably maim & injure more than I actually kill... but it's all perfectly legal.

That said, gawd forbid that my dog might kill one of them (e.g. when I'm riding on my horse, with my like minded chums) 'coz then I'd be marked down as criminal.

Ah well, I suppose I'll just have to keep blazing away at them with the ole' shooter! ;)

Mumsy always made us recite this on the Glorious !2th in front of Papa and his friends before the Hunt..

Breeding and the Labour Party
Do not go hand in hand,
To them it's so old fashioned
They fail to understand.
That traditions of this country
Are our substance, our repast,
Not to be ashamed of
Swept aside and outcast.

Stability is our backbone
History does relate,
That educated leaders,
Rule by sense and don't dictate.
We have fought and won most battles
We have learn't over the years,
Who to trust and look up to
When set against ones peers.

There's a system that we work to
When deciding who to wed,
It's not a simple thing
Like just jumping into bed.
There's the height and the carriage
The nose and eyes; that must be sound,
The 'colour's' most important
When one's breeding from a.. hound.

The hounds pass on their knowledge
It's a generation thing,
The older ones will teach their young
When to speak and when to sing.
There's no dissent in kennels
Each hound will know its place,
They all look to their leaders
Adoring eyes and trusting face

Years and years of effort
Have been concentrated thus;
By dedicated sportsmen
Such knowledge, little fuss.
Records carefully kept and
Points noted in their thoughts,
A veritable class system
These things cannot be bought.

It's the Labour Party
Cannot stand and won't abide,
One day the truth will out and then
Their trust will be denied.
Autonomy is hammered home
This will be Labour's way
Any ...coloured.. suit will do
As long as it is grey.

Our England is our countryside
Our way of life unique,
We cannot let this be destroyed
By a Left Wing fit of pique.
The fox looks down his nose at us
And thinks with great disdain,
How can the humans be so dim
With breeding, 'One' remains

Then we would retire and await the Hunts return.. Happy Days indeed.. Now we just shoot them, and it is not unusual to bag 3 in a day..Snaring upsets the Children so we only do that out on the lower 40 and in the Link Woods as sometimes the foxes leg is actually amputated by the snare and it dies later of blood loss and infection etc. If the foxes head is snared, it may die slowly from suffocation as the snare slowly tightens itself around the neck as the fox struggles, like a constrictor snake slowly suffocating its prey to death. A snare is also not animal specific and may kill other unintended animals which are not numerous or pest species. We call that Collateral

Poisoning is illegal so I am not going to mention it........

Shooting is only as humane as the shooters accuracy (and it takes a lot of skill to accurately shoot a small animal at great distance which is probably not going to be fully visible etc). There is also the lack of practicality of shooting- foxes are mostly active during the dark hours and most farmers do not have the time to camp out for hours at night just to shoot a single fox so we sell licenses to anyone who wants to pop a few.. Farming is very hard work and requires very long hours- So shooting is largely a sport for people rather than a means of pest control as it is not very efficient but it brings in an income..

We still take the children on a Dig occasionally..
The Hunting Act 2004 permits the use of no more than one terrier below ground at any one time "for the purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage to game birds or wild birds which a person is keeping or preserving for the purpose of their being shot". The Act also stipulates conditions about permission and the welfare of both the dog and the fox. This is sometimes referred to as "the gamekeeper's exemption", although the Act does not specify that the exemption only applies to gamekeepers.

In comparison to these methods, fox hunting had these benefits;

a. Fox hunting is enjoyable for many people, and so once a pest animal (fox) has a purpose it is not considered a pest so much anymore. On the one hand people wanted to hunt foxes, but they also don't want to wipe them out as then there will then be no foxes to hunt anymore.

And so by being a hunted animal, in many senses it becomes protected. When foxes were hunted farmers would not kill the foxes during their breeding season so that the fox numbers could bounce back (but also then be controlled by the hunting).
It meant that while foxes were persecuted, they were also protected at the same time. Now fox hunting has been banned though there is no incentive for the farmers to give foxes any degree of protection at all, and since the fox hunting ban there are now more foxes being killed than ever. It is estimated that the number of Foxes being killed has trebled.. So maybe it is

b. Local community. In our turbulent troubled economic times, while everyone has felt the brunt of these times to some degree, rural communities have felt these times the worst. Fox hunting creates a lot of revenue/economy- a lot of money is spent on the hunts, a lot of things are bought, and a lot of people get involved. For example, clothes for the hunt, people looking after the horses, people looking after the dogs, pubs which people will head to afterwards for a drink, people organising the event, catering and food etc. There are a huge amount of people directly or indirectly involved in making fox hunts happen. And apart from the crucial revenue this brings to many businesses and people, it also brings people together in communities where your closest next door neighbour may be 20minutes walk down the road.

c. A fox may be chased for a while (the majority of chases last about 20-30minutes maximum) but once the dogs are on it it is dead in seconds. While there is certainly a degree of fear the fox will feel while it is being chased, its actual death is very quick (a lot of foxes also escape the chase and go on to live another day etc). But when you compare this against the hours a snare can take to kill a fox (if it kills it directly at all), which can potentially be up to 24hrs (most farmers will only check their snares once a day tops), a snare is a great deal less humane.
The same goes for poison- Although illegal...... SOME SAY..the excruciating pain (and yes death by poison is incredibly painful, the poisons burn the stomach and weakens the blood etc) the fox feels and the hours it can take to kill the fox is also less humane than death by hunting.

