Why are foxes important?

Foxes play a vital role in the ecosystem. They are a key predator and help control populations of their prey species, such as rodents and rabbits.

Foxes eat most things, including fruit and berries(and by doing so help to disperse seeds, which supports the growth of plant species) but city foxes have an additional and important role: they are natural pest controllers, preying off urban rodents. They also act as ‘street cleaners’ eating pretty much anything that is discarded by humans.  Without foxes eating discarded food, it would attract even more rats and other rodents – good news for foxes perhaps but not always welcome news for the city’s human residents!