Urban red foxes have colonised British cities since the mid-20th century, creating both opportunities for wildlife appreciation and conflicts with residents that require welfare-conscious management approaches.
Urban foxes face welfare threats from mange (a painful, fatal disease if untreated), road traffic, illegal persecution, and the stress of close proximity to humans and domestic animals. Mange causes intense itching, hair loss, and eventual death from secondary infection. Treatment is available through wildlife rescue organisations. Road mortality is the primary cause of urban fox death. Foxes that are killed, injured, or poisoned in gardens suffer directly. Population control attempts through culling are ineffective and cause welfare harm without producing the population reduction intended.