We are all referring to the
actual killing of the fox as cruel, but has anyone thought of the terrible fear this animal must feel whilst being chased by a pack of hounds, horses and people. Animals do feel fear.
They are animals that have young, which they try to protect, they have maternal feelings too, it can leave young foxes without care.
The peak of the breeding season for foxes is in late January, and the season lasts until March or so.
During the breeding season, the female is in oestrus for up to 4 days, often mating several times during that period. She will be pregnant for 52 days, and only have 1 litter per year. They will normally have 2-6 cubs.
The hunting season is:
Autumn hunting: late Aug - late Oct/early Nov
Full season: late Oct/early Nov - mid-Mar/early Apr
So how many young foxes are left to die without food, warmth and care. How many pregnant females are hunted down.
some interesting facts......
Foxes are sometimes accused of killing for fun. If a fox is presented with an abundance of prey, it will kill what it can and then cache what it cannot eat to save for leaner times. This phenomenon is common amongst top predators and is known as 'surplus killing'. The fox is quick to recieve blame for behaviour that is usually the work of pet cats & dogs. It is a scavenger, looking for easy meals, so to attack a dog, cat, child, cow or sheep is a waste of effort. It is true that a fox will take livestock such as chickens, rabbits & guinea pigs if they are not properly secured. Captive fowl will always be in danger, as we clip their wings, preventing them from escape, & we keep them in high density in poorly secured cages. A fox will kill all of them, so that it can return & take them off to be buried for later use. As they can only carry one at a time, it will obviously take a while to cache all of them which they will if not disturbed, which they usually are. The behaviour of man in removing the birds escape response, & not providing adequate protection afterwards is more at fault than a hungry fox.
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In areas of high human persecution of foxes, such disruption results in an increase in fertile vixens and larger litter sizes - a biological response which restores the population to its natural level.
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Killing foxes, by whatever method, merely creates vacant territory which will quickly be filled by other foxes. Killing foxes as a means of population control is ineffective, usually involves unnecessary suffering and can even worsen any problems.
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Post-mortem evidence has proved that lambs taken by foxes are likely to be either already dead, or weak, non-viable lambs
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Red Foxes can live for up to nine or ten years, but most will only survive to the age of one or two
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When a fox kills, it does so quietly, with a quick bite to the back of the neck. Many 'fox' attacks can be attributed to dogs, who attack the soft underbelly of their prey first. Hunters will say that hounds kill foxes with a quick bite to the back of the neck, whilst video footage will show them tearing at the foxes stomach.
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Also have a look at this link. Some interesting myths are dispelled regarding fox hunting. Read it all, its very very enlightening, I was drawn to this one which is very sad............
myths and lies and the truth
Lie 18. "Only in hunting is the fox never left wounded or to die slowly. The kill is either outright or the fox gets away unscathed."
The facts: Foxes which escape from the hounds after a long chase may die from trauma after the hunt.
