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Paranoid...

N

norrielian

Mama Doe
about foxes after all the recent stories on here, anyone else?

I heard one of the bunnies thumping during the night (our bedroom is above the garage where they live), which is very very rare so I go rushing downstairs like a loony and outside to check for foxes! Silly really as if I could hear them in the garage thumping, I knew they were safe inside.

So sad to hear of all the attacks recently :cry:
 
How weird, I very nearly typed the very same post out this morning! I am getting to the point where its just silly now, and with Rachels little Nettle running away Im checking Rhia in the run every 5 minutes. I used to just pull her cover on her hutch down at night but now I board it all up. My two worst fears are foxes & running away, death following illness I can just about cope with, the others I just couldnt :(
 
Yeah I know how you feel....they're rather frightening accounts aren't they?

Suppose we can only do our best to protect our bunniesbut it leaves me wondering if the catches on the hutches are good enough or even if the hinges are strong enough!
Even if I replaced all them its not going to stop them dying of fright is it???
 
I actually have a Fox Phobia ever since one of my House Rabbits was murdered by a Fox in my kitchen.
I even find it distressing to look at a picture of a Fox now :oops:

Janex
 
That's why I don't really believe in hutches for rabbits - we wouldn't really keep any other pet outside with a whole side of their enclosure open to the elements and predators/malicious human attacks etc.
I would definately go for housebuns if I had the choice but if not then a secure shed which can be locked and kept safe from foxes - my old animal shed was actually lined with old cages/strong mesh with metal sheeting on the floor, though I'm only living at my current house for a few months and it's in a more residential area - haven't seen any foxes around at all. My old house was surrounded on all 4 sides by farmland and we'd see/hear foxes almost daily and never had a problem with them trying to get in the shed, despite signs of them having been in the garden.
Even with indoor pets I used a wire screen when I had my window open - prevented loose pets climbing out and stop wild animals getting in!
Foxes are animals too and only doing what comes naturally so I don't have a problem with them - we decided to keep domesticated animals so it's our responsibility to keep them safe :)
 
yeah I don't worry about the girls as their shed is brick and I put a piece of fencing in front of the door too (have known cats that can open door handles - I wouldn't put it past a fox) - but Benny's just in a hutch, although there's covers and fencing on one side, a wall at the back, and Maa's old hutch on the other side of it - and I cover it with rugs and fencing panels at night, and disinfect the patio to throw off the rabbity scent - still you never know how determined a fox can be ....I guess they're more likely to go for my neighbour's poor rabbit though - easy pickings there :(
 
All through my life I have seen the cruelty these animals seem to have and it has put me off ever keeping a small animal outside, unless they are in something so secure it takes me a while to get in!! Growing up on a farm you learn these things... Lambs, chicken, rabbits, piggies, nothing is sacred... :(

I have strong opinions and foxes and truly feel sorry for anyone who has lost an animal at their jaws.

(yes I know its nature but its nature at its worst)
 
RusselRocky said:
All through my life I have seen the cruelty these animals seem to have and it has put me off ever keeping a small animal outside, unless they are in something so secure it takes me a while to get in!! Growing up on a farm you learn these things... Lambs, chicken, rabbits, piggies, nothing is sacred... :(

I have strong opinions and foxes and truly feel sorry for anyone who has lost an animal at their jaws.

(yes I know its nature but its nature at its worst)
Click to expand...

Do you feel the same about lions? Other big cats? Wolves, bears, birds of prey? Even cats and dogs may catch wild animals (and this is perhaps worse, as often they don't have the instinct to follow through and kill them quickly)
 
Ben's mum said:
Do you feel the same about lions? Other big cats? Wolves, bears, birds of prey? Even cats and dogs may catch wild animals (and this is perhaps worse, as often they don't have the instinct to follow through and kill them quickly)
Click to expand...

If they killed my pets and my parents/familys animals which make money for us to live then yes I probably would. But would feel more scared of lions and at least they eat what they kill.

I have seen many animals just killed. Nothing eaten.
 
RusselRocky said:
If they killed my pets and my parents/familys animals which make money for us to live then yes I probably would. But would feel more scared of lions and at least they eat what they kill.

I have seen many animals just killed. Nothing eaten.
Click to expand...

Animals can't distinguish between pets and wild animals - they're not doing it to upset you. Even killing without eating has it's purpose, teaching cubs what to do, practising skills, it's all instinctive natural behaviour.
 
Ben's mum said:
Animals can't distinguish between pets and wild animals - they're not doing it to upset you. Even killing without eating has it's purpose, teaching cubs what to do, practising skills, it's all instinctive natural behaviour.
Click to expand...

This is all true but it still doesn't change my opinion of foxes. I have seen foxes come kill 10 chickens nibble a leg and then leave. Therefore to me foxes are cruel. My opinion I am afraid is low. :cry:
 
RusselRocky said:
This is all true but it still doesn't change my opinion of foxes. I have seen foxes come kill 10 chickens nibble a leg and then leave. Therefore to me foxes are cruel. My opinion I am afraid is low. :cry:
Click to expand...

Are squirrels cruel for stashing nuts in a place they may later forget/not return to? They're taking away a food supply for other animals by doing so. Aren't magpies cruel for stealing other birds' eggs and young to feed their own? Animals don't stop and think about their actions - they're not 'cruel', they're just living their life. Humans are far crueler as they will do such horrific facts, fully aware of the consequences.
 
Ben's mum said:
Are squirrels cruel for stashing nuts in a place they may later forget/not return to? They're taking away a food supply for other animals by doing so. Aren't magpies cruel for stealing other birds' eggs and young to feed their own? Animals don't stop and think about their actions - they're not 'cruel', they're just living their life. Humans are far crueler as they will do such horrific facts, fully aware of the consequences.
Click to expand...

No as this is different. It is cruel in my opinion because they needlessly kill.

Your opinion obviously differs fair enough, but from what I have seen thats my opinion.

I know how cruel people can be my dad rescued horses and I have seen a lot of it first hand... Sometimes the state of the world makