The hunting community has played a key role in vilifying foxes for their own purposes.

 Let’s look at some of the issues:  

• Foxes are not classified as vermin.  In fact, there is no official list of vermin in the UK.  While fox behaviour may fit a part of the definition of vermin, so too would cat behaviour.  Many farmers claim that foxes are absolutely necessary to control the rabbit and vole populations that do so much more harm to their crops.  Of course, Foxes can be a real problem for sheep and poultry farmers who are not able to protect their animals with the appropriate preventative fencing.  In fact, there are many effective and humane solutions for those willing to investigate.   For more information, please check out the links on our Pest Control page.
• Foxes are not increasing in numbers as a result of the hunting ban.  They have moved into our towns and cities mainly because food litter has increased in proportion with the influx of fast-food takeaways.  In addition, we continue to disrupt their natural habitat by building houses on our few remaining green spaces in support of an entirely unsustainable increase in population.    
• Foxes do not ‘kill for fun’.   Foxes collect and cache their food to ensure long term survival.   When they kill all of the chickens in an enclosure and leave with only one of them, they intend to return and collect the others to hide or bury them for future meals.  In most cases they are caught or frightened away before they are able to complete the task.  This behaviour is common for many species of animals.
• Foxes are not solitary animals; in fact they live in close-knit families and only hunt alone at night for food.
• Female foxes (Vixens) do not ‘abandon’ their young, in fact they nurture and rear their cubs over several months and will only disburse later if food is scarce.  
• Foxes are not the only carriers of mange or disease.  Household pets and many species of wildlife can carry a range of diseases.  While foxes with diets lacking in nutrition are more susceptible to mange, it is a condition that can be cured easily by adding a homeopathic medicine to their food (supplied by most wildlife rescue centres) for 5-6 weeks.  Without it, they will die a slow and extremely painful death.   Many rescue centres will capture and pick foxes with severe cases of mange. 
• Foxes do not attack babies or cats.   There have been no substantiated cases of a fox ever attacking a baby.  This type of allegation has however been used by families protecting a particular breed of dog with a history of attacks on humans.  Foxes and cats typically ignore each other.  A fox would only show aggression if a cat threatened it's young, and in most cases a fox is no match for a cat.   A fox will feed on or carry a carcass of a dead cat or dog, which is often how these rumours begin. 

For further reading about foxes we recommend you visit the excellent website at www.thefoxwebsite.org