Urban foxes in British cities represent a successful wildlife adaptation story, but face welfare challenges from pest control practices, road traffic and mange outbreaks.
Urban foxes coexist with millions of people across UK cities, generally causing minimal harm while providing ecological services and giving urban residents contact with wildlife. The response to perceived fox problems is often disproportionate and counterproductive from both a welfare and population management perspective. Lethal control disrupts fox territories and triggers immigration, actually preventing population stabilization. Mange causes terrible suffering — treatable with a simple medication available to householders — yet thousands of foxes die slowly from it each year. Humane coexistence practices benefit both foxes and the humans who share their neighborhoods.