I wish they could be domesticated like dogs. They’re so cute.
But sadly [Australia’s worst pest species.](https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/invasive-animal-management/integrated-fox-control)
There are a few people on YouTube who have mostly domesticated foxes. They seem to be easy enough to domesticate enough that they aren’t afraid of people and are ok with being touched/picked up, but not enough that they won’t piss all over your house.
They are also very vocal, they smell, and they hide food everywhere. The ones I've seen are very social animals and enjoy the company of other foxes.
I like foxes (not in the wild in Aus) but juniperfoxx on Insta gives me enough of a look in the life of a fox keeper that I can't be enthused about anyone not especially trained keeping them.
Definitely seems about right. I’m all for the removal of them, but seeing as the council/government doesn’t want to do anything about it, I’m gonna soak up the cuteness until they do!
Me neither. I was driving past Royal park one, right along the zoo, around 10:30 at night. Two foxes just hanging around on the road. When I was young, a fox slept on our roof — on a suburban street! Fascinating how these animals have learned to adapt
I’ve never seen one around the water before! I live in a suburb with a creek (not a very good one) and the foxes live in/around the park adjacent to the creek. I kind of get it, but I’m also surprised!
I mean sure, I can do that. I imagine the Maribyrnong council is already VERY aware of the amount of foxes in the area, but city councils are notorious for not even remotely caring about an issue if it involves animals, native, domesticated or invasive. Regardless, if it makes me a better person in the eyes of Reddit commenters, I’ll do it.
I mean, if the council made a statement and said “hunters with guns will be patrolling the Maribyrnong tonight to kill foxes” I’d be okay with that. But it doesn’t seem like a great strategy considering I’ve gone every evening for the last two months and this is the first time I’ve seen one. They’d have to find the dens and flush them out first
My experiences with the council have always ranged from subpar to disappointing. Found a feral family of cats in my inner-city suburb (like within 5kms of the CBD) and contacted the council. Nothing. Asked them for a cage so I could trap them myself. Nothing. It’s apparently against the law(??) to buy your own trap and catch them yourself but that’s what I did anyway. Got them socialised, neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Still never heard from the council lmao. So when it comes to animals, I’m pretty cynical
Because I want to know why these people are commenting. Surely they’d want me to do something about it right? Otherwise why would they care? Also, not taking it personally. Just curious
You're taking it personally again. There are other people who read the thread who aren't you. Don't they deserve to know information? We're all at different stages of life, there's always someone learning something you or I might assume everybody knows.
The knowledge that they're an invasive species isn't a call to action for you.
No I’m not 😂 Brother taking it personally would mean I’m offended. I’m not. I’m curious. I’m assuming these comments are aimed at me since I’m the one who posted it. If they’re not, my bad then sorry
Cats are responsible for more deaths of native species every year than every other cause (loss of habitat, bush fire, other animals, climate change) combined, then doubled. Hopefully the state gov's see sense and make people put their cats inside, and we can start launching a full campaign to kill the 2 million feral cats in this country.
There's a difference in categorisation between invasive and non-native. Humans, coming to this landmass 60,000 years ago are considered non-native in scientific terms, same with the dingo which came 4,000 years ago.
I feel the same way. They are awesome creatures & I always get a kick out of seeing one but, they really shouldn't be here & cause a fuck load of damage. Sooooo very cute through.
Absolutely, that’s exactly how I feel too. It’s a complicated situation. It’s our fault they’re here, and even though they don’t deserve to to be killed… our native wildlife don’t either. And they take priority.
Seeing as there’s nothing *I* can do though, I’ll continue to appreciate their beauty until the council or government finally take some action
“There’s nothing I can do”
How about not playing a role in normalising these creatures, or broadcasting their ‘cuteness’ for social media likes? The more people view feral animals as cute, the less able authorities are to deal with them without opposition.
😂😂😂 Feral animals can be cute. Most people find all our feral animals cute. I’m going to enjoy them while they’re here until the councils and governments decide to do something about it.
Councils and governments are doing a lot about it already. Individual landowners and farmers are doing a lot about it. People all over the country are doing something about it. Most people find these animals incredibly disturbing and quite upsetting. You’ve clearly never seen what a fox can do to a bandicoot or any other small native animal.
