Spare a thought for fantastic Mr Fox

Photo: © Kuba Novak

Walking home one night in early spring last year I heard some rustling nearby and noticed a young fox holding up an injured leg, in its eyes that look of vulnerability common to all wounded animals. Moved by its plight I sought advice on how to help it. As I returned each night to feed the animal to help its recovery, I began to develop a respect and admiration for these remarkable creatures.

Although native to this country, foxes were few in Britain until the early 1800s when thousands were imported for breeding from Europe through Leadenhall Market to satisfy the demands of modern fox hunting, which had been enabled by Hugo Meynell.

In 1995 Professor Steve Harris of Bristol University, leading a 40-year scientific investigation of urban foxes, established that there are around 240,000 foxes in Britain, with 33,000 living in urban areas. The RSPCA believes these figures remain relatively stable. Foxes began to gravitate to urban areas in the 1930s, attracted by the semi-detached style of suburban house, which suited its habitat.

The fox is a much maligned animal and is subject to many false myths. There is no evidence they cause human disease and contrary to popular belief they do not kill out of savagery. Like all wild creatures, they are involved in a struggle for survival and cache extra kill for future use by burying it, much as we stock up at the supermarket.

Contrary to the impression given by media coverage of the fox attack on the babies in Hackney, it is practically unheard of for foxes to attack humans. These shy, gentle creatures are far more afraid of us. Celia Hammond, founder of Celia Hammond Animal Trust, has worked in animal welfare for over forty years and says she had never heard of a fox attacking a human.

Sergeant Rowan Healey, Wildlife Liaison Officer for Waltham Forest Police echoed Celia Hammond when he remarked of the Hackney case that it was: “Very unusual behaviour indeed for foxes and my first thought is, find out if it definitely was a fox. I have never come across anything like this in my time.

“Foxes have this way of polarising opinion. I come across extreme prejudice but also extreme love. People say things like: ‘The fox was brazenly standing its ground’. They wouldn’t say that about a magpie, for instance. The people who have prejudices against them are the ones calling for them to be culled. People used to react like this towards sharks. There’s a lot of ignorance and myth about foxes. They are not the nasty killing machines they are put up to be,” he said.

“Rats form a large part of their diet and even earthworms,” points out Sergeant Healey, “so they do a good job keeping the rat population down.” Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs are also prey animals to a fox so should be properly secured using strong, durable wire and not just chicken wire.

Foxes tend to be afraid of cats, as the bacteria in their bites and scratches can be lethal to them, but they can also be friends. Reg Golding, co-founder of Forest Fox Welfare, tells of a fox which lost its fur through mange and made friends with a cat who it cuddled up to keep it warm.

The people on the estate near my home take pleasure in their foxes and want them to stay. Mark, a father of two young children, insisted: “We don’t need a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t accept that they’re a problem. Dogs bite more children than foxes do, but we’re not going to cull them.”

Sam, a young mother, declared: “I love seeing them at night when I come home. They give me a sense of security, a feeling that all is actually alright with the world. Winter, my three-and-a-half year old son, loves seeing the foxes too.

“He gets a real thrill when we turn a corner and he sees a fox and loves popping his head out to take a look at them before going to bed. If we took better care of our rubbish we wouldn’t attract foxes,” she added. “I really don’t want the foxes to be culled. It would be barbaric of us. We should be more mindful of them and the other wildlife around us.”

Culling foxes would not be a solution anyway. John Bryant, an RSPCA trustee, offers a humane wildlife deterrence service as an alternative and more viable solution to culling. He cites a massive fox extermination programme undertaken in London between 1940 and 1980 that was unsuccessful. “In fact numbers increased,” he reports. “You’d need to kill 70 per cent of foxes for it to be successful.”

Debi Hayes of Forest Fox Welfare, which rescues sick and injured foxes, was adamant that we should not intervene. “There’s no need for us to control the foxes as they control themselves. Foxes only mate once a year during a brief four-day period when the vixen is receptive. Of the five cubs born, only around half will reach maturity.” Even then the lifespan of an urban fox is only around two years.

Debi, like Sergeant Healey, is concerned that people become better informed about foxes and stop relying on myth. “Foxes are one of the most misunderstood animals around”, she says. Yet they have remarkable qualities: “Their fierce loyalty, powerful sense of community, tough resilience and engaging intelligence. They have around thirty different vocalisations.” She particularly recommends Eric Ashby’s book, My Life with Foxes, which promotes a better understanding of the animal for the sake of their preservation.

Sergeant Healey agrees with Debi, “If people knew a bit more about foxes they’d be more tolerant,” he says. “ I do find it a bit galling that people are crying out for culling. Even if it was a fox [in the Hackney case], how unusual, and I’m sure this fox wouldn’t have been trying to savage the child. It would have been motivated by something far more innocent.”

Foxes are afforded some protection under the Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 and Debi says we should celebrate their presence, along with the rest of our wildlife. “We’re fortunate to have a rabies-free country and can enjoy our wildlife without fear,” she points out. “The fox is a shy, wary, timid, beautiful creature. Let’s not destroy it through ignorance.”