World Image Magazine Issue 31 April 2016 | Page 20

One of the most endearing and yet misunderstood animals that roams the towns and countryside of Britain is the Red Fox. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and the most abundant wild member of the Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia. In Britain it is hunted and killed for no good reason except that the ‘upper’ classes and the hangers on like to ride with the hounds. Farmers complain that they attack and kill their chickens, and they do, but the farmers fail to understand that they are occupying a place where wildlife was present long before their farms. They build chicken houses from poor materials that provide no defence against intrusion. This is like building the fox a local supermarket then leaving the door open.. A panicking fox will try and silence those making the noise so the chickens are killed. Website = www.worldimagemag.com Page 20 email = [email protected]