Dealing with a snared Fox?

[edessex]

I own land, I have valid reason.

What I don't have is somewhere I can keep any firearms. When I met my (now) wife, she refused to move out of her flat, so I moved in. Now I'm a 'country bumpkin' stuck in a block of flats, right in the middle of a large and busy town, with a public/children's play park out the window.

To make matters worse, the flat has zero solid walls, even the external walls are fake.

So, no gun cabinet, no gun.

 

[kernowcluck]

What sort of area are you trying to protect? I use hundreds of meters of electrified chicken wire. It's a pain to move and needs vigilance to ensure that it is not shorting out but if you don't take appropriate measures to protect your stock you cannot expect vermin not to take advantage. If you can invest in some netting and a good mains fencer unit and you will stand a fighting chance of keeping your poultry otherwise you might as well give up. The foxes will keep coming if they know there's an easy meal - do you blame them?

 

[Kidds]

Are the floors not concrete?
I'm sure you've looked into it though.

 

[edessex]

The floors are, but the landlord isn't keen on me drilling into it.
....and can you picture the hype I would cause carrying a shotty through a town, even in a case!

 

[edessex]

If you can invest in some netting and a good mains fencer unit and you will stand a fighting chance of keeping your poultry otherwise you might as well give up.

Not many fields have mains power...

 

[mushnt grummmble]

I own land, I have valid reason.

What I don't have is somewhere I can keep any firearms. When I met my (now) wife, she refused to move out of her flat, so I moved in. Now I'm a 'country bumpkin' stuck in a block of flats, right in the middle of a large and busy town, with a public/children's play park out the window.

To make matters worse, the flat has zero solid walls, even the external walls are fake.

So, no gun cabinet, no gun.

anyone still live on the land?parents?

 

[kernowcluck]

I think you're stuffed mate. How about keeping something else, lions or something! I think chickens are over-rated, but don't tell my girls!

 

[edessex]

Nobody has ever lived on it. It's just agricultural land.

 

[edessex]

Well, if I can trap this one, hopefully that'll be the end of it...

 

[RushesToo]

I wish you luck. You are doing well to farm in these circumstances and a clever reynard needs to be dispatched quickly and mercifully. I hope you get the trap and all goes according to plan

Keep going!

 

[Dry Rot]

I've just tried a search to find out what methods of killing a wild animal are legal and come up with virtually nothing, except of course that you'd need the right to do it!

Surely, the way to dispatch a fox caught in a cage trap is to open the door a fraction and insert a dog catcher (basically a broom handle with a noose on the end). Then secure the fox which can then be removed from the cage and then given a sharp tap on the back of the head with a blunt instrument. But would that be legal?

Frankly, I'd think it a stupid fox that would ever go into a cage trap though I know they exist. Perhaps release it back into it's native habitat, like the nearest city centre?

 

[edessex]

Because of the way British law works, I don't think there is a black and white 'do it this way' publication.

I think the main points are that the animal should not suffer any more than necessary. So if it's snared or trapped it should be dispatched ASAP, and the method of dispatch should be quick and as painless as possible.

Guns are the easiest, as it requires no handling of the captured animal. But, as someone pointed out earlier, it has to be an effective shot. I've seen deer with the front legs blown off, or even a shot to the hind.

I'm not sure I'm confident enough to grab, pin and either cut the throat or break the neck of a snared or caged fox. There will be people who are, and will make a cleaner dispatch than someone yelding a shotgun.

 

[edessex]

Also, releasing pests can be classed as illegal. I would need the permission of the owner of the land I'm releasing it on.

 

[General-Lee]

Also, releasing pests can be classed as illegal. I would need the permission of the owner of the land I'm releasing it on.

So would the rspca have to? Have heard of urban foxes been released willy nilly in big numbers.

 

[edessex]

RSPCA are a private company who break hundreds of laws and rules, and have no more rights than me or you to enter other peoples property. For a so called rescue, the turn most people away, leading them to dump animals on the street.

Yes they would need permission, but they think they are above the law.