The worrying situation of the fox in France

Did you know that 500 000 foxes are killed every year in France ? In any case, this has just been revealed by an association for the protection of animals which characterizes this situation as a true “plan of extermination“. These impressive figures thus raise the alarming situation of foxes in France, still among the “list of species likely to cause damage” or, let us say it clearly, pests. Faced with the hyperurbanisation of the country and hunting hunters, the poor fox has a hard time finding his place…

The fox, a victim of hyperurbanisation …?

For the past twenty years, cities have had to cope with “urban foxes“. Thus it is not uncommon today to see Goupil in the streets of Paris. Buttes-Chaumont in the garden of Luxembourg, they are thus a fortnight prowling in the capital. Other European cities are also affected by this phenomenon : 1300 foxes in Zurich (Switzerland), 10 000 foxes in London (England), Rome but also Berlin… But should we rejoice in this introduction of foxes in cities ? The foxes seem in any case to find a large amount of food (mice, fallen fruit, meat waste…) and easily adapt to these new living conditions. Research and studies have even shown that urban fox populations are distinguished from their congeners living in forests, both from a genetic and behavioral point of view.

This situation, a mixture of hyperurbanisation and fox behavioral change, led to a superposition of the habitat of the animal and the human being. Although new, this situation seems to be appreciated by city dwellers who welcome a return of biodiversity in the city and the return of contact with the wild world. It is to wonder if the foxes are not today more at the shelter in the cities than in the forests…

When the fox competes with hunters…

One Voice, an activist for the “absolute right of animals to respect“, has recently published disturbing figures concerning fox hunting: 500,000 foxes are killed each year by hunters ! And this with impunity as these animals are still listed today as species likely to cause damage. This list differs from one region to another, depending on local biodiversity, but generally includes the carrion crow, the European starling, the Eurasian jay, the magpie, the wild boar, the wild rabbit and the fox (among a multitude of other mammals). So many animals that can be killed all year long !

And when they have permission to hunt, hunters do not shun their pleasure : digging, lace traps… So many hunting techniques controversial by many associations of animal protection. But how is it that even today the fox can suffer such a “plan of extermination” when its ecological role and ability to self-regulate have been proven many times ? For many NGOs and associations, there is no doubt : it is only because of the hunters’ lobby .