Are foxes good or bad?
Having a fox in your yard isn’t always bad—they help control rodents and pests—but it can quickly become a problem if they threaten pets or settle too close to your home. Despite being legal, keeping wild foxes — those bred and sold by the pet trade are a different case — as pets should be strongly discouraged. Raising a rescued wild fox is not the same as caring for a domestic dog. Foxes can be very boisterous and destructive as they grow.
What is the problem with foxes?
Foxes can cause problems because they: mark their territory with unpleasant scent and droppings. Even to the exclusion of the joy many people get from interacting with them, foxes provide vermin control (preying on mice, rats and pigeons) and run a litter clean-up service in urban areas by eating discarded food. In rural areas, foxes feed heavily on rodents and rabbits that can be considerable pests to farmers.
Why are foxes a problem?
They are highly efficient hunters and resourceful scavengers and may kill more prey than they can consume. This is known as surplus killing behaviour. Foxes are a pest animal because they: threaten biodiversity by hunting and killing native wildlife. Foxes are often seen as symbols of loyalty, and their relationships can be complex. When a female fox dies, her male partner may remain alone for a long time, guarding his territory and avoiding new bonds. Some male foxes never take another mate, especially if they were strongly bonded.