Foxes and the Law

Foxes are not protected by law for conservation purposes and a landowner (or an occupier with the landowner’s permission) may ‘humanely’ kill a fox at any time. [‘Humanely’ is sometimes defined as ‘either killed instantly or rendered insensible until death ensues, without pain, suffering or distress’ – we have strong doubts that landowners or so-called ‘pest controllers’ ever ‘humanely’ kill foxes and use the term as part of quoting legal text only.]

However foxes are not legally classed as ‘pests’ (in the UK the only mammals legally classed as pests are rabbits, mice, rats, and Grey Squirrels) or ‘vermin’ and therefore have limited legal protection.

• The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 is the primary legislation which protects animals, plants and habitats in the UK. While not focussing on foxes specifically it did legislate which traps and snares may be used to trap and kill them (banning self-locking snares). It also made failure to monitor these devices, resulting in increased suffering, a criminal offence, prohibited live baits and decoys, and banned the use of bows and crossbows to kill foxes.
  

• The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, was the first Act designed to protect any and all wild mammals. Section 1 of the Act states that if ‘any person mutilates, kicks, beats, nails or otherwise impales, stabs, burns, stones, crushes, drags or asphyxiates any wild mammal with intent to inflict unnecessary suffering, he shall be guilty of an offence’. The Act also makes it a criminal offence to fill in a live fox earth.

• The Wild Mammals Protection (Scotland) Act (2002) banned hunting wild mammals with dogs for sport in Scotland.
• The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill 2023 replaced the 2002 Act. It was passed in January 2023 and gained Royal Assent a few months later. The new Act bans so-called ‘trail hunting’ and should effectively end hunting with dogs in Scotland.

• > The Hunting Act 2004 made it illegal in England and Wales (subject to various loopholes and exemption) to hunt wild mammals including foxes with dogs (hounds).

• > The Animal Welfare Act 2006 primarily covered domestic animals and required the owners of animals to meet the ‘needs’ of those animals, such as correct feeding, relevant company, a proper environment and protection of the animals from injury and disease. The Act extended these protections to include wild animals and covers situations where for example a trapped fox, is in the control or ‘protection’  of an individual, and must not be subjected to ‘unnecessary suffering’. It also made it illegal to place poison baits to kill foxes.
  
  

No. Vermin is a general term applied to animal and bird species regarded as pests, and especially to those associated with diseases, but foxes have never been classified as vermin by Defra or the government.

The term is typically used by agricultural and shooting lobbyists to justfy their eradication of foxes.

• self-locking snares
• bows and crossbows
• explosives other than legal ammunition for a licensed firearm
• live birds or animals, as bait or live decoys
• gas or poisons

• block or destroy fox earths if they are occupied
• use dogs to hunt foxes

No, it is not legal across the UK except in Northern Ireland where fox hunting with hounds is still legal.

In Scotland the Wild Mammals Protection (Scotland) Act (2002) banned hunting wild mammals with dogs for sport. The Act will be replaced by the much stronger Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill 2023 when that comes into force in the summer or autumn of 2023: the new Act bans so-called ‘trail hunting’ and should effectively end hunting with dogs in Scotland.

In England and Wales the Hunting Act 2004 banned the hunting of mammals with dogs but is riddled with loopholes and exemptions that has allowed fox hunting to continue pretty much as before the ban was passed. Nonetheless the law is clear: “The Act prohibits all hunting of wild mammals with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the conditions of an exemption, and all hare coursing events.”

Protect the Wild is campaigning for a new law which will remove those exemptions and give better protecttion to wild foxes > A Proper Ban on Hunting.

It is legal to snare foxes in England and Northen Ireland. In June 2023 the Welsh Senned voted overwhelmingly to ban snare use (making it the first country in the UK to fully ban snares) and much to the annoyance of the shooting industry in mid-November 2023 Scotland’s Environment Minister confirmed that a FULL BAN on the use of snares would be included in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill.

Sadly, though, the shooting industry in England is still using huge numbers of snares to kill foxes to ‘protect’ the birds it wants to sell to shooters ( > Snares and the shooting industry).

The use of snares is (supposed to be) strictly controlled, and a snare operator by law must:

• only use free-running snares, which relax when the animal is captured,
• check snares at least once a day,
• ‘humanely’ kill any fox they catch while in a trap or snare,
• release all other animals unharmed – except Grey Squirrels and American Mink, which because of The Invasive Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 which bans the release of some non-native species into the wild must be ‘humanely’ killed instead,
• In Scotland snares used for foxes must have an effective safety stop 23cm from the running end.

