Foxes "Terrorising" N.F.

[smerchly]

In the Standard today ....foxes terrorising a neighbourhood . People want them removed and the Humane Society hasn't the permit to relocate them & the mayor says live with them .   The goverment is determined to keep increasing the population in Niagara , etc., building more housing in the countryside . It's all about money as usual . Many people are leaving big cities like T.O. & will gladly pay cash for a million dollar home "in the country" . Animals have no where to go when they cut down the trees and the government does not do " environment preservation" The animals will disappear as we keep encroaching on their previous territory . I would rather see them build hundreds of high rise apartments , replacing the old decrepit buildings in cities ....at a reasonable affordable price . Beware of skunks , many have rabies now.

 

https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2022/06/21/foxes-terrorizing-niagara-falls-neighbourhood-resident-says.html?rf

[Captain Hooksets]

My neighbourhood has had foxes in it for years and I live in the city (Stoney Creek). I’ve witnessed multiple litters now. They have made homes under porches, sheds etc. I don’t have a problem with them but others do….people with dogs/cats etc. Last summer I peeled someone’s cat out of the mouth of a fox 😳.  I see a fox pretty much daily here and up until about 2020 I had never saw one around. Here’s one from this March staring at my daughter waving to it through the winter.  

[fishingking]

6 minutes ago, Captain Hooksets said:

My neighbourhood has had foxes in it for years and I live in the city (Stoney Creek). I’ve witnessed multiple litters now. They have made homes under porches, sheds etc. I don’t have a problem with them but others do….people with dogs/cats etc. Last summer I peeled someone’s cat out of the mouth of a fox 😳.  I see a fox pretty much daily here and up until about 2020 I had never saw one around. Here’s one from this March staring at my daughter waving to it through the winter.  

I live in allanburg and weve had the same male and female around for a few years now ...well at least i believe theyre the same...only ever see them together at night and separated in daylight hours

[Captain Hooksets]

5 minutes ago, fishingking said:

I live in allanburg and weve had the same male and female around for a few years now ...well at least i believe theyre the same...only ever see them together at night and separated in daylight hours

Could be the same onesFK. Foxes however do have a short lifespan 4ish years I believe. I want to say the ones I always see are the ones from previous years as well. 

[Tyler0420]

Ship some to brantford to clean up the stray cats. 

[genec]

We have a young fox in our neighbourhood.  Saw it trotting down sidewalk twice in a week during the day.

i like seeing them around because I know there won’t be any mice around with the fox present.

People need to learn that cats are INDOOR pets, and should NOT BE LET OUTSIDE because they kill for fun, and kill far more small birds and animals than a fox!

[fishingking]

2 hours ago, genec said:

We have a young fox in our neighbourhood.  Saw it trotting down sidewalk twice in a week during the day.

i like seeing them around because I know there won’t be any mice around with the fox present.

People need to learn that cats are INDOOR pets, and should NOT BE LET OUTSIDE because they kill for fun, and kill far more small birds and animals than a fox!

Not a cat fan myself ...my rear Neighbour has 5 kittens in her shed now and keep comin in my yard and making my dogs go crazy in the house...and the two she already has are strictly outdoor cats so now theres 7 over there🙄

[smerchly]

Just now, fishingking said:

Not a cat fan myself ...my rear Neighbour has 5 kittens in her shed now and keep comin in my yard and making my dogs go crazy in the house...and the two she already has are strictly outdoor cats so now theres 7 over there🙄

We have & had some large dogs in the hood and they killed a few cats , including my beautiful rotti who killed one in a few seconds & left it in my veggie garden . We licence our dogs , walk them on a leash while cats roam free to kill the birds & get into garbage .  Maybe a big firecracker might persuade the cats to stay home .....

[Markster]

I would love to have foxes in our neighborhood as they prey on mice and rats pretty heavily.

Where you have coyotes you have no fox, and vis versa.

Much better to have a fox around than a yote.

 

[Martin64]

I live in the “terrorized” neighbour hood in NF and it is not a concern at all. I have two small dogs 10 lbs each and just keep an eye on them when they are out in the backyard. I see foxes in our front yard daily. The number of rabbits in the area seems to have dropped but I have also seen them trotting down the street with rats and mice so bring them on. They are easy to live with. 

[smerchly]

3 hours ago, Martin64 said:

I live in the “terrorized” neighbour hood in NF and it is not a concern at all. I have two small dogs 10 lbs each and just keep an eye on them when they are out in the backyard. I see foxes in our front yard daily. The number of rabbits in the area seems to have dropped but I have also seen them trotting down the street with rats and mice so bring them on. They are easy to live with. 

Ya , it's the yotes that can grab a small dog in seconds and run off with it . I just 'released'  another skunk 10 min. ago . Pepi got my dog 'once' ,and that was enough , ha ! 

I have lived here since 1981  when my back yard butted up to a 10 acre field  and the front  was many acres of grapes , and I have never seen a yote . There's a hydro line about 1/2 km.that has lots of thick wild growth on the sides , but I've only seen rabbits , pheasants and the odd deer there.  And we have plenty of bunnies raiding my beans , but that's ok.  ....the price of meat these days .......     

 

[Chrisb]

Send some of them to me to get my squirrels.

[Snags]

This is no different than about 20 years ago when North St Catharines had a coyote problem and the residents were all up in arms and concerned because they are being stalked and the coyotes were gonna eat their children.

 

If you are smart about things and you take the time to educate your family, the hazards are minimal.  Unfortunately that relies on people being smart, and the Niagara masses are relatively stupid.

[smerchly]

I'll be leaving in a few minutes to give 2 skunks a brand new home ....  at least the foxes/yotes don't have bad body odour .

[Markster]

Smerch, with the number of skunks you’re having to relocate you are either in prime territory with lots of raised sheds or those buggers are hitchhiking back to your place!

[smerchly]

One of the neighbours hasn't cut their 50 x100'  backyard grass ALL summer ....weeds were 5ft.high with shrubs climbing over the wood fences of 3 other properties . I sent a complaint in 10 days ago & a landscaping co. cleared the jungle yesterday , four guys & a tractor to cut the tall weeds , think I saw a few deer and a moose run out of there !

Those skunks would need to navigate through a lot of housing to come back here  Both traps are empty this morning , a good sign .

[Markster]

Good news. Be careful man, rabies cases in skunks in niagara are on the rise this year.

 

[Markster]

https://www.oahn.ca/news/ontario-rabies-update-august-17-2022-2-new-cases/

[smerchly]

Looks like Niagara has the most cases of coon/skunk cases of rabies . We have trapped 12 skunks this summer , one coon and killed a few rats with the old spring traps . We also have a couple of cats roaming the hood & they could end up with rabies if they encounter a rabid coon .,,,,not sure if the urine/feces from them can infect other animals . I believe some of the choppers we have seen lately have been dropping anti rabies meds in the area . Skunks and coons have many places to live in neighbourhoods as people have decks , sheds , etc .where they can hide ....like under my front steps this spring which will be fixed this fall ! 

[Chrisb]

The ministry was dropping vaccine a couple of weeks ago from a plane. I believe it was twin otter. It was flying north south Erie to Ontario.

[smerchly]

1 hour ago, Chrisb said:

The ministry was dropping vaccine a couple of weeks ago from a plane. I believe it was twin otter. It was flying north south Erie to Ontario.

I think those choppers I saw were not involved with the vaccine as my wife said she saw a yellow plane a couple times and other were asking what these planes were doing . The skunks seem to be in the hoods where they don't get the vax.  I always check the yard before letting our little dog out to play and leashed after dark .