Foxes: Urban Areas

(asked on 8th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is planning to take steps to manage the number of urban foxes in London and other urban areas.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 11th September 2020

The Government’s general policy is that individuals should be free to manage wildlife within the law. The fox is not a protected species so the decision to control them lies with the owner or occupier of the property where the problem occurs. Where urban foxes cause problems professional pest controllers with relevant specialist skills are likely to be the most suited people for the task of removing foxes.

Natural England, on Defra’s behalf, has a team dedicated to providing wildlife management advice to the public, both through online material and directly by telephone.

The Government has no plans to control the number of urban foxes in England.

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