Urban foxes get too close for comfort
That’s what foxes do, kill rabbits but this was not somewhere out in the wilds, this was the leafy by ways of suburban Dublin.
canada goose clearance sale The following week a neighbour told me her dog, not a small dog either, had been badly bitten by a fox and it cost a lot to have it treated for its injuries. canada goose clearance sale
Since I started collecting ‘fox stories’, the canada goose outlet shop number of dogs and cats attacked by urban foxes continues to multiply and follow a pattern. Some have been badly mauled, and have had to be put down as a result of their injuries.
buy canada goose jacket cheap The fox is at the top of the food chain in Ireland. Since the end of fox hunting and the sight of grown men and women resplendent in red jackets “in pursuit of the inedible”, as canada goose outlet in montreal Oscar Wilde put it, the fox has no predator. buy canada goose jacket cheap
Wily foxes are also growing fat on left over supermarket bought food and are multiplying at an alarming rate as an increasing number of suburbanites, who really don’t know what they are doing, have taken to canada goose jacket outlet uk feeding them.
canadian goose jacket The leafier parts of www.canadagooseonsale.biz Dublin, and other cities such as Limerick and Cork, are now over run by feral urban foxes that could no longer be bothered with a diet of vermin like rats and mice because they’re too well fed already. canadian goose jacket
The question that now needs to be addressed is when is there going to be a cull of foxes and how is it going to be carried out?
“The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) say there isn’t a problem, but anecdotally there has been an explosion in the population of urban foxes,” says Dun Laoghaire Fine Gael councillor Barry Ward. “Everyone will tell canada goose jacket outlet toronto you that. I am not saying there should be a cull, but we need to get some concrete information.”
He is concerned about the road safety hazards, as well as hygiene issues with the unchecked population canada goose coats uk of urban foxes.
Although he has heard stories of pets being attacked by foxes, he said he has never come across a case of a human being attacked, although it is happening in England.
“It’s a bit like the human population there is a larger concentration of foxes in the Dublin suburbs where the food supply is good, whereas in the country they’d be more spread out,” says Barry Nolan of Wildlife Management Services.
cheap canada goose uk “With more food and more resources available, the suburbs are able to sustain a bigger population.” cheap canada goose uk
In the wild, a vixen will eventually drive her young out of her territory but in the leafy suburbs, which extend right into the heart of the city, they have become more tolerant and the fox population becomes more concentrated.
“We generally don’t deal with foxes ourselves, but we ‘fox proof’ gardens for people and we’re often canada goose outlet vip called in to remove dead foxes and clear gardens that are badly fouled by foxes living under garden sheds and the like,” says Nolan.
canada goose store Some years ago, foxes shied away from human contact, bolting quickly over walls and into hedges. But the days of the “fear factor” seem to be gone. Now they lie out on back walls and low roofs sunning themselves without a care, knowing there is no real threat. canada goose store
uk canada goose The Department of Culture, Heritage and canada goose outlet trillium parka black the Gaeltacht, which includes the National Parks and Wildlife Service, confirms that there has not been a census of the fox population. “It is not a protected species and may be trapped or killed using humane/approved methods,” it says. uk canada goose
“Control of foxes in urban areas is not effective as new animals will quickly occupy any vacant territories. Control programmes in the UK were abandoned when it became apparent they were having no impact on fox numbers.”
Canada Goose Outlet Seeing a healthy fox in the wild is a beautiful sight and there is something mystical about seeing them stealing along at dawn or dusk, when they turn their head to look haughtily in your direction. The baleful gaze of the fox in the Guinness advertisement is wildly romantic but, like much advertising, it is an illusion. Canada Goose Outlet
Foxes are killers, as any farmer or poultry keeper knows. When they get into a hen house, foxes lay waste to the place canada goose outlet in a fit of blood lust. Now, in the suburbs, there are increasing reports of foxes attacking and killing pets.
Foxes are the ‘cute hoors’ of the animal kingdom and although they are still widely distributed, the ones which seem to do best are those who have abandoned the hard life in the countryside for the rich pickings of suburbia, where food waste is plentiful.
Some experts believe numbers in suburbia have reached a level that cannot sustain a healthy population and mange infected and emaciated foxes are taking up residence very close to the human population.
Canada Goose sale Pest controllers like Wildlife Management Services are being called to remove them from under garden sheds, oil tanks and other human installations which they have colonised. Canada Goose sale
Urban foxes are also notorious for damaging gardens, rooting up flower beds and lawns, while domestic pets who come in contact with their lairs often contact ‘fox’s mange’ canada goose outlet store quebec which results in bald patches on dogs and can lead to unnecessary veterinary bills. My latest skirmish came a couple of days ago when I let our little Yorkie, Beano, out for his nightly pee in the front garden. After pottering around, I came out to find the dog and a dark brown fox circling each other with deadly intent. The fox appeared to be eyeing Beano as a meal and the dog, which usually chases foxes with gusto, was being very circumspect for a change.
Canada Goose Jackets The fox didn’t seem at all frightened when I appeared but turned canada goose outlet in toronto and slunk unapologetically into the night. Canada Goose Jackets
While it’s nice for city dwellers to think they’re close to nature and wildlife, the urban fox is coming too close for comfort for some people and a lot of ‘do gooders’ who are feeding the fox may find out in time that their good nature will have unintended consequences.