Urban foxes have adapted to live alongside humans in British cities, but face significant welfare challenges alongside often overstated conflicts with urban residents.
Urban foxes live in conditions that present specific welfare challenges including mange, road injuries, human persecution, and conflicts around denning sites. Mange causes progressive hair loss, intense itching, and ultimately fatal immune compromise. Treatment using medicated food has been developed by the Fox Project and similar organizations. Culling programs in urban areas are ineffective - territories are rapidly reoccupied by incoming animals - and cause unnecessary suffering. Understanding and tolerance of foxes as successful urban wildlife adapters is the most welfare-consistent approach for most urban fox situations.