Red Fox
The Red Fox is a wide-ranging canid native to all of Europe (apart from Iceland),
Canada, USA, and parts of Asia. Though also found in Australia, the Red Fox is not
native to the country, being introduced there some time ago by overseas travellers.
Today, the Red Fox is still unfortunately regarded as an animal of "Vermin" by many
people and is avidly persecuted at any given opportunity. Even the British government
class the Red Fox as "Vermin". Excluding the Red Fox, the United Kingdom has been
absent without any major predator for hundreds of years and such an absence has
shaped many people of today into becoming "anti-predator". In past history, the
European Brown Bear, Lynx and Grey Wolf were all once native to Britain but since have
been persecuted to complete extinction by man's greed and enjoyment. The
misunderstood Red Fox is now suffering the same needless persecution by man of
which in a civilised society in the 21st century, there is no excuse to do so. There would
be a huge outcry if other British wildlife or domestic pets were hunted or shot but not the
Red Fox, which should be respected and admired. One of the main reasons that foxes
are persecuted is their frequent habit (like all land predators) of raiding poultry/pheasantruns
or attacking lambs, where they will often injure or kill multiple number of such
animals. Firstly, one must remember that the Red Fox has been living in the British
countryside long before man had existed there. If man decides to encroach upon such
land and keep livestock, then he must take into account natural predators.
Today, communities that have a fox problem with their livestock, instead of undertaking
the logical solution in improving enclosure-livestock security, will adopt the easy way in
just killing the fox. With such people, it is contradictory of them to say that they avidly kill
a British wildlife species for adopting a predatory-behaviour that is not natural and which
has been created by man in the first instance. A poorly-protected field of lambs or an
enclosure full of poultry is not a natural occurence in the British countryside, so any
native predator that stumbles upon such a sight will adopt a behaviour that again is not
natural to them. Foxes, like all other carnivores, for thousands of years have had
evolution create a natural inbuilt instinct to kill prey and this is simply what the Red Fox is
doing. In the wild the Red Fox will hunt and kill a single prey item then consume it. For
example, a rabbit within a large group would be selected and once secured, would leave
the rest of the rabbit group running away to safety. It has been like this for thousands of
years. However, in the confines of a field containing lambs or a poultry enclosure the
Red Fox will initially select and take a single prey-item, but instead of the rest of the
animals running away to safety, they simply just run around the Red Fox as they are
trapped within a compound created by man. The continued unusual presence of such
prey items in close proximity of the Fox triggers a continued natural hunting response in
the animal. It is not a natural behaviour but one proven to be created by the very people
that are persecuting the Fox.
The Red Fox is a magnificent animal that plays a crucial part in the intricate ecosystem
of the British countryside. If removed or even just altered in population, the
consequences would create an adverse affect on such a system and upset the delicate
balance of the countryside. Already rabbit populations are out of control in some areas
due to there being a lack of natural predators. It does not take an "Einstein" to work out
that our very few remaining British predators, including Red Foxes are one of the most
important animals of the British ecosystem