It is not legal to:

• place traps or snares near a badger sett or where badgers are present
• place snares in urban areas or public spaces

Additionally, the Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (Scotland) 2011 has a number of provisions that affect the use of snares in Scotland:

1. Since 1 April 2013, anyone who sets a snare in position must have an identification number
2. Anyone who sets in position or otherwise uses a snare must ensure:
   a) that a tag is fitted on the snare that can’t be easily removed
   b) that there is displayed on the tag (which will remain readable) the identification number of the person who set the snare
   c) where the snare is intended to catch the following types of animal-
   i) brown hares or rabbits or
   ii) foxes.

For more information > Snares and the Law

No. It is illegal to use any poisons of any sort (including gassing compounds) on foxes. That means a crime is being committed if someone uses poisons to kill or try to kill foxes.

Much as we would like to see it illegal to ever dig a fox out of an earth or den, there are exceptions in law (which as so often largely favour the shooting industry). It is legal to dig out a fox:

• If it’s in relation to ‘game’ keeping i.e. to ‘protect’ birds long enough so that they can later be killed by shooters.
• If no more than one dog is used to ‘flush out’ the fox.
• If the fox is shot dead immediately on emergence.
• If the fox digger has written permission proving the land is privately owned by him/her, or has permission from the landowner to be there.
• If the fox digger isn’t interfering with an active badger sett a fox has gone to ground in. Active badger setts are protected by the ‘Protection of Badgers Act 1992’.

As landowners Councils may kill foxes on their land (using legal methods and ensuring no unnecessary suffering is caused) but as foxes are classed as wild animals, not pests, they have no legal responsibility, statutory powers or legal rights to kill foxes on their own land or on anyone else’s.

Most Councils also recognise that killing foxes is ineffective in reducing fox populations. This advice from Bristol Council (a city with a large population of urban foxes) is typical:

“There is no fox control in Bristol because controlling urban foxes is difficult, expensive and never successful. Urban foxes are difficult to control because shooting and snaring is not acceptable in urban areas and live trapping is very ineffective. Also when urban foxes are killed or removed then urban foxes just increase their breeding numbers.”

Many people enjoy seeing a wild animal like a fox in their garden but it is legal to deter foxes from a garden. If foxes are in a garden, though, it will be because they feel safe, there is plenty of cover to hide in, and there will probably be a food source (in the garden or next door). The first step should always be to try and work out why the foxes have chosen the garden and what is attracting them, and go from there.

NOTE that it is legal to use deterrents to keep foxes away, but only repellents and deterrents that have been approved for use against foxes.

It is also possible to deter and repel foxes using natural and/or physical methods. Natural repellents (often based on a mixture of chili powder and garlic), motion sensor devices (which can trigger bright lights or water spraying),  and physical barriers such as fences and netting, can make a garden less attractive to foxes. 

Non-lethal deterrents will of course disturb the foxes (if they didn’t they wouldn’t work) but they will move elsewhere, which is better than killing a healthy animal. Numerous repellents are listed online. Some work better than others but all are dependent on the particular circumstances of the garden. Some organisations will come and trap and take away foxes (the RSPCA does NOT remove healthy animals though) but a quick search online should turn up one nearby.

Some companies that offer ‘deterrents’ will routinely recommend killing the foxes instead. Note that it is legal to trap or shoot foxes in a garden, but illegal to use gases or poisons of any sort.

Foxes are not properly protected by law, so the owner or occupier of a property can kill a fox at any time. Anyone using a firearm must have the landowner’s permission and the relevant firearms licence ( > Firearms and the Law). The government discourages the use of firearms in urban areas where people live for obvious reasons.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, though, an individual causing unnecessary suffering to the fox could be jailed and get an unlimited fine.

If a landowner decides to employ someone to shoot a fox on their property they will be responsible for the costs of killing and disposing of the body (which can be considerable).

It is ILLEGAL to:

• use gases or poisons;
• block or destroy fox earths if they are occupied.

No. In many cases foxes go unnoticed or are welcome wildlife in gardens and they cause no damage. They avoid household cats and dogs as they don’t consider them prey and most mammals will avoid getting into fights anyway because of the risk of injury.

In some gardens foxes – just like companion dogs or cats – might trample plants, eat ripening fruits, dig holes or leave droppings and food debris, and a fox may dig up borders or rockeries where bonemeal, dried blood or chicken pellet manure has been used as fertiliser.

