Red foxes have colonized cities across Europe, North America, and Australia, creating opportunities for wildlife observation and coexistence alongside concerns about human-wildlife conflict and disease.
Urban foxes occupy a welfare space that is largely invisible to policymakers. Individual foxes with mange suffer progressive hair loss, severe itching, and eventual debilitation — a welfare problem that interested citizens can help address through mange treatment programs. Culling operations cause direct animal suffering and, given the futility of population reduction through culling alone, represent unjustifiable welfare costs. Coexistence-oriented urban fox management focuses on reducing attractants that concentrate foxes in conflict areas, treating disease, and fostering tolerance through public education.