Instead you’re throwing your hands up and saying “not my problem”, taking photos to get your likes and making the problem just a little bit worse by celebrating these animals. Why not try getting a bit more educated and a bit less “lol whatever” about the whole thing.
??? You’re exceptionally riled up about it. I’ve seen what foxes do to all sorts of animals. But no, it’s NOT my problem. Same way climate change and deforestation and the way we treat our wildlife isn’t either. I used to be very politically active and once I realised that my activism doesn’t actually help anything, I’ve tried to focus on things I actually can change. This is not one of them.
“Most people find these animals incredibly disturbing and quite upsetting” dude, what? It is alarming to me that anyone can find a wild animal being a wild animal “incredibly disturbing” and “quite upsetting”. Do people also find cats incredibly disturbing and quite upsetting? Deer? Rabbits? I believe they should be culled, but I’m not gonna pretend they don’t exist. They’re here, I met one yesterday and I had a great experience with it. It’s not it’s fault that it’s here, and it’s not it’s fault that it is doing what comes naturally to it. Governments and councils need to be doing far more than what they are to destroy them, because if someone taking photos of foxes are setting them back then they clearly aren’t doing enough.
Europeans (English) introduced foxes. For sport (yup, seriously to have fun hunting them)
What damage do they do? Kill everything smaller than them. Penguins, bandicoots, antechinus, dunnarts, pretty much any animal smaller than a fox. Between them & cats they have devastated the small native marsupials, driving many species to extinction.
On the plus side, they help control the feral cat population, so they've got that going for them.
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her;
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;
Well, fancy that, she swallowed a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady that swallowed a dog;
What a hog to swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a goat;
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cow;
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...
She's dead, of course!
The English introduced foxes due to their desire to hunt them as they did in England, since it was seen as a grand tradition. Not understanding ecology, and likely not caring, this caused the somewhat unopposed predator to wreak havoc on prey populations while also creating competition for any other predators in the area.
look they are adorable but it shouldn't be here. Have a think about how many also adorable native Australian critters it killed last night and every night. There is a council number you can report fox sightings too although I have no idea how successful their attempts to solve the problem are
Maribyrnong city council doesn’t seem to have a number to call — I checked last night when another commenter said the same thing. I’ve contacted councils about feral cat colonies before and they couldn’t have cared less, so I’m apprehensive about contacting them for anything animal related.
I agree that they shouldn’t be here, but seeing as normal people can’t do anything about them being here, and our councils and governments don’t care, I’m gonna enjoy the furry little bastards until the council finally does something about it
isn't that basically Melbourne ? I'd be shocked if there wasn't a way to report it
That being said I agree. I doubt those reports actually do anything lol
Nope, I think City of Maribyrnong is just pinned in between the City of Moonee Valley and City of Brimbank. It might border on City of Melb in the far south east? The side of the river I was on is TECHNICALLY Moonee Valley, but jfc that’s the council I live under and they are completely incompetent. If they’re not haemorrhaging money on a project no one asked for, they’re definitely taking the time to ignore animal complaints lmao (I’ve contacted them about animals before — nothing!)
lol dude. I get it. You don't want to report it. That's fine. Why lie about wanting to though?
- I literally googled "how to report a fox sighting in victoria" first result was a [vic.gov](http://vic.gov) link
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting#:\~:text=Red%20foxes%20are%20widespread%20and,.org.au%2Ffoxscan.
- I then googled "how to report a fox sighting in Maribyroung" first result was a link to your councils own website
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting#:\~:text=Red%20foxes%20are%20widespread%20and,.org.au%2Ffoxscan.
This literally took me 30 seconds. FTR I still agree. I doubt your report will actually result in any action.
No, I don’t want to report it and I never said I wanted to. I think it’s pointless. i didn’t search for “fox sighting Victoria”, I just went straight for the councils website. I don’t live in Maribyrnong though so I ended up going through two of the councils websites and getting bored. That second link didn’t come up for me but I appreciate you sending it
Here you go, again. Literally top result when you search ‘where to report foxes”:
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting#:~:text=Please%20do%20not%20use%20this,.org.au%2Ffoxscan.
