Urban red foxes are increasingly common in cities globally, raising welfare questions about human-wildlife conflict management and coexistence strategies.
Urban fox welfare is affected by specific city hazards including road traffic, secondary rodenticide poisoning, and mange that spreads rapidly in dense populations. Mange causes progressive skin loss, secondary infection, and a prolonged, painful death without treatment. Urban wildlife welfare advocates provide mange treatment through food-delivered treatments, reducing suffering at population scale. Culling programs address human concerns but provide no lasting population reduction and cause welfare harm through the culled individuals. Education-based coexistence programs that reduce conflicts through habitat management and waste reduction address root causes more humanely.