Urban red foxes live at the interface of human and wild worlds — their welfare is shaped by traffic, disease, poison, and deliberate persecution as well as the opportunities that urban environments provide.
Urban foxes experience a complex welfare landscape. Those living in food-rich, low-persecution environments may have better welfare than their rural counterparts — reliable food, relatively mild winters, and fewer natural predators. However, urban foxes with mange suffer profoundly — the incessant itch and progressive debilitation of sarcoptic mange is a slow and distressing condition. Road mortality causes acute suffering. Foxes trapped in gardens, snared illegally, or poisoned face severe and needless suffering. Managing coexistence with urban foxes through non-lethal means — securing food sources, excluding from sensitive areas — is both more effective and more humane than persecution.