BABY FOX in the Gdn- Pros&Cons.PLEASE

[dickybird]

got to agree with you there,hedgehoggy.


if we REALLY care for our wildlife,we have to be prepared to put ourselves out for it. you were lucky-you probably had several wildlife centres you could have called on for help,imo. the fact that you didnt and possibly werent intending to anyway,makes me angry too.

IF this fox does return-and wildlife is unpredictable-i hope that given a second opportunity,you WILL contact the centre immediately. there is nothing to be reluctant about-they will give you straightforward advice and offer to help if they can.

like hedgehoggy,i too,hope the fox has either found someone who IS prepared to help----or has developed a healthy mistrust of man and is learning to fend for itself.

dickybird

[Picidae]

CONS!!!!!

Again, have to agree with hedgehoggy and DB on this. If this young fox had an ''indentity crisis'' it's purely down to the fact that it was encouraged to enter a domestic dwelling and then treated like a stray dog on a short term contract. Wild animals are not pets. They should not be treated as potential pets. They are not there to satisfy our own misplaced needy behaviour. Treating them as such puts them in a very serious risk of becoming victims of human aggression, road traffic accidents, inability to relate to their own species, inability to fend for themselves in the wild/risk of starvation (this especially applies to young animals/birds) illness due to the wrong foods being given .... as for suddenly cutting off an (indoor!!!) food supply after deliberately encouraging a young wild animal to rely on it because it had the 'audacity' not to be house trained is cruel in the extreme and very irresponsible.

Sorry Spaa - regardless of how 'kind' you were trying to be to a wild animal (and you are commended for caring btw) this was really not the way to go about things! Hopefully, you'll know what to do if there's another occasion where you have wild animals coming into the garden. The fox may return and by all means put some (appropriate!!) food in the garden but please keep your distance and call one of the rescue links provided by members on this thread)

For anybody generally reading this, WAB has some very experienced wild life rescue professionals amongst it's membership as well as those who have respected and extensive experience with Foxes. When they offer advice PLEASE heed it and if people want a canine pet - get a domestic dog! (although clearly not all people should even do that.)

( By the way, it is in fact illegal and a contravention of the Wildlife Act to 'rescue' then 'release' a wild animals/birds who are unable to fend for themselves in the wild. A situation like this, could potentially bring one very close to breaking the Law and may well rest on a case based legal interpretation of 'rescue' and 'release'!)

[Picidae]

Reading through my post it sounds rather harsh to Spaa so apologies (it's too late to tone it down now!) - know you thought you were doing the right thing and you did say at the outset you weren't looking for a pet! The essential points still stand but hope you won't be deterred from coming on WAB in the future for fear of having your head bitten off! More importantly, for the sake of any wildlife you come across that needs help, the site is an excellence source for seeking assistance with injured/abandoned animals and most people are forgiving of any mistakes made .

Again, please let us know what happens.

[TheSeagull]

I am in no way saying you did anything wrong but it does sound like there is now a scared, confused, effective pet out in the street. Any juvenile at that age is impressionable and from the sounds of it was tamed. It should not have any contact with humans and although I am unfortunate enough to have never had foxes in my garden if I did I would scatter the food in the garden like a natural food source. If a wild animal obeys then it is no longer wild.

[elaine2206]

Hi hun, we had a baby fox come to us in the spring this year. He was only about 4 months old and had obviously lost his mother some how cos he slept in our garden, we made a shelter for him. Anyway, one horrible morning i got up expecting him to be looking through my consevatory window, and I saw him all bashed up and bitten,, it broke my heart. He was very tame and we managed to catch him and took him to wildlife sanctuary. When the vet looked at him he found a cancerous growth in his mouth and had to put him to sleep. Tame foxes do not get on in the wild, our little fella must have been bitten by a dog, he was safe in our garden but wasnt cautios enough in someone elses. If your little fox is too tame be strong and have someone take him to sanctuary. My little fox was special too cos he needed help. I'll never forget him. We have other foxes but they are naturally wary of humans.

