Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare
Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare
Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare
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A fox will average between 2-6<br />
years in the wild, but live longer if<br />
food is easily available.<br />
The breeding season for foxes in<br />
the UK is December through to the<br />
end of February. The vixen will<br />
take up occupancy of a breeding<br />
earth in February, staying there<br />
until mid June, when the cubs will<br />
appear above ground after being<br />
weaned.<br />
During the mating season dog<br />
foxes will travel great distances to<br />
finds a receptive vixen, stopping<br />
during <strong>his</strong> travels to make <strong>his</strong><br />
unmistakable high pitched bark,<br />
then waiting to hear the banshee<br />
like three screams made by a<br />
vixen - t<strong>his</strong> is not the sort of thing<br />
you want to hear in the dark if you<br />
are of a nervous disposition, as<br />
both calls can be blood curdling!<br />
Rural foxes can have territories<br />
ranging between 200-500<br />
hectares. Urban foxes tend to stay<br />
closer to home near their food<br />
source. There will be at least two<br />
earths on a territory, one for<br />
rearing the cubs and the other for<br />
general day time resting. Foxes<br />
will happily use a dry drain as<br />
harbourage.<br />
The only true natural predator of<br />
the fox is found north of the border<br />
in Scotland - the Golden Eagle.<br />
Control<br />
Cage trapping of urban foxes can<br />
be very easy. Baiting a trap with a<br />
cooked chicken, pork pie, dead<br />
rabbit, or almost anything else<br />
that is meat based, will attract a<br />
foraging urban fox.<br />
Rural foxes are a different story.<br />
These animals have usually<br />
survived on their wits, finding food<br />
when, and wherever, they can.<br />
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Specialists Specialistsinturnkey in turnkey natural naturalturf& turf & artificial artificialpitch pitch solutions<br />
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They certainly cannot rely on<br />
human handouts or wheelie bins<br />
for dinner!<br />
A different approach is needed<br />
for reynard in the country. Snares,<br />
or shooting at night with a rifle<br />
and a high powered light, will be<br />
the most productive methods.<br />
Both of these methods need to be<br />
undertaken by someone with<br />
experience that has been suitably<br />
trained.<br />
Foxes can easily be called into<br />
range of a rifle or shotgun if they<br />
have not been ‘lamped’ by an<br />
amateur before. You get just one<br />
chance at culling the targeted<br />
animal - they won’t fall for it twice!<br />
Snaring is an art that takes a<br />
good while to master. Be aware<br />
that you will need to have in place<br />
a method to humanely kill a fox<br />
should one be trapped. Don’t<br />
forget that non target species, by<br />
law, have to be released<br />
unharmed - removing a very angry<br />
badger from a snare is not for the<br />
faint hearted!<br />
Any traps set for foxes must be<br />
checked regularly - once a day is<br />
barely enough, even if it is first<br />
thing in the morning. They must<br />
also be securely anchored.<br />
By law, any snare set for a fox<br />
has to be free running under the<br />
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981<br />
Section 11. Any animal trapped<br />
MUST be alive when you check<br />
snares. If you choose to set them<br />
yourself be very very careful.<br />
A new type of snare, called a<br />
Collarum, is available from a<br />
company called Pro Trapper -<br />
www.protrapper.co.uk.<br />
A list of UK pest controllers can<br />
be found here:<br />
http://www.ukpcoforum.co.uk/sm<br />
f/index.php?action=googlemap.<br />
You will need to register.<br />
Don’t forget, you can always ask<br />
me or www.ukpestcontrollers.org<br />
for advice.<br />
Andy Beddoes<br />
www.abcomplete.co.uk<br />
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