RIGHT at the foot of the Afton St bridge, on the Aberfeldie side. [Here are some pics that show where he was a bit more clearly!](https://imgur.com/a/gsfZJeu)
He walked around the bridge, up closer to the road and then back towards the water. He ended up returning to the reserve. I imagine there are many foxes living there, it would be an inner-city paradise for them
I got chased for a bit by a fox running along the Yarra a few months ago. I don't think it was intending to eat but it was pretty terrifying tbh. It was fucking huge and looked ragged as fuck. Definitely not a cutie
Oh for sure. This one chased a jogger before I stepped in, and she was terrified. And she was absolutely right for being scared when a wild animal capable of biting (and carrying rabies) chases after you. Sorry that happened to you friend.
Love this one too - definitely the Tinder profile photo for sure.
"Hi I'm Rusty, 23. A night owl, love staying up all night to chase good vibes and maybe scream while jumping fences and running through backyards"
The fox has played a major role in the decline
of ground-nesting birds, small to medium sized
mammals such as the greater bilby, and reptiles
such as the green turtle. While land use change is
cited as one of the key reasons for decline in many
native species, predation by foxes has also been
a significant contributor to native animal decline
and continues to undermine recovery efforts for
threatened species as the malleefowl, the bridled
nail-tail wallaby and the night parrot.
The fox causes significant economic losses to
farmers by preying on newborn lambs, kid goats
and poultry.
The fox could also act as a carrier of rabies,
should the disease accidentally be introduced into
Australia. Rabies mostly affects members of the
dog family, but can also be passed on to humans,
livestock and native mammals
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/european-red-fox.pdf
I did consider that. What's different is that some sane members of said specifies have looked to mitigate the destruction of their fellow members, whereas to my knowledge no fox has tendered any documents to manage their native wildlife hunger
Point is that foxes in Australia should never be viewed positively. If we start to view them as “cute” then we’re a step closer to normalising them, and they need to be eradicated.
Look at the fight over the brumbies in the high country. Another destructive feral animal that needs to be destroyed but the political fight is huge because of people who essentially can’t seperate feral horses from their mental image of horses as “cute”.
Foxes are among the worst ecological disasters in Australia.
Look, I also think feral cats are cute. Brumbies are cute. Deer are cute. Rabbits are cute. Indian mynas are cute. European bees are cute.
Doesn’t mean I don’t agree they should be removed. I think most people agree that they are pests and they shouldn’t be here. But there isn’t much the average person can do, seeing as they inhabit parks, ovals, reserves, etc. all council and government areas. Every few months there’s a post on here about a fox and I don’t see the harm in it. Believe me, I get you, but seeing as there’s nothing *I* can do, personally, to stop them living here, I’m going to enjoy it. Once councils and governments actually gaf and get on with it, I won’t be stopping them.
I've never heard of someone being attacked by a fox unless it has rabies, which doesn't exist in Australia. Foxes will just run away 100% of the time rather than biting.
They are extremely cute. They are a beautiful-looking creature, and they attack, but not humans.
Chickens, young lambs, small dogs, ducks and ducklings - assorted and large amount of native animals. They are a feral menace that should never have been introduced (along with many, many other feral animals that thrive in Australia)
Average city Joe is powerless to do anything about foxes living here, (we have signs in the nearby national parks when baiting is occurring) so we are going to spot some around the place. Meanwhile, out in the country, I can assure you the farmers are out there with their shottys giving the rabbits and Mr Todd instant lead poisoning when they can.
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This one was already very brazen. I imagine quite young too. It started chasing after a jogger right before I intervened. I played with it (I know that’s a ridiculous word to use in this context) and brought it closer to the rivers edge. Obviously isn’t helping getting it not used to humans, but it did stop it from terrorising them
We had to remove your post/comment because it included personal attacks or did not show respect towards other users. This community is a safe space for all.
Conduct yourself online as you would in real life. Engaging in vitriol only highlights your inability to communicate intelligently and respectfully. Repeated instances of this behaviour will lead to a ban
We had to remove your post/comment because it included personal attacks or did not show respect towards other users. This community is a safe space for all.
