Roughly 2 years ago, I first spotted a Fox in the field behind my house. Last spring we were tipped off to the location of a den, where we observed a family of 5 foxes, 2 adults and 3 pups. My family owns properties down the road in both directions from my house. We now see foxes fairly frequently, including a couple trailcam pics. Their tracks are a common sight. There are now way fewer rabbits to be seen. When the archery season is over, I like to sit for an hour or so in a stand or blind every once in a while, just for my solitude fix. I have enjoyed some really close encounters with deer this post season. Tonight I sat in a natural ground blind, and had two foxes walk by at 15 yards. It was awesome, and I looked up the season and regs for them, and the season ends the 15th. Should I bring my bow next time and hunt for them? Or wait another year to let The population rise?
Fox populations tend to follow the rabbit populations, very cyclical. Seeing two in one sitting seems like quite a few. I'd shoot a couple if you want to.
I forgot to mention one of the five was hit by a car this summer. My mother is now saying not to kill any. Partly because the neighbors may be opposed, and partly because they're "not hurting anything" which may or may not be true. It's possible the rabbits are just less visible now that predators are in the area
Fox populations can be tied even more closely to coyote populations because coyotes predate on them. It's a good sign that you have a few around there. I'm typically more concerned with coyotes, coons and skunks than fox but maybe that's just me.
Same here. I have no want to kill a fox. I enjoy their presence and always feel like it's a treat on the rare occasion I get to watch one from the deer stand. Only reason I would consider shooting one is if I wanted a mount done or had some neat idea for the hide.
I'm for sure not planning on shooting one this year, probably not at all unless they become overpopulated.I might go back to that spot though to see how close I could call em! I will also try to get better video next time. Today I was in between 3 cedar trees, didn't cut any branches.
@coveymaster The yotes for the most part stay on the other side of the county hwy. But not inconceivable that a couple foxes fall to them each year.
I always enjoy seeing them but it won't hurt to shoot a couple, they make beautiful mounts. I like seeing rabbits more though, but that's just me!
I would shoot 1 or 2! They like to eat fawns in the spring and anything else they can get there paws on .How many are you not seeing ?
Personally if i'm going to shoot it and let it lay I wouldn't shoot one. If you going to mount it, or sell the hide then why not? Beautiful animals..Don't worry when your trying to shoot one they won't come around...haahaa
Personally, I enjoy watching a fox come through my hunting area. Often, he or she is breaking up the monotony of not seeing any deer! lol There are quite a few fox in my woods.
A couple years back I would see a pair hunting their way thru the woods while I sat on stand. They seem pretty smart and more alert than a deer. I have a full mounted fox in my living room but they get a pass now.
How is this a question of ethics? If season is in and you want to hunt/trap them, then it's legal. As someone else mentioned, coyotes are red foxes major predators. So if you have an abundance of red fox, you most likely have very few coyotes. Consider yourself blessed. With that being said, the predators of rabbits are red fox and coyotes. If you want to see more rabbits then there's one obvious decision. Thin their predators out. And don't worry. You alone are not going to wipe out the fox population in your woods. Nor does any real habitat manager want to. Start trapping/hunting them...you'll learn quickly that there is a reason for the saying "sly as a fox"...
Fox populations increase with wolf populations and the abundance of prey species such as mice and voles. They have a small impact on rabbit population but not that much. They will occasionally kill a fawn if they come across one in the first few days of its life but they have minimal impact on overall deer population, nothing like coyotes and wolves. Shooting a couple and selling or tanning their hides is going to have little to no impact on the population. For a real challenge, try snaring them.
If it is legal and you have a reason you want to hunt them than I see no ethics issue. Killing for no reason I would say is unethical.
I didn't see a single fox this season at any of the places I hunted. I also didn't have any on camera either. I wouldn't mind having a mount of one but that is it. Coyotes on the other hand, are shot at every time they pass by.
It's pretty interesting. I've seen foxes within a couple miles or so of my property, but never seen one on my place. I run lots of trail cams and have never got one on the cams either. I've gotten Deer, coons, rabbits, squirrels, birds, groundhogs, oppossums, bobcats, coyotes, turkeys, quail, dogs, otters, beavers and probably other creatures, but never a Fox. I have no idea why. Personally I'm probably not shooting a fox if I happen to ever see one on my property. Now if I had a good population, I wouldn't be opposed to taking one for a mount or hide.
I agree that if you have fox around, especially pups, then you likely don't have many yotes. Deer and fox coexist just fine so no issues there. If you want more rabbits then you could always trap one or two fox but it's really up to you, if season is in and you want to trap or hunt them, I see nothing wrong with it. I personally like watching fox but I've always wanted to make a hat with one.