[spaa]

APPALLING! THOUGHT ABOUT LEAVING AND CLOSING MY ACCOUNT WITHOUT SPENDING MORE ENERGY CLARIFYING. Wrote these lines back when I received your mails, and today- a month later, feel exactly the same way: I need to say that ‘I do regret seeking the experts advice’ who seem not to have read or have understood my mails… feel completely insulted and disempowered… not dissimilar to fundamentalist fanatics who do not take into account others do not need to be ‘experts’ to relate to the miracle of nature and to animals. We are not 5yrs old, and everyone can have a direct and unique experience, as we have done for years simply by listening to our own feeling consciousness and instincts.
Your opinions are actually quite slanderous, judgemental and self-righteous!!!
TOO WILD MANNERS FOR OUR TASTE. Please respect our wish not to receive any more messages. Your comments also reflect why the world is the way it is… no one dares to be nice in the name of love, to protect others from others who might not be as nice as the have been, how ridiculous. Anyway, we have learnt our lesson: You should not really open your heart to tell your spiritual experiences, talk about politics or something so sacred and beautiful as your own experiences with animals.

The way we feel does not prevent us from continue wishing you all the best in your experiences.

PS. Yes, will continue using the site whenever we feel appropriate, we do not tend to generalize or demonise groups after this kind of experience. By these virtual Interactions we all learn some manners and social skills and contribute a little bit more to stop the blame culture in which we live.

[k4t3]

Spaa, I felt the same way a few weeks back when i asked for advice on a collared dove that had survived an attack by a sparrowhawk due to a cats intervention. I was shot down in flames, reprimanded and virtually called a murderer for my actions, which only intended to help the creature.
I have since received many messages from other WAB members apologising for the more extreme members replies. At the time, i was as you are, very very angry with the site and the santimonious posts that i received.
The only reson we go on sites like these is to try and get advice to enable us to help the animals that surround us, and then all we get is grief and little helpful advice.
I suggested on the forum that if the site wanted to attract more users, they should stop attacking innocent and well meaning newbies in this way, it is demoralising and wrong.
The majority of people on here are friendly and helpful...some of the same that attacked you also attacked me. Don't lose faith in the site as a resource, but don't let them get you down.

Kate xx

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by spaa

What to do?

What indeed? When the advice that's offered in good faith by experienced people in dealing with wildlife in response to a REQUEST for help on this forum then it's up to you whether you take it or not I guess. However, despite the (justifiably imo) angry tones of some of our posts, you were given that advice and chose to ignore it. Most of us on here, have a detached and responsible attitude to wildlife born of the recognition that not always one's subjective perception of what an animal needs is not always in accord with the true welfare of an animal. There's nothing wrong with thinking animals are 'cute', there's probably nothing inherently 'wrong' with feeling gratification that a wild animal comes when you ''snap'' your fingers, but I do think when when people come on a wildlife forum to seek ''advice'', they perhaps should not be surprised if others have a rather different approach to the meaning of wild animal ''welfare''.

Sadly, the fact that you were offered opinions and advice about how the young fox should be treated, differed so much from your own views, you took it all as an offence to yourself personally although, I can't think why if we all of us had the welfare of the fox in mind and not our own self esteems. - I can only speak for myself, but it seems a great shame that members on this forum when asked for advice by an unexperienced person, they risk becoming subject to emotional tirades from people who don't like the advice they have been given.

I apologise again for the harshness of my first post, which I rather thought had been ameliorated by my follow up post but obviously not. However, I'll leave you just with one final thought based on my own experience with wildlife, in the hope that you don't take it too personally:

''Love'' isn't all about being ''fluffy'' about wildlife in need of help, but recognising true compassion for anything starts with recognising your own limitations in dealing with a situation where a wild animal needs help and referring/abdicating the responsibility to someone experienced/a professional in a much better position to administer the help required. In other words, it's knowing when to let go.

[elaine2206]

In my book you should trust ur instinct and help where u can.. some people r fanatical on here but normal regular folk just help where they can, good on yer!

[Sue B]

Read with interest on the comment's from various member's about
young foxes. I brought one up from a baby(the vixen had been shot)
I reared him on milky cocoa- he was like a tiny brown bear.
I had him for nearly three year's and he became semi-tame.
He eventually escaped the garden, and I worried to death that he would not be able to "fend" for himself. I advertised , but I heard no more of him-
hopefully he had coped with the "wild" or perhap's he had been run over ?
This was year's ago I did not know of any rescue places, the RSPCA
would not have bothered, so I no option than to rear him.
If his life was a short one he had a very good one with us and was
much loved.
Anyone else with similiar problem's might like to get in touch with the
National Fox Welfare Society, which can be "picked up" on the "Web