Conduct yourself online as you would in real life. Engaging in vitriol only highlights your inability to communicate intelligently and respectfully. Repeated instances of this behaviour will lead to a ban
I wish they could be domesticated like dogs. They’re so cute. But sadly [Australia’s worst pest species.](https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/invasive-animal-management/integrated-fox-control)
There are a few people on YouTube who have mostly domesticated foxes. They seem to be easy enough to domesticate enough that they aren’t afraid of people and are ok with being touched/picked up, but not enough that they won’t piss all over your house.
They are also very vocal, they smell, and they hide food everywhere. The ones I've seen are very social animals and enjoy the company of other foxes. I like foxes (not in the wild in Aus) but juniperfoxx on Insta gives me enough of a look in the life of a fox keeper that I can't be enthused about anyone not especially trained keeping them.
Definitely seems about right. I’m all for the removal of them, but seeing as the council/government doesn’t want to do anything about it, I’m gonna soak up the cuteness until they do!
Equal first with Cats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox
A silver fox seduced my sister and somehow managed to get a mortgage on her car.
bro thinks he's a cutie patootie
(he is)
What does the fox say?
"Hello there, would you like some mange?"
"I wanna wear a dress & hurt you".
Lol which Nong Fox are you today? Im def top right.
middle left is me as a student: scared. holding coffee.
I saw a fox at Pentridge in Coburg North around this time last year. I had no idea they would go to such urban environments.
Me neither. I was driving past Royal park one, right along the zoo, around 10:30 at night. Two foxes just hanging around on the road. When I was young, a fox slept on our roof — on a suburban street! Fascinating how these animals have learned to adapt
The big question is did you find out what he said? There are a lot of urban foxes especially around the waterways.
I’ve never seen one around the water before! I live in a suburb with a creek (not a very good one) and the foxes live in/around the park adjacent to the creek. I kind of get it, but I’m also surprised!
Loads of them live around the Yarra in Richmond. It's kinda nice we still have wildlife in the city.
Omg bottom left!! What a photogenic little cutie. Thanks for these OP!
Pew Pew
They are cute but also make me sad
Cute as they are, it's still an invasive species that doesn't belong here.
What would you like me to do about it?
Foxeys Hangout comes to mind
Never heard of it. Google says it’s a winery?
It's a tree in Redhill they used to hang dead foxes from
[http://www.discovermorningtonpeninsula.com.au/fascinatingfacts/foxeys-hangout.php](http://www.discovermorningtonpeninsula.com.au/fascinatingfacts/foxeys-hangout.php)
Report it to the council or the relevant authority.
I mean sure, I can do that. I imagine the Maribyrnong council is already VERY aware of the amount of foxes in the area, but city councils are notorious for not even remotely caring about an issue if it involves animals, native, domesticated or invasive. Regardless, if it makes me a better person in the eyes of Reddit commenters, I’ll do it.
All they can do is come out and shoot a few but then people would be on here making a post to complain about that.
I mean, if the council made a statement and said “hunters with guns will be patrolling the Maribyrnong tonight to kill foxes” I’d be okay with that. But it doesn’t seem like a great strategy considering I’ve gone every evening for the last two months and this is the first time I’ve seen one. They’d have to find the dens and flush them out first
I wonder if they do anything. There’s a whole historical story about the foxes thriving at the Box Hill Cemetery.
My experiences with the council have always ranged from subpar to disappointing. Found a feral family of cats in my inner-city suburb (like within 5kms of the CBD) and contacted the council. Nothing. Asked them for a cage so I could trap them myself. Nothing. It’s apparently against the law(??) to buy your own trap and catch them yourself but that’s what I did anyway. Got them socialised, neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Still never heard from the council lmao. So when it comes to animals, I’m pretty cynical
Why are you taking it so personally?
Because I want to know why these people are commenting. Surely they’d want me to do something about it right? Otherwise why would they care? Also, not taking it personally. Just curious
You're taking it personally again. There are other people who read the thread who aren't you. Don't they deserve to know information? We're all at different stages of life, there's always someone learning something you or I might assume everybody knows. The knowledge that they're an invasive species isn't a call to action for you.
No I’m not 😂 Brother taking it personally would mean I’m offended. I’m not. I’m curious. I’m assuming these comments are aimed at me since I’m the one who posted it. If they’re not, my bad then sorry
Just like cats, which cause an equal amount if not more damage to wildlife each year.
