Foxes – PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE

Significant Win For Animal Welfare As Scottish Parliament Votes To Pass New Hunting Legislation

Press release from League Against Cruel Sports (24th January 2023):

The Scottish Parliament has voted to pass the new Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill. The vote was passed by 90 for and 30 against, with no abstentions.

The new legislation was introduced last year, two decades after a failed attempt by the Scottish Parliament to ban hunting with the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, back in 2002.

The new Bill will bring into force a number of measures which significantly curtail mounted hunting activity, including reducing the number of dogs which can be used to hunt a wild mammal to just two, instead of a full pack, and reducing the number of dogs which can be used below ground to just one.

The Bill also includes a pre-emptive ban on trail hunting. Trail hunting is a sport which was created after hunting was banned in England and Wales following the passing of the Hunting Act in 2004. Its inclusion in the Bill means trail hunting can not be established north of the border.

Loopholes around fox hunting will be closed

The League Against Cruel Sports Scotland, has welcomed the new legislation. Director Robbie Marsland said:

“As of today, Scotland has the most robust law anywhere in the UK to prevent the cruelty of chasing and killing wild mammals for sport – and this is something to celebrate. Despite a persistent campaign from those resolute to keep hunting alive in the Scottish countryside, the Scottish Government has been determined to end the sport of hunting, a sentiment which has today been supported by the Parliament.

“The passing of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill now provides an opportunity to right the wrongs of the last two decades and close the loopholes which allowed hunters to continue with hunting as though the law didn’t exist.

“The inclusion of a ban on trail hunting is a significant victory for Scotland, meaning hunts will not be able to use this so-called sport as a smokescreen for traditional hunting.”

The new Bill also includes a licensing system which will allow for a full pack of hounds to be used in certain circumstances. The detail of the scheme has yet to be developed but animal welfare campaigners have concerns this has the potential to be exploited.

Robbie Marsland added:

“After twenty years of flawed legislation it is critical that this Bill is not simply a way of creating new loopholes for hunters to exploit, and the League is yet to be convinced the licensing scheme won’t do this.

“Despite the best of intentions to ban hunting, the determination and deep rooted defiance among those who wish to chase and kill foxes should not be underestimated. The League will work closely with Nature Scot and other stakeholders to ensure the licensing system is robust, effective and fit for purpose.”

The Hunting with Dogs Bill is expected to receive royal assent in the next few weeks and come into force in the autumn.

ENDS

This is a significant win for campaigners in Scotland, including REVIVE coalition members the League Against Cruel Sports and OneKind, and will increase pressure on the Westminster Government to follow suit.

The proposed licensing scheme, which will allow the use of more than two dogs in “certain limited circumstances” has undoubtedly been brought in to help fend off any legal challenges but the details and effectiveness of the licences remain to be seen.

For example, will the licensing authority NatureScot think that footpacks running amok in public forests, killing foxes to protect gamebirds on grouse moors (e.g. see here) is an appropriate and licensable activity? We’ll see.

An Abandoned Baby Fox Who Can’t Use Her Back Legs Gets A Special Wheelchair

One little fox has been gaining a lot of attention on social media, for one very unique reason. While she may have a disability, the folks at the Kentucky Wildlife Center are determined not to let that stop her.

When you walk through the doors at the centre, you may be greeted by the friendly house cat waiting for an ear scratch, or the curious bunny ready for her close up.

“That’s what we do here. We take care of every animal to the max,” said PK Blankenship.

For some, it’s a place to rest and rehabilitate before being released back into the wild. For others, it becomes their home.

“She’s come a long way, she really has. It used to be that there wasn’t any movement in those back legs at all,” Blankenship said.

Asia the three-month-old Red Fox became a “permanent resident” back in May. She was found by a Boone County couple who immediately called the center’s director, Sam Opp, when they saw Asia try to walk.

“They noticed she wasn’t using her back legs,” Opp said.

It’s a disability Opp believes Asia has had since birth, and something that would have left her defenceless, and eventually dead, in the wild.

“You would never know she can’t use those back legs. She thinks she’s a regular fox. She pounces like a regular fox. She jumps like a regular fox. She crawls over you like a regular fox,” Blankenship said.

But what you may not see on a regular fox is the shiny wheelchair.

“Sometimes it’s funny. We put her in it and she’s like a NASCAR race driver. She takes off,” Blankenship said.

While Asia may have the need for speed, learning to use the chair isn’t always a smooth ride.

“I’m not saying she won’t bump into something, it does frighten her. It’s just like as a child. She would tumble off her mom and shake it off,” Blankenship said.

Still a wild animal, there are days Asia isn’t in the mood for physical therapy.

“If she’s just having a bad day, she’ll get more free time, which is after every session anyways,” Opp said.

With the help of Opp, her handler Blankenship, and the wheelchair, she will most likely be able to walk using her back legs one day.

“She has shown improvement in using those back legs to actually stand on her own. She is a very determined fox kit. She’s not giving up and we’re not giving up on her either. We’re in it for the long haul,” Blankenship said.

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Mike Trowler Rescued Cropper The Fox And Found His New Best Friend

Fox Hunting:- “The English country gentleman galloping after the Fox – the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable” ~ Oscar Wilde.

When Mike Trowler first met Cropper the Fox had been in a tangle with a dog and off worse. Cropper had been rescued by The Fox Project in Tunbridge Wells. Not only was he badly injured, he was also suffering from toxoplasmosis, a dangerous parasitic infection. He was in no shape to be returned to the wild. There were only two choices: euthanize Cropper or find him a home. That is where Mike came in.

Mike Towler with rescued red fox in garden. Kent, UK, May 2009. — Mike Trowler with Cropper, the rescued Red Fox in his garden.

Mike Trowler gave Cropper a home. A retired engineer, has been described as a man on a mission. Mike is fascinated by Fox behaviour and spends a great deal of time with them. In addition to nursing injured Foxes back to health, he also takes in orphaned Fox cubs and raises them until they can be released back into the wild. He does this by releasing them into his nine-acre garden. A few remain to be fed each night, some stay in the area for several years, while others take off to establish their own territories further afield.

CROPPER 2 — Mike and Cropper having a nap

When Cropper was nursed back to health by Mike’s patience, love and determination, Cropper became a member of Mike’s family. Cropper would eat food from the dog’s dish and curl up with the cats, but mostly, he would spend time with Mike. The two would even go for walks together and Mike would roll him over and give him belly rubs

After six happy years with Mike, Cropper passed away in 2007. However, another Fox, Jack, who had been suffering similar ailments, has moved in with Mike. Jack enjoys watching TV with Mike and even reluctantly tolerates a bath in the sink.

In addition to Foxes, Mike is also friends with a couple of Badgers. One of the Badgers, a female he named Benji, eats from a bowl while he holds it and allow him to pet her.

Mike warns that rescuing Foxes takes a great deal of patience and understanding, and a strong awareness of Fox behaviour. He says that Fox urine is especially odorous and difficult to remove.

The Fox Project is a Wildlife Information Bureau and Fox Deterrence Consultancy that was established in 1991, they added a Wildlife Hospital in 1993. They admit and treat around 700 Foxes and 250 cubs annually.

Mike Trowler and Cropper
A Day In The Life Of Jack
The Fox The Fox Project

On Patrol With The Fox Ambulance

The National Fox Welfare Society

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