Jump to content

Recommended Posts

You asked "Yes or no?" - then have accused the people who say no of being weird animal haters and that you are going to do it anyway. OK then.


I love animals but it's another firm no from me. I don't want to see foxes starved or shot but I'd sooner we didn't have so many of them in London. On a recent 10 minute drive to Kings in the middle of the night I spotted more than 20 of them.

Both Vixen and Dog are out getting food for there cubs but 20, if it makes you happy to feed them then do so your not hurting anyone

Foxes only get food out of bins because the lids have not been put down properly and people leaving bin bags out rats and mice go there to, at least the fox will eat the rats and mice

On balance, however tempting, I would advise against feeding foxes. It is in their interestS to maintain their innate wariness of us. Foxes are naturally exploratory and curious and if they lose their wariness of a household they can become more dependent and more territorial. You may not mind fox poo in your garden but your neighbours may not be so keen.


Fox poo carries all the nasties that dog poo contains but foxes are not wormed.Foxes carry Toxocara Canis.


I would prefer foxes to focus on their natural diet and maintain the balance of nature, capping the populations of slugs, snails rats and squirrels. Limiting food sources also acts as a natural cap on the fox population. We tend to feed foxes for our own benefit, not theirs.

I'd like to point out that on Southwark Council's website they refer anyone who has a problem with foxes to the Fox Project - i.e. to use humane deterrents.

It says

"Please note foxes are not categorised as pests and are protected by the law.

Contact The Fox Project for advice on how to deter foxes."

It is also very selfish to do something that will affect your neighbors and others living in the area.

You don?t live in a confined space, so it won?t just be you having the fox problem but everyone else will suffer too.



Depends how you're defining "the fox problem". The foxes are already there, as pointed out there are actually quite a reasonable number of them. Therefore by their very nature they'll be in and out of most gardens most nights (whether you notice them or not).


They'll be marking territory as standard so regardless of whether you / a neighbour are putting food out, they'll still be there and (potentially) defecating / urinating there anyway.


But they're obviously finding decent amounts of food whether it's a neighbour actively feeding them or a badly sealed bin or just a bramble patch full of blackberries.


They're not going to go away, they're obviously thriving quite happily so the options are:

ignore them, they're not really doing any harm (I suspect we'd know if there were lots of decapitated cats or high instances of toxicaris infection)

feed them every once in a while (so long as it is periodic and you're not putting out a full roast dinner every night or trying to get them to eat from your hand)

do everything legal to actively dissuade them from your garden (fox repellents, a dog, a gravel / concrete / stone garden so there's nowhere to dig, no food).


I have to say, overall, first mate's post above (fifth one down on this page) is excellent.

I don't mind having a few foxes around, but they're wild animals, and they need to be self-sufficient, with sustainable population levels.


If you start feeding them, you are encouraging a surplus population. Discouraging their natural hunter scavenger instincts. Eroding their natural fear of humans. Inviting them to damage your property, scatter your rubbish, dig up your garden, and literally shit on your doorstep.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Thank you to everyone who has already shared their thoughts on this. Dawson Heights Estate in the 1980s, while not as infamous as some other estates, did have its share of anti-social behaviour and petty crime. My brother often used the estate as a shortcut when coming home from his girlfriend’s house, despite my parents warning him many times to avoid it. Policing during that era had a distinctly “tough on crime” approach. Teenagers, particularly those from working-class areas or minority communities, were routinely stopped, questioned, and in some cases, physically handled for minor infractions like loitering, skateboarding, or underage drinking. Respect for authority wasn’t just expected—it was demanded. Talking back to a police officer could escalate a situation very quickly, often with harsh consequences. This was a very different time. There were no body cameras, dash cams, or social media to hold anyone accountable or to provide a record of encounters. Policing was far more physical and immediate, with few technological safeguards to check officer behaviour. My brother wasn’t known to the police. He held a full-time job at the Army and Navy store in Lewisham and had recently been accepted into the army. Yet, on that night, he ran—not because he was guilty of anything—but because he knew exactly what would happen if he were caught on an estate late at night with a group of other boys. He was scared, and rightfully so.
    • I'm sure many people would look to see if someone needed help, and if so would do something about it, and at least phone the police if necessary if they didn't feel confident helping directly. At least I hope so. I'm sorry you don't feel safe, but surely ED isn't any less safe than most places. It's hardly a hotbed of crime, it's just that people don't post on here if nothing has happened! And before that, there were no highwaymen,  or any murders at all .... In what way exactly have we become "a soft apologetic society", whatever that means?
    • Unless you're 5 years old or have been living in a cave for several decades you can't be for real. I don't believe that you're genuinely confused by this, no one who has access to newspapers, the tv news, the internet would ask this. Either you're an infant, or have recently woken up from a coma after decades, or you're a supercilious tw*t
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...