A free education lesson for the simple pro hunt loons who appear to
find working a chore.



Animal sound solutions


Foxes


Although this predator can cause dissatisfaction by stealing chickens
or rabbits from out of hunting areas, we have to avow that the fox is
part of our fauna and plays an important role in nature. Foxes help
regulate the population of rabbits, birds and little rodents. The fact
that the fox population has recovered over the last years, is good
news. They can only survive if there is enough food (i.e. small
animals) to eat. The more small animals there are, the more foxes
there will be. Nature regulates itself. If the foxes eat too many
newborn rabbits in spring, there will be less grown rabbits the
following year, which means less food for the foxes, so their number
will decrease. That is what we call natural balance.



We must be aware that foxes actually live in the woods and must take
some precautions. A fox is a omnivore, this means that he eats
everything, even chickens. Chickens and ducks can be killed by a fox
if they are not protected. To protect chickens, build a good, solid
pen which can be closed at nights or put a fence around it. Beware
that a fox is very pliant; it is important that the fence is about 2 m
high. Best put some barbed wire before the fence. Also dig some wire
into the ground or put some concrete in the ground so the fox cannot
burrow a tunnel under the fence. To protect ducks, give them a large
pond. In case of danger, they can go to the middle of the pond and
cannot be caught.



It is often said that a fox is a very cruel animal. He goes into the
henhouse and kills all of the chickens without eating them or taking
them with him. This kind of slaughter is very difficult to understand.
This behaviour, which we call ‘surplus killing’, has, however, nothing
to do with a cruel, bloodthirsty character, but is an instinctive way
of surviving. When a predator gets in contact with a lot of prey in
panic and no way to escape, the predator’s instinct will be stimulated
and he will kill all the animals in his surroundings. In the wild,
such situations do not exist, because if one (or two) animal gets
caught, the others run away. The presence of a dog can also scare
foxes. The catching and/or killing of foxes is needless. When your
chickens are ‘easy to catch’, predator after predator will give it a
try!

http://home.pi.be/~nahuceop/foxes.htm