Red foxes have adapted remarkably to urban environments across Britain and beyond. Understanding urban fox welfare helps communities coexist humanely with this intelligent and adaptable predator.
Urban fox welfare is primarily a public attitude problem. Foxes are frequently vilified for behaviours — scavenging, vocalising, digging — that reflect normal fox ecology in an urban context. Lethal culling contracts sold to householders are ineffective and cause unnecessary suffering. Mange-affected foxes suffer greatly if untreated — the disease causes intense itching, hair loss, and eventually hypothermia and death. Treating mange in accessible urban foxes is achievable and rewarding. Building public tolerance for foxes as urban wildlife neighbours requires accurate information about their ecology and welfare.