Wild foxes

I thought someone told me that they called the DNR. There was a family of foxes living under a mini barn in the town of Brownsburg. The foxes were taken to a better place to live...out of town.

I'd be really torn. I LOVE foxes. If you had a dog, your dog would be far more dangerous to the fox than vice versa. However, a hungry fox would very happily eat a cat. I really don't think they'd bother human children. Animal control is not really good about relocating wild animals. Foxes are primarily (not entirely) nocturnal. As long as the animals/kids are inside at night, you may be able to co-exist pretty easily. Otherwise, if you just spend a lot of time near where they are living, she will probably move rather than tolerate the harassment.

Here is the blurb from IN DNR. Not very helpful. BTW, "taking" in the information below means killing.

"The first steps in eliminating nuisance animals from your property is to try to exclude them from the area they are intruding. If exclusion isn't an option, you could try chemical repellents or habitat modification. There are also animal removal companies available that will trap and relocate nuisance animals. If you are interested in these companies, look in the yellow pages under animal removal services or call the local sheriff's department for information on nuisance wildlife control organizations near you.

In some instances certain animals do not respond to the non-lethal means of control. In these circumstances, there are ways you can use lethal means to remove a nuisance animal from your property. There are certain procedures to follow but if the correct steps are followed, the animal can be removed without a permit.

A resident landowner or tenant may take, without a permit, a coyote, beaver, mink, muskrat, long-tailed weasel, red fox, gray fox, opossum, skunk, or raccoon that is discovered damaging property; you must report the taking of the animal to a conservation officer within 72 hours. The conservation officer will direct how to dispose of the animal. Landowners may take coyotes at any time on the land they own or provide written permission for others to take coyotes on their land at any time. Ground hogs (woodchucks) may be taken at any time using any equipment. Please check local ordinances to assure you are not breaking local laws."

I think I'd have to have them removed. Only because if one should be carrying any disease, I wouldn't want that in my yard with family around. We have had foxes in our neighborhood and they are SO CUTE!! They were living in the wooded areas, not in anyone's yard. I'd make sure that whoever you call doesn't kill them. I remember seeing one chasing and eating lightening bugs. I wish I had a camera.

You should call DNR 1-800-457-8283 they will move them to a safe place, and not harm them.

Keep your cat inside and you should be fine, though adult cats are a bit larger than typical fox prey. Foxes are good vermin killers (mice, rats, moles) so they could actually prove themselves handy in that regard. From Wikipedia: "The majority of their diet consists of invertebrates, such as insects, mollusks, earthworms and crayfish. They do also eat some plant material, especially blackberries, apples, plums and other fruit. Common vertebrate prey includes rodents (such as mice and voles), rabbits, birds, eggs, amphibians, small reptiles and fish."

Foxes would prefer not to kill cats, and do not kill them for food. They kill them because they are competing for the same food sources. A mother fox would defend her kits against anything, including cats. Do not approach them. Foxes are becoming way too acclimated to humans since we are stealing all their natural habitat, and they should continue to view us as their enemies, since many people would just as soon kill a fox as look at it. Yes, they are adorable. Admire them from afar. If they are not removed, they will move on as soon as the babies get a little older. In the wild, however, only about 50% of fox kits make it to their first birthday, a similar rate as wolves and coyotes. Please keep your cats inside, for lots more reasons than worry about foxes.

F-f-f-foxes? Uh, we can help them. *twitch* *twitch* Really. *shiver in anticipation*