All animals will try to defend themselves if they are cornered or are being attacked, but even with the rapid rise in the number of urban foxes there have been very, very few recorded attacks on people. If a fox does get into a house by accident, they will look for an exit as soon as they realize that there are people inside.

Even in cases where a human may be close to its den, a fox will try to guide the person away by running off rather than attacking.

To put things into perspective, as of March 2023 across England and Wales there have been eighteen deadly dog attacks since January 2020 and NHS figures released last year revealed the number of dog-bite victims having surgery hit a 15-year high. An expert points to owners – not the animal – being to blame, saying “We had the wrong dogs, being bred by the wrong people, going to the wrong homes.”

In a word, anything! Foxes are omnivores and are incredibly versatile and adaptable. Depending on availability and the time of year foxes will eat a wide range of foods, including animals and plant matter.

As town dwellers will know, foxes will often adapt to feed on whatever they can find in the area they’re in, including raiding rubbish bags or coming into gardens to eat cat or dog food. In more rural settings as well as taking rats and rabbits, foxes will eat seasonal berries, fruits, seeds, nuts, acorns, and tubers. If they find themselves close to water,  foxes will eat frogs and small fish, and have been recorded eating crabs and dead fish along shorelines.

Of course foxes will also readily take roadkill – including scavenging on the bodies of the many non-native pheasants released by the shooting industry and killed on our roads every year.

Wildlife crime is defined as any action which contravenes current legislation governing the protection of the UK’s wild flora and fauna, including species traded in the UK.

Note that wildlife crime does NOT include:

• Incidents involving domestic or companion animals such as dogs (other than dogs being used to hunt mammals), cats, rabbits, domesticated birds, etc.

• Wild animals that have been involved (killed or injured etc) in road traffic accidents.

Road accidents with wild animals do not need to be reported to the police, but note that domestic animals (as well as goats, horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep and pigs) come within the remit of the Road Traffic Act.
If you have a road accident involving these animals you are required by law to report it to the police. If the wild animal is so badly injured in a road accident that there is no chance of recovery or the animal can not be returned to the wild then he or she may be euthanised, providing there is no appropriate long-term captive or semi-captive accommodation or when treatment would involve undue suffering or distress.

If we come across a wildlife crime scene or a dead bird/object that may be related to a wildlife crime every piece of information is – or might be – important, but it needs to be recorded properly and accurately for the authorities to have a chance of prosecuting an offender.

• Before we do anything else it is very important that we do NOT approach anyone we suspect of committing a crime – they may be violent and/or aggressive. This is especially true of badger baiters and hare coursers who are typically extremely violent. This must be a first priority!

 If we see a wildlife crime taking place (or someone is at risk of getting injured or is being threatened) call 999 immediately.

They will want to know what we can see happening:

• What sort of crime is being committed
• Are any firearms involved
• Could we or the public be in danger

To report a historic crime – that is, a crime that is no longer taking place – use 101 or a local organisation instead.

• If calling the police ask to speak to a Wildlife Crime Officer and make sure to get an Incident Report number.
• Please always follow any advice given and – if they are not available – insist that a Wildlife Crime Officer is made aware of your report.
•  Our options are wider if the event is over, and it may be preferable to talk first to a charity or NGO to get advice. Crimestoppers (an independent charity) can be contacted in complete confidence on 0800 555 111
• When thinking about reporting a crime it’s worth noting that only the police have statutory powers to make an arrest. RSPCA and RSPB investigation officers work with the police for successful prosecutions.

Reporting a wildlife crime (or even a suspected wildlife crime) is important for two reasons.

• If the event is still happening it may enable the authorities to catch the criminals ‘in the act’ (which means a higher chance of prosecution),
• and if the event is over a report can still help to build up a more accurate picture of what might be happening in a specific location or across the country as a whole.

Our help is always welcomed

• Whoever we decide to contact we have been assured that our help is welcomed and that if we’re in any doubt that what we’re seeing is a crime we should report it anyway. Remember, if what we see ‘feels’ wrong, it probably is!

• Even if we’re not sure about what we’re seeing, we can take a photograph and email it to the police or an investigations officer – they are trained to quickly recognise for example when a snare is illegally placed, whether a trap is being used illegally, or whether a crime is being committed or not.
• We may help stop or solve future crimes by helping build up a pattern of behaviour in an area.