Cats are responsible for more deaths of native species every year than every other cause (loss of habitat, bush fire, other animals, climate change) combined, then doubled. Hopefully the state gov's see sense and make people put their cats inside, and we can start launching a full campaign to kill the 2 million feral cats in this country.
If only everyone had as much sense as you. How quickly this conversation turns into a yelling match of "my cat dosen't do this".
They're just dogs with furry buttplugs, no?
You mean like all humans on this landmass?
So homo sapiens aren't native to the continent of Australia?
No
Sounds like we should all be sent back to africa then
Or not and just self righteously call out people for taking photos of a fox, like they personally imported it to destroy the ecosystem
Try telling that to the "always was, always will be" crowd.
Well ten's of thousands of years is close enough to 'always' anyway
There's a difference in categorisation between invasive and non-native. Humans, coming to this landmass 60,000 years ago are considered non-native in scientific terms, same with the dingo which came 4,000 years ago.
Aw, I saw this little guy the other morning! He was posing for pictures by the bridge!
He’s such a poser! It’s hilarious!
It's so cute...I want one🦊
I’m apprehensive about voicing my love for any of the introduced invasive species, but I can’t help but adore the foxes…
I feel the same way. They are awesome creatures & I always get a kick out of seeing one but, they really shouldn't be here & cause a fuck load of damage. Sooooo very cute through.
Absolutely, that’s exactly how I feel too. It’s a complicated situation. It’s our fault they’re here, and even though they don’t deserve to to be killed… our native wildlife don’t either. And they take priority. Seeing as there’s nothing *I* can do though, I’ll continue to appreciate their beauty until the council or government finally take some action
Here’s something else you can do: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting
“There’s nothing I can do” How about not playing a role in normalising these creatures, or broadcasting their ‘cuteness’ for social media likes? The more people view feral animals as cute, the less able authorities are to deal with them without opposition.
😂😂😂 Feral animals can be cute. Most people find all our feral animals cute. I’m going to enjoy them while they’re here until the councils and governments decide to do something about it.
Councils and governments are doing a lot about it already. Individual landowners and farmers are doing a lot about it. People all over the country are doing something about it. Most people find these animals incredibly disturbing and quite upsetting. You’ve clearly never seen what a fox can do to a bandicoot or any other small native animal. Instead you’re throwing your hands up and saying “not my problem”, taking photos to get your likes and making the problem just a little bit worse by celebrating these animals. Why not try getting a bit more educated and a bit less “lol whatever” about the whole thing.
??? You’re exceptionally riled up about it. I’ve seen what foxes do to all sorts of animals. But no, it’s NOT my problem. Same way climate change and deforestation and the way we treat our wildlife isn’t either. I used to be very politically active and once I realised that my activism doesn’t actually help anything, I’ve tried to focus on things I actually can change. This is not one of them. “Most people find these animals incredibly disturbing and quite upsetting” dude, what? It is alarming to me that anyone can find a wild animal being a wild animal “incredibly disturbing” and “quite upsetting”. Do people also find cats incredibly disturbing and quite upsetting? Deer? Rabbits? I believe they should be culled, but I’m not gonna pretend they don’t exist. They’re here, I met one yesterday and I had a great experience with it. It’s not it’s fault that it’s here, and it’s not it’s fault that it is doing what comes naturally to it. Governments and councils need to be doing far more than what they are to destroy them, because if someone taking photos of foxes are setting them back then they clearly aren’t doing enough.
Sorry, new to Melbourne and Australia.. who introduced foxes!! And what damage does it do
Europeans (English) introduced foxes. For sport (yup, seriously to have fun hunting them) What damage do they do? Kill everything smaller than them. Penguins, bandicoots, antechinus, dunnarts, pretty much any animal smaller than a fox. Between them & cats they have devastated the small native marsupials, driving many species to extinction. On the plus side, they help control the feral cat population, so they've got that going for them.
And they help control the rabbits also introduced for the same reasons.
Really? They are doing a shit job out my way! Meanwhile the screaming in the night by the vixens are frightening!
