Dealing with a snared Fox?

Robigus

Member
Snare it. Or get a foot hold trap and bop it on the head real good and hold its mouth shut while you stand on its lungs.

I'm being serious. If you want to trap it for pelt and not ruin it with a bullet hole.

@aggravated farmer we have a major cultural clash here. All these things may well be good and legal in the Good Old US of A but here in the UK they have been banned for a long time.

I don't think there is anything wrong with discussing controlling foxes on a public forum, it is both legal and sometimes necessary. For one thing it gives a chance counter some of the more outlandish comments that have been made.

However it is done it should be done it should be in a manner that causes the minimum of suffering, and the animal must be dispatched humanely. As has been said the first choice would be to shoot the animal in open countryside. There is no reason why any fox could not be squeaked unless it had been made shy by being squeaked and getting away. Theoretically a sharp blow to the back of the head is a perfectly humane method of dispatch but in reality a fox in a snare or cage will not be laying there quietly waiting to be hit. You are going to need someone with a gun at some stage, and they are going to be needed fairly promptly (unless you use the "ageing has-been rock-star method" and release it on your neighbours.:whistle::LOL:)

Nature is red in tooth and claw and we should not shy away from it.
 

llamedos

New Member
I would like to think some of the comments here have been added, tongue in cheek, some perhaps not, But just to add to @Robigus excellent post above, it(the thread) has not gone un noticed, by others, with the aim of causing trouble either.:rolleyes:
To add to my earlier post, if you can not dispatch an animal in a humane way, then do not attempt it, nor discuss it on a forum, where, sure as eggs are eggs someone will pick up on it and use it against you.
 
Just a quick point r.e the 'GUN IS GOD' attitude.

There are plenty of places where 'squeaking it in with a rifle and shooting it' is just not an option.

For example on the free range chicken farm I do the fox control on, that is bordered by the motorway, and has various houses dotted about. Not to mention lamp shy foxes etc.

Obviously when dispatching snared / trapped vermin, a gun is an ideal tool. However, a knife or 'priest' (as in club, not man of the cloth) are also good stand ins.

It also somewhat annoys me that folk believe that shooting is THE humane way of culling vermin. I've seen enough bad shots and midnight cowboys to know that it's not always so humane.

To be fair, my number one most preferred way to kill foxes was with a good lurcher, but then the ban came a long and ruined that!

But i'm sure most on here would think a dog killing a fox is highly cruel????
 

Paddington

Member
Location
Soggy Shropshire
We had a bad fox problem a few years ago, previously our hens and ducks had been free range but we started losing one then two or three at a time during the day. Talking to our neighbour A about this and he suggested asking neighbour B who was a keen shot, neighbour B recommended neighbour C who had a rifle. Neighbour C thought a shotgun a better bet in our circumstances and suggested neighbour A who had a shotgun....we asked the hunt, this was out of season but they would come round with a few hounds next week.... We tried a cage trap (see previous post) and now keep our hens behind a double fence, the outer with a mains energiser. I can understand the OP's predicament.

No animals have been hurt in this posting.
 
@aggravated farmer we have a major cultural clash here. All these things may well be good and legal in the Good Old US of A but here in the UK they have been banned for a long time.

I don't think there is anything wrong with discussing controlling foxes on a public forum, it is both legal and sometimes necessary. For one thing it gives a chance counter some of the more outlandish comments that have been made.

However it is done it should be done it should be in a manner that causes the minimum of suffering, and the animal must be dispatched humanely. As has been said the first choice would be to shoot the animal in open countryside. There is no reason why any fox could not be squeaked unless it had been made shy by being squeaked and getting away. Theoretically a sharp blow to the back of the head is a perfectly humane method of dispatch but in reality a fox in a snare or cage will not be laying there quietly waiting to be hit. You are going to need someone with a gun at some stage, and they are going to be needed fairly promptly (unless you use the "ageing has-been rock-star method" and release it on your neighbours.:whistle::LOL:)

Nature is red in tooth and claw and we should not shy away from it.
If you want to be truly humane then you should leave it be :whistle: I was stating for the purpose of fur pelt, that is how it is done. In my opinion, snares are lazy and irresponsible. Any fool thinking he knows how to trap can set a snare where animals are traveling. Though he can snare the neighbors dog or cat and kill it rather than what he was aiming for. Foot holds are more humane. If you think you are man enough to trap an animal, you should be man enough to put it down with out being a coward and shooting it in the head.

I no longer hunt or trap, because I don't need to. As I stated in another thread. Just leave them critters be. They have a right to live too.
 

Grain Buyer

Member
Location
Omnipresent
We had a bad fox problem a few years ago, previously our hens and ducks had been free range but we started losing one then two or three at a time during the day. Talking to our neighbour A about this and he suggested asking neighbour B who was a keen shot, neighbour B recommended neighbour C who had a rifle. Neighbour C thought a shotgun a better bet in our circumstances and suggested neighbour A who had a shotgun....we asked the hunt, this was out of season but they would come round with a few hounds next week.... We tried a cage trap (see previous post) and now keep our hens behind a double fence, the outer with a mains energiser. I can understand the OP's predicament.

No animals have been hurt in this posting.

They weren't called Boggis, Bunce and Bean by any chance? Did the fox end up living under their farms and using a series of tunnels did it plunder their Turkey's Hams and Cider? If so I think I've heard this story before.
 

RushesToo

Member
Location
Fingringhoe
@edessex Vermin need to be dealt with, but it should be swift and they should know the minimum about it. Find a way that works for you in the circumstances you are in.
Having had to dispatch animals without the correct tools it is not pleasant nor swift [but it was more humane than anything else]. No animal, vermin or not, has ever made me want to do anything less than what seems right. Act as if it were you that were the target and you wont do much wrong.
 
Lol, been busy on here today!

My goose didn't fly, because it couldn't. The geese I keep are not the flightly type; they can't lift off! Nor can the turkeys.

I always try to deter pests first, but its not always possible. CDs hanging, peeing up the coops, etc.

I've got a 6ft deer (stock) fence, but its incomplete. However a fox could scale that if it wanted to anyway.

Regards to clean dispatch... I won't even take a shot at a rat with my air rifle unless I know its likely to be a clean hit.

I am more than happy to use a snare. As long as its placed well, and checked regularly, I deem it as safe ON THIS LAND I.e. away from the public and dogs.

However, having never dealt with a fox in close proximity, I'm concerned I'll be too hesitant in pinning it, and will cause it undue distress. The actual throat slitting I have no problem with. I have knife skills, and it is a very quick and effective method of dispatch.

The cage will allow me to call in a friend with a shotgun, and hopefully not distress the fox as much.
 
Just a couple of points @aggravated farmer . . . .

Firstly, building better fences and keeping them at bay, is not really a solution when you are talking about say. . . . lambs being taken on a hill farm by charlie, or game birds being taken on a shoot. There are many other examples. In these kind of circumstances vermin need managing / controlling. Their levels are often inflated by the presence of these introduced 'prey species'. In other places, they can be left to get on with it (often however, at the expense of bio diversity).

Also with regard to snares being lazy and irresponsible. . . a correctly run snare line is lethal. Setting one properly is an art, and it is a very efficient means of targeting predators. If used correctly and fitted with stops, they shouldn't do any damage to non-target species. I would argue that in many cases the rifle is a far lazier option, and in many cases it would be irresponsible to use one.

Besides, lamping in mountains, forests etc. . . . isn't easy. And most folk who shoot foxes, hate having to get out of the 4x4.
 

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