foxes

We live in quiet a rural area and have foxes who have reared a few litters under the wooden building in the field at the bottom of our garden.
The cubs come into our garden and sometimes right up to the patio doors.
We do not encourage or feed them but I do love to see them. So far they have caused us no problems. However, I would feel differently in your circumstances.

We too used to see foxes in our garden regularly, I have cats and small dogs and have seen the cats chase the fox off so had no worries about the dogs. The house next door was redeveloped which took 2 years and since they finished and new neighbours moved in I haven't seen any foxes. I miss them but think it's wrong to feed them and encourage them in and I do wish people would be more careful with their rubbish.

I have seen foxes on my cctv at night and they are lovely to watch.
Apparently urban fox will eat vermin and as a rat hater that gets my vote.
Sadly rural foxes are a huge pest as they will kill for killings sake. I cannot blame smallholders and farmers for shooting them.

We have foxes every year- they are terrified of our cats luckily. They bring the little ones up to back door every evening. I don't feed them as such but I know they eat any bird food they can reach & if cats have left any 'treats' we have given them during the day on the patio they polish those off. I haven't seen a rat since they started breeding at the end of our garden 4 years ago.

I hate seeing the emaciated foxes slinking past in broad daylight- I am with optimist- but it is not something we have discussed on my local Nextdoor.

A few years ago a neighbour took a photo of one sunbathing on his garden shed.

Foxes are one reason why I prefer Tara my cat to be indoors at night.

I think the problem is that foxes and humans are competing for the same space. I get them regularly in my garden but, I live in a comparatively rural area. They don’t seem to bother the cats nor vice versa. Like Charleygirl, my cats are kept in at night.

‘Urban vermin’? The problem, surely, is more to do with human beings depositing half eaten takeaway rubbish on the streets rather than eating them and/or disposing of them properly. The foxes are attracted to this readily available food and therefore are more noticeable in our towns and suburbs. As a species, we really do need to clean up our act. Also, I agree with Tweedle24 in that as we humans continually grow we encroach more and more on what was once territory for foxes and other wild animals. I think in part, we are the problem.
I am aware that foxes in rural areas can and do a serious amount of damage and do need to be controlled, but I still say we also need to look at the part we play

I don’t think of foxes as urban vermin but have been worried that they will attack our cats. ( Several years ago a neighbour’s cat was attacked and killed by a fox). I did see a family of fox cubs frolicking in a garden near my daughter’s house and thought it was a charming sight. I wonder if those who do think they are urban vermin would support fox hunting?