Urban red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are a success story of wildlife adaptation. Understanding their welfare needs and promoting coexistence helps humans and foxes share urban space more harmoniously.
Urban foxes represent a welfare challenge primarily in two areas: mange and road traffic. Mange-affected foxes suffer progressive hair loss, intense pruritus (itching), secondary bacterial infection, and a slow deteriorating death if untreated. Mange is treatable with oral or injected ivermectin, and the Fox Project provides treatment for mange-affected urban foxes across the UK. Road deaths are the primary mortality cause — at the population level, urban roads truncate fox lives significantly. Individual foxes struck by cars frequently survive with serious injuries that cause prolonged suffering if not found promptly. Promoting coexistence means understanding fox behavior, securing garbage attractants, and knowing when and how to seek welfare support for ill or injured urban foxes.