How do I protect chickens and small animals from foxes, or just keep them out of my garden?

Many people enjoy seeing a wild animal as interesting as the fox in their back garden. However, there are occasions when it is necessary to keep them out, for example in areas used by pet rabbits.

• The Mammal Society has produced a leaflet which gives specific advice on deterring foxes.

• CJ Birdfoods sell a humane fox scarer.

• The Fox Project will give you advice on resolving issues.

• John Bryant offers a humane animal deterrence scheme.

• The Humane Society of the US includes a guide to living with foxes on its site.

• Electric fencing is sold by this company, amongst others.

I have been told by a wildlife expert who has provided a humane service in resolving fox complaints for 30 years that he has never heard of a proven case of a fox killing a cat. Most of the time, foxes and cats just ignore each other, but should it come to a fight, the fox is at a severe disadvantage due to the cat's deadly claws. Foxes are not as big as they look at a distance. Many cats are physically heavier and much more powerful. A number of foxes have died after being attacked by cats.

Are foxes dangerous to people?

In a nutshell - no, except on very rare occasions.

Foxes are small and physically weak; they sometimes appear fearless because they have learned that they can outrun us, and are trusting in that ability. On the other hand, a fox injured by a car or otherwise trapped will definitely try to bite if handled. So will any wild animal. I once ended up in Accident and Emergency after a young squirrel, wounded by a cat, mistook me for another predator and let me know what its teeth felt like.

It is irresponsible to pet, touch or hand-feed any wild animal, regardless of what country you're in or what species is involved. Consider this: if you hand-feed a fox, it might then innocently approach your neighbour, who might give the press a story about an aggressive fox, call out pest control, or just not like the disturbance. Admire from afar!

There have been a handful of reported fox bites, the most serious of which involved an urban fox cub who wandered into a London house and bit two young babies in June 2010. While any human-wildlife conflict is regrettable, it is important to keep risks in perspective. Dogs account for far more injuries than all their wild relatives combined. Education, humane deterrence and tolerance are the essential cornerstones of a sustainable urban wildlife management plan. 

Will foxes mate with my dog?

No.

It is almost certainly biologically impossible to produce a dog-fox hybrid because red foxes have 34 chromosomes while dogs have 78. The two species are not close relations, and have never been demonstrated to inter-breed.

Should I feed my local foxes?

In North America, the answer is always no. Unfortunately, there is an assumption on the part of many government officials that any wild animal that does not show immediate fear of people must be innately dangerous, and needs to be killed for public safety reasons. It may sound absurd to European ears, but many thousands of black bears, coyotes and even elk are shot each year in the United States and Canada on this premise. Foxes, despite their diminutive size, are not immune to such beliefs either, even in some national parks. Encouraging animals to remain in urban or semi-rural areas where they may be in danger is not the intention of most people who throw food to wildlife, but, nevertheless, it can be the sad result.

In the UK, putting out food for garden foxes and badgers is quite popular, but please carefully consider whether it is in the animal's best interest. Putting out too much food can cause artificially high local populations, or even lead to obese wildlife! In some situations, it may also lead to conflict with neighbours, potentially putting the foxes at risk. That aside, a little food to encourage them to visit will probably do no harm. Raisins and peanuts are good choices. (Please note that raisins are toxic to dogs.)

Why will foxes kill more than one chicken at a time?

Foxes will catch as many prey animals as they can for the same reason that most of us buy more than one slice of bread when we go to the supermarket - it is, quite simply, forward planning. Unlike, say, horses, foxes' access to their various food supplies is erratic, and their instincts dictate that they should make maximum use of whatever opportunities come their way. Anything that they cannot eat at once will eventually be taken away and buried for future use.  Of course, from the chicken keeper's perspective, this is another reason to keep them humanely and securely out of the chicken coop (please see a list of useful links above).

I'm a big fan of foxes. How do I get one as a pet?

While foxes are engaging, beautiful and highly intelligent animals, they are not suitable as pets. Dogs have been bred for 10,000 years to fit in with human society, but foxes are still intensely imbued with wild instincts. There are several fictional children's stories in circulation where the kids have foxes as pets and, unfortunately, none give a remotely realistic impression of what handling foxes is actually like. The best way to demonstrate affection for foxes is to help protect them where they belong: in the wild. Please consider joining a wildlife protection group or donating to your local wild animal rescue centre.

I'm seeing a lot more foxes around this year. Does this mean that the population is increasing?

The media often prints comments by Farmer X who says he's seeing more foxes this year than last. From this he concludes that foxes have increased. The media then prints this as proof of fox population growth. Well, I have seen my brother more this year than last year, but that doesn't mean he's increased in number. Real changes in population are documented by careful monitoring, replication, and control for all possible variations, like the fact I now live closer to my brother.

Just one bold individual replacing a shy one can dramatically increase in the number of sightings, though the actual number of foxes remains the same. Science examines concrete numbers with studies based upon proven census techniques that get past such potential blips. Science says the fox population of the UK is stable at around 258,000. (Compare this to the 44,000,000 sheep, 11,000,000 cattle and 60,000,000 humans who inhabit these isles.)