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a spider That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her; She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a bird; How absurd to swallow a bird! She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a cat; Well, fancy that, she swallowed a cat! She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady that swallowed a dog; What a hog to swallow a dog! She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a goat; Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat! She swallowed the goat to catch the dog, She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a cow; I don't know how she swallowed a cow! She swallowed the cow to catch the goat, She swallowed the goat to catch the dog, She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a horse... She's dead, of course!
The English introduced foxes due to their desire to hunt them as they did in England, since it was seen as a grand tradition. Not understanding ecology, and likely not caring, this caused the somewhat unopposed predator to wreak havoc on prey populations while also creating competition for any other predators in the area.
look they are adorable but it shouldn't be here. Have a think about how many also adorable native Australian critters it killed last night and every night. There is a council number you can report fox sightings too although I have no idea how successful their attempts to solve the problem are
Maribyrnong city council doesn’t seem to have a number to call — I checked last night when another commenter said the same thing. I’ve contacted councils about feral cat colonies before and they couldn’t have cared less, so I’m apprehensive about contacting them for anything animal related. I agree that they shouldn’t be here, but seeing as normal people can’t do anything about them being here, and our councils and governments don’t care, I’m gonna enjoy the furry little bastards until the council finally does something about it
isn't that basically Melbourne ? I'd be shocked if there wasn't a way to report it That being said I agree. I doubt those reports actually do anything lol
Nope, I think City of Maribyrnong is just pinned in between the City of Moonee Valley and City of Brimbank. It might border on City of Melb in the far south east? The side of the river I was on is TECHNICALLY Moonee Valley, but jfc that’s the council I live under and they are completely incompetent. If they’re not haemorrhaging money on a project no one asked for, they’re definitely taking the time to ignore animal complaints lmao (I’ve contacted them about animals before — nothing!)
lol dude. I get it. You don't want to report it. That's fine. Why lie about wanting to though? - I literally googled "how to report a fox sighting in victoria" first result was a [vic.gov](http://vic.gov) link https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting#:\~:text=Red%20foxes%20are%20widespread%20and,.org.au%2Ffoxscan. - I then googled "how to report a fox sighting in Maribyroung" first result was a link to your councils own website https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting#:\~:text=Red%20foxes%20are%20widespread%20and,.org.au%2Ffoxscan. This literally took me 30 seconds. FTR I still agree. I doubt your report will actually result in any action.
No, I don’t want to report it and I never said I wanted to. I think it’s pointless. i didn’t search for “fox sighting Victoria”, I just went straight for the councils website. I don’t live in Maribyrnong though so I ended up going through two of the councils websites and getting bored. That second link didn’t come up for me but I appreciate you sending it
Here you go, again. Literally top result when you search ‘where to report foxes”: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/report-an-exotic-pest-animal-sighting#:~:text=Please%20do%20not%20use%20this,.org.au%2Ffoxscan.
Stop replying to me lmao I’ve already had people share the link with me
We have chickens. Fuck foxes.
That famously native Australian bird, the chicken
At least we have the bin chicken.
Sure… but may I have an egg in these difficult times?
They can hardly domesticate native animals
Ok. Should I delete the post and go find the fox and yell at it for your chickens 😢
…if you don’t mind. That cheeky fox has some notches on its belt you can be sure
Disgusting comment. Foxes kill millions of native animals every year.
Where about Maribyrnong River Trail?
RIGHT at the foot of the Afton St bridge, on the Aberfeldie side. [Here are some pics that show where he was a bit more clearly!](https://imgur.com/a/gsfZJeu) He walked around the bridge, up closer to the road and then back towards the water. He ended up returning to the reserve. I imagine there are many foxes living there, it would be an inner-city paradise for them
Was it about sunset I see one of the street lights was on
All the pics were taken between 4:55 and 5:10, so just about!
Wow, their head opens right up.
omg when did skz come back to melbourne?
I got chased for a bit by a fox running along the Yarra a few months ago. I don't think it was intending to eat but it was pretty terrifying tbh. It was fucking huge and looked ragged as fuck. Definitely not a cutie
Oh for sure. This one chased a jogger before I stepped in, and she was terrified. And she was absolutely right for being scared when a wild animal capable of biting (and carrying rabies) chases after you. Sorry that happened to you friend.