Shooting is a totally hit or miss affair (no pun intended) which realistically is never going to be chosen over poison & snares etc most of the time.

So, in short, the fox hunting ban has simply caused;
a. More foxes being killed than ever.
b. More foxes being killed by less humane methods. And,
c. Big damage to rural economies, which have not recovered.

I know my Son who is away fightng for a Country that betrayed his ideals laments its loss, at least Mr Cameron will soon re-instate it!


There's a Vale for which I am sighing,
I can see its fences still
And my thoughts go backward flying
With the pack to Golden Hill.
I can hear that welcome 'holloa;
"G-O-N-E AWAY - He's broke at last."
Hear the thundering hooves that follow
As I ride into the past.

Memories, bitter sweet come thronging
As I pace this Afghan dusty ground
And my heart is sick with longing
For a sight of horse and hound.
But however drear the days be,
Fair or foul, or rain, or shine,
Not the Fates themselves can rob me
Of those hunts that once were mine

Pause a moment, oh, my brothers
Who at home so glibly prate
How you hope to see Foxhunting
Kept abolished by the State.
We have fought for you, and gladly,
Would you now requite us this?
Kill the sport we love so madly?
Think what hunting means to us.

For the sake of those who're absent
For the sake of those who're gone
All those gallant cheery comrades
Who once rallied to the horn;
For the youngster, true to breeding,
Longing soon the game to learn -
Hear us Soldier Exiles pleading
Keep it up till we return...

Yes, like so many others, He was betrayed... We poison now, removed over 60 miles of hedgerow as we only kept it for the Hunt, the crop yield has improved but of course, but I miss the Birds and other animals.



Tally Ho!

OldSchoolYoungster wrote:
Got to say that Foxes leave less mess on the streets and nature reserves than the filthy travellers. Still shows how far behind nature some humans are.

I get a family that come in my garden at night and it is a lovely sight to see them playing around. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and they do not seem bothered by them. I get a nightly visit from a frog. I just say enjoy them, because in generations to come they may no longer be here.

Mumsy always made us recite this on the Glorious !2th in front of Papa and his friends before the Hunt..

Breeding and the Labour Party
Do not go hand in hand,
To them it's so old fashioned
They fail to understand.
That traditions of this country
Are our substance, our repast,
Not to be ashamed of
Swept aside and outcast.

Stability is our backbone
History does relate,
That educated leaders,
Rule by sense and don't dictate.
We have fought and won most battles
We have learn't over the years,
Who to trust and look up to
When set against ones peers.

There's a system that we work to
When deciding who to wed,
It's not a simple thing
Like just jumping into bed.
There's the height and the carriage
The nose and eyes; that must be sound,
The 'colour's' most important
When one's breeding from a.. hound.

The hounds pass on their knowledge
It's a generation thing,
The older ones will teach their young
When to speak and when to sing.
There's no dissent in kennels
Each hound will know its place,
They all look to their leaders
Adoring eyes and trusting face

Years and years of effort
Have been concentrated thus;
By dedicated sportsmen
Such knowledge, little fuss.
Records carefully kept and
Points noted in their thoughts,
A veritable class system
These things cannot be bought.

It's the Labour Party
Cannot stand and won't abide,
One day the truth will out and then
Their trust will be denied.
Autonomy is hammered home
This will be Labour's way
Any ...coloured.. suit will do
As long as it is grey.

Our England is our countryside
Our way of life unique,
We cannot let this be destroyed
By a Left Wing fit of pique.
The fox looks down his nose at us
And thinks with great disdain,
How can the humans be so dim
With breeding, 'One' remains

Then we would retire and await the Hunts return.. Happy Days indeed.. Now we just shoot them, and it is not unusual to bag 3 in a day..Snaring upsets the Children so we only do that out on the lower 40 and in the Link Woods as sometimes the foxes leg is actually amputated by the snare and it dies later of blood loss and infection etc. If the foxes head is snared, it may die slowly from suffocation as the snare slowly tightens itself around the neck as the fox struggles, like a constrictor snake slowly suffocating its prey to death. A snare is also not animal specific and may kill other unintended animals which are not numerous or pest species. We call that Collateral

Poisoning is illegal so I am not going to mention it........

