Residents in a Horsham neighbourhood say they have been plagued for months by foxes chewing through their vehicles’ brake cables and electrical wires.
People living in Spencer’s Road have been most badly affected and are having to ‘fox-proof’ their cars by covering them with tarpaulins overnight.
They say that thousands of pounds worth of damage has been caused to a number of vehicles, and that surrounding areas have been left covered in fox faeces and vomit.
A spokesperson for Horsham District Council said: “It is extremely regrettable that such levels of damage have been caused by foxes in this particular area recently.
“There have been similar episodes of foxes damaging cars across the UK in recent years.
“Foxes are not classed as vermin and as a wild animal are protected by various Acts of Parliament to ensure they are not subject to cruelty.
“Environmental enforcement powers are therefore very limited.
“Part of the solution is for residents to stop feeding foxes which encourages them to inhabit a specific area, and the council’s neighbourhood wardens have been advising this for a number of months in and around this neighbourhood.
Wonder just how common this problem of foxes damaging cars is? And how long it'll be until someone there has had enough and calls in a pest controller. The comments on FB were full of pest controllers saying how easy their job is with people feeding foxes. And of course the usual fox 'lovers' who don't care and insist they'll keep feeding them anyway.
There appears to be an "anti fox" theme to the news this week.
As foxes and humans are forced to live in ever closer proximity, we are going to need to learn how to manage wildlife conflict a lot better than we currently do.
Adding as just seen this on Fox Guardians on Facebook;
"Another [interesting] fox story/myth. Allegedly foxes have chewed through car wires causing "thousands of pounds" worth of damage.at one street in Horsham. Hats off to Horsham Council for stating correctly "Foxes are wildlife not vermin" rather than harming the foxes.
There are multiple theories why foxes in rare cases may chew car wires: One is that car manufacturers coat cables in animal fat which makes the cable smell like food and just like with leather shoes, this may tempt a hungry fox. Also: currently cubs are becoming independent from their parents and are dispersing, looking for food and a territory of their own. As part of this they hone their hunting and butchery skills by chewing anything they can get their teeth into.
The solution is simple: wrap your car from underneath with extra strength tarpaulin to break the fox's habit. This is advised by many wildlife reserves in be US where other mammals are known to chew wires. It will deter the foxes, save repair bills and keep the peace. Chances are that if the damage is caused by cubs, they will move on soon anyway and also abandon the faux hunting for hunting rats, mice, earthworms etc instead. I find it interesting and worrying how people tend to exaggerate when it comes to foxes...10 grant worth of damage for some chewed cables?? A "frenzied attack" (of an inanimate object)? 36 (!) foxes in one garden when in reality scientific studies have shown that there are in reality only around 8-10 foxes living in a one mile radius in an urban area.
Also people [vilify] the foxes as if they were out to damage prized human possessions out of "spite" when fixes just follow their natural instinct! The fox does mot know [that] this YOUR prized car. It smells lime food, so if they are hungry, they may try to eat it. Simple as. And coveting your car to protect it is not a big deal. Or closing your door from a fox wandering in. I close my windows to stop me hearing my neighbour singing along in awful falsetto to crap songs. I can't stop him from doing that but can stop him from annoying me by that [simple] act that allows us to peacefully coexist."
https://www.facebook.com/foxguardiansuk/posts/859738104738097
I agree, and if such a novel idea can prevent thousands of pounds of damage to members of the public, despite the minor inconvenience, great. But if there are local fox feeders, they should also take this opportunity to assess and remind each other how important it is to understand how much their behaviour is impacting the situation, and potentially the bad rap the foxes get for it, and to address any potential over feeding or habituation, accordingly.
Lets hope people understand that this request is for the welfare and benefit of the foxes. The link below is worth a read for anyone interested in understanding why the feeding of foxes is not always in their best interests.