Urban foxes are a growing presence in cities across Europe, North America, and Australia. Coexisting humanely with urban foxes requires understanding their behavior and addressing conflicts compassionately.
Urban fox welfare issues include road traffic injury and death, mange causing severe prolonged suffering, and conflicts with humans that lead to control attempts. Mange causes significant suffering through intense itching, hair loss, and secondary infections, and can be treated with bait containing antiparasitic medication by wildlife organizations. Culling as population control is ineffective because vacated territories are rapidly recolonized. Welfare-conscious urban fox management focuses on disease treatment, exclusion to protect vulnerable animals like poultry, and non-lethal deterrence. Injured urban foxes benefit from rescue and rehabilitation by trained wildlife organizations.