Shooting is only as humane as the shooters accuracy (and it takes a lot of skill to accurately shoot a small animal at great distance which is probably not going to be fully visible etc). There is also the lack of practicality of shooting- foxes are mostly active during the dark hours and most farmers do not have the time to camp out for hours at night just to shoot a single fox so we sell licenses to anyone who wants to pop a few.. Farming is very hard work and requires very long hours- So shooting is largely a sport for people rather than a means of pest control as it is not very efficient but it brings in an income..

We still take the children on a Dig occasionally..
The Hunting Act 2004 permits the use of no more than one terrier below ground at any one time "for the purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage to game birds or wild birds which a person is keeping or preserving for the purpose of their being shot". The Act also stipulates conditions about permission and the welfare of both the dog and the fox. This is sometimes referred to as "the gamekeeper's exemption", although the Act does not specify that the exemption only applies to gamekeepers.

In comparison to these methods, fox hunting had these benefits;

a. Fox hunting is enjoyable for many people, and so once a pest animal (fox) has a purpose it is not considered a pest so much anymore. On the one hand people wanted to hunt foxes, but they also don't want to wipe them out as then there will then be no foxes to hunt anymore.

And so by being a hunted animal, in many senses it becomes protected. When foxes were hunted farmers would not kill the foxes during their breeding season so that the fox numbers could bounce back (but also then be controlled by the hunting).
It meant that while foxes were persecuted, they were also protected at the same time. Now fox hunting has been banned though there is no incentive for the farmers to give foxes any degree of protection at all, and since the fox hunting ban there are now more foxes being killed than ever. It is estimated that the number of Foxes being killed has trebled.. So maybe it is

b. Local community. In our turbulent troubled economic times, while everyone has felt the brunt of these times to some degree, rural communities have felt these times the worst. Fox hunting creates a lot of revenue/economy- a lot of money is spent on the hunts, a lot of things are bought, and a lot of people get involved. For example, clothes for the hunt, people looking after the horses, people looking after the dogs, pubs which people will head to afterwards for a drink, people organising the event, catering and food etc. There are a huge amount of people directly or indirectly involved in making fox hunts happen. And apart from the crucial revenue this brings to many businesses and people, it also brings people together in communities where your closest next door neighbour may be 20minutes walk down the road.

c. A fox may be chased for a while (the majority of chases last about 20-30minutes maximum) but once the dogs are on it it is dead in seconds. While there is certainly a degree of fear the fox will feel while it is being chased, its actual death is very quick (a lot of foxes also escape the chase and go on to live another day etc). But when you compare this against the hours a snare can take to kill a fox (if it kills it directly at all), which can potentially be up to 24hrs (most farmers will only check their snares once a day tops), a snare is a great deal less humane.
The same goes for poison- Although illegal...... SOME SAY..the excruciating pain (and yes death by poison is incredibly painful, the poisons burn the stomach and weakens the blood etc) the fox feels and the hours it can take to kill the fox is also less humane than death by hunting.

Shooting is a totally hit or miss affair (no pun intended) which realistically is never going to be chosen over poison & snares etc most of the time.

So, in short, the fox hunting ban has simply caused;
a. More foxes being killed than ever.
b. More foxes being killed by less humane methods. And,
c. Big damage to rural economies, which have not recovered.

I know my Son who is away fightng for a Country that betrayed his ideals laments its loss, at least Mr Cameron will soon re-instate it!


There's a Vale for which I am sighing,
I can see its fences still
And my thoughts go backward flying
With the pack to Golden Hill.
I can hear that welcome 'holloa;
"G-O-N-E AWAY - He's broke at last."
Hear the thundering hooves that follow
As I ride into the past.

Memories, bitter sweet come thronging
As I pace this Afghan dusty ground
And my heart is sick with longing
For a sight of horse and hound.
But however drear the days be,
Fair or foul, or rain, or shine,
Not the Fates themselves can rob me
Of those hunts that once were mine

Pause a moment, oh, my brothers
Who at home so glibly prate
How you hope to see Foxhunting
Kept abolished by the State.
We have fought for you, and gladly,
Would you now requite us this?
Kill the sport we love so madly?
Think what hunting means to us.

For the sake of those who're absent
For the sake of those who're gone
All those gallant cheery comrades
Who once rallied to the horn;
For the youngster, true to breeding,
Longing soon the game to learn -
Hear us Soldier Exiles pleading
Keep it up till we return...

Yes, like so many others, He was betrayed... We poison now, removed over 60 miles of hedgerow as we only kept it for the Hunt, the crop yield has improved but of course, but I miss the Birds and other animals.



Tally Ho!

