Urban foxes have successfully colonised Britain's cities, but face welfare challenges including mange, road mortality, and human-wildlife conflict that require informed management approaches.
Urban fox welfare is shaped by a combination of disease, traffic, and human-wildlife conflict. Mange is the most significant cause of welfare-relevant suffering for individual foxes; recognising and treating it in garden-visiting foxes makes a direct welfare difference. Culling of urban foxes is both ineffective (vacant territories refill rapidly) and welfare-negative for individuals killed. Evidence-based urban fox management focuses on reducing attractants (secure waste), tolerating normal fox behaviour, and treating sick individuals through feeding-based medication. Public education that replaces fear with informed coexistence would significantly improve welfare outcomes for urban foxes.