Urban foxes have successfully colonised cities across Europe and North America. Their welfare is shaped by the unique challenges and opportunities of urban environments compared to rural habitats.
Urban fox welfare is shaped by the distinctive hazards of city living: traffic, mange, and human interaction ranging from feeding to deliberate poisoning. Vehicle strikes are the leading cause of urban fox mortality and cannot be prevented through management of fox behaviour; the welfare intervention is road design and speed management that reduces overall urban wildlife mortality. Mange — the most significant disease welfare issue — is treatable through medicated bait programs, and the welfare gain from treatment is immediate and dramatic: severely affected individuals who would die slowly over weeks recover within months. Urban fox welfare is best served by tolerant coexistence management: securing food waste to reduce conflict, managing gardens to prevent den sites that create nuisance, and treating mange rather than attempting lethal control that fails to reduce populations.