Ithought what a load of old crap have you been on the happy juice. I happen to live out in the sticks where we have foxes { including a pair of albino's } these poor persecuted animals where put on this land for a purpose not for some rich townies to hunt. Foxes do not screech when they hunt they are one of the quietest and deadliest animals around. I used to go night time shooting for foxes and use proper night scopes and very rarely missed them. A lot of licenced guns out there spend a hell of a lot of money on their equipment thet dont use snares years ago. I know that if I found any-one using snares they would have had them wrapped around parts of their anatomy

joebie sussex wrote:
Ithought what a load of old crap have you been on the happy juice. I happen to live out in the sticks where we have foxes { including a pair of albino's } these poor persecuted animals where put on this land for a purpose not for some rich townies to hunt. Foxes do not screech when they hunt they are one of the quietest and deadliest animals around. I used to go night time shooting for foxes and use proper night scopes and very rarely missed them. A lot of licenced guns out there spend a hell of a lot of money on their equipment thet dont use snares years ago. I know that if I found any-one using snares they would have had them wrapped around parts of their anatomy

Thank you for the insult and obviously heartfelt comments, even if they were slightly mistake laden. We use snares, allow high Pressure Air Rifles, Shoot themselves and Dig for them on our land. I am somewhat surprised that you are not aware that snares are perfectly legal, we use them every single day... Your threat WAS illegal so we had better move on from that..
Very Rarely missed...Hmm that will be the ones that wander for days wounded... interesting..

Oh! You might wish to read this..

Fox Snaring

Fox control is necessary in order to ensure that damage to game, wildlife and livestock by fox predation is reduced to acceptable levels, particularly at vulnerable times of the year e.g. nesting and lambing time.

It is the responsibility of all those involved in fox control to ensure their methods are legal, humane and carried out with sensitivity and respect for other countryside users. Snaring is subject to legal restrictions and when properly practised is an effective and humane form of fox control.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Section 11, and Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 Article 12 it is illegal to :
set in position any self-locking snare.
set in position any trap or snare calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal included in Schedule 6.
Schedule 6 includes,
badger*,
pine marten*,
otter*,
red squirrel*,
wild cat*,
polecat.

Ensure that only foxes are using the site where snares are to be set.

The presence of foxes will be indicated by:
Fox tracks (footprints)
Long reddish brown hairs caught on bramble, twigs or wire.
Strong musty smell.
If in doubt do not set a snare !

To snare foxes humanely, adhere to the following rules;
Only free running snares which contain a 'permanent stop', 9" (23cm) from the eye of the snare should be used.
Use good quality snares which incorporate a strong swivel. The wire must not be less that 460lbs (208 kilos) breaking strain.
Snares should be supported by a suitable 'tealer' or set-stick and set firmly in the ground. Tealers made from fence-wire are easy to conceal, set and make.
Snares must be firmly anchored.
Ensure that snares run freely and are free of 'kinks'. Snares which are frayed or damaged should be discarded.
Snares should be set so that the bottom of the loop is at least 9" (23cm) off the ground under normal conditions and up to a height of 12" (30cm) or more, on open ground. When setting snares at these heights the loop should be 6" to 7" (15/18cm) at its deepest point.
The law requires that snares should be checked at least once a day. BASC recommends inspection at least twice a day and as soon after dawn as is practical.
Foxes should be dispatched quickly and humanely by a shot from a rifle, shotgun or pistol and the body disposed of responsibly e.g. by burying.
The displaying of carcases serves no useful purpose and can offend other countryside users.

You obviously researched your point as an Argus reporter would.. and spell the same way too!

Tally Ho!

I live in the Preston Park area, and i feed the local foxes too!! I cannot stand human beings who think we are the only ones entitled to live on this planet, that we are the only species that matter!
Foxes too have the right to life just as you do, and to think otherwise is just animalistic and territorial rubbish!
To also say the foxes arent scared of us is utter tosh as well! They do sit on the road and look at you but the moment you take a step towards them they bolt!!
When i feed the Foxes in my area I have the window and door open and never has any Fox tried to enter my home, the moment they even catch a glimpse of me they run off!
Please Argus stop spouting this Daily Mail right wing Tory rubbish!

rosie fox wrote:
I live in the Preston Park area, and i feed the local foxes too!! I cannot stand human beings who think we are the only ones entitled to live on this planet, that we are the only species that matter!
Foxes too have the right to life just as you do, and to think otherwise is just animalistic and territorial rubbish!
To also say the foxes arent scared of us is utter tosh as well! They do sit on the road and look at you but the moment you take a step towards them they bolt!!
When i feed the Foxes in my area I have the window and door open and never has any Fox tried to enter my home, the moment they even catch a glimpse of me they run off!
Please Argus stop spouting this Daily Mail right wing Tory rubbish!

Nutter Alert.