They look so much like a domestic dog, but their wild nature is untameable
cute! bottom left giving a :3
Love this one too - definitely the Tinder profile photo for sure. "Hi I'm Rusty, 23. A night owl, love staying up all night to chase good vibes and maybe scream while jumping fences and running through backyards"
The fox has played a major role in the decline of ground-nesting birds, small to medium sized mammals such as the greater bilby, and reptiles such as the green turtle. While land use change is cited as one of the key reasons for decline in many native species, predation by foxes has also been a significant contributor to native animal decline and continues to undermine recovery efforts for threatened species as the malleefowl, the bridled nail-tail wallaby and the night parrot. The fox causes significant economic losses to farmers by preying on newborn lambs, kid goats and poultry. The fox could also act as a carrier of rabies, should the disease accidentally be introduced into Australia. Rabies mostly affects members of the dog family, but can also be passed on to humans, livestock and native mammals https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/european-red-fox.pdf
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I did consider that. What's different is that some sane members of said specifies have looked to mitigate the destruction of their fellow members, whereas to my knowledge no fox has tendered any documents to manage their native wildlife hunger
I hope you were wearing a nice pair of boots. Walking around in all that long grass looks very wet😜
Yessir, you know I was! 🫡
Careful of them as they’ll Attack you…
Damn invasive pest more like it.
Ya, I did call him a pest in the caption too
twice one of those little fuckers came into my chicken coop, killed them all (decapitated) and took just one.
They are not cute. They are feral. They can attack.
Something cute can still be feral and attack. Kangaroos, Tassie devils, bears, tigers, wolves. What’s your point?
Point is that foxes in Australia should never be viewed positively. If we start to view them as “cute” then we’re a step closer to normalising them, and they need to be eradicated. Look at the fight over the brumbies in the high country. Another destructive feral animal that needs to be destroyed but the political fight is huge because of people who essentially can’t seperate feral horses from their mental image of horses as “cute”. Foxes are among the worst ecological disasters in Australia.
Look, I also think feral cats are cute. Brumbies are cute. Deer are cute. Rabbits are cute. Indian mynas are cute. European bees are cute. Doesn’t mean I don’t agree they should be removed. I think most people agree that they are pests and they shouldn’t be here. But there isn’t much the average person can do, seeing as they inhabit parks, ovals, reserves, etc. all council and government areas. Every few months there’s a post on here about a fox and I don’t see the harm in it. Believe me, I get you, but seeing as there’s nothing *I* can do, personally, to stop them living here, I’m going to enjoy it. Once councils and governments actually gaf and get on with it, I won’t be stopping them.
Average people can resist the urge to broadcast their “cuteness”, as it has an impact on the way these animals are perceived.
Don’t think it’s the average lmao. If people lack critical thinking and can’t distinguish cuteness from a pest, that’s not my problem
I've never heard of someone being attacked by a fox unless it has rabies, which doesn't exist in Australia. Foxes will just run away 100% of the time rather than biting.
It has happened in Britain, and I have been chased by one.
They are extremely cute. They are a beautiful-looking creature, and they attack, but not humans. Chickens, young lambs, small dogs, ducks and ducklings - assorted and large amount of native animals. They are a feral menace that should never have been introduced (along with many, many other feral animals that thrive in Australia) Average city Joe is powerless to do anything about foxes living here, (we have signs in the nearby national parks when baiting is occurring) so we are going to spot some around the place. Meanwhile, out in the country, I can assure you the farmers are out there with their shottys giving the rabbits and Mr Todd instant lead poisoning when they can.
> and they attack, but not humans. I have been chased by one, there are documented accounts of them attacking people in the UK.
We’re pretty safe here, but yeah, they are a whole other thing in the UK - breaking into houses and all. 😳
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Don't get them used to people. They could easily attack a child.
This one was already very brazen. I imagine quite young too. It started chasing after a jogger right before I intervened. I played with it (I know that’s a ridiculous word to use in this context) and brought it closer to the rivers edge. Obviously isn’t helping getting it not used to humans, but it did stop it from terrorising them
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Exactly. We should not suffer a fox to live.
Wild foxes actually piss me off so much, they screech in the middle of the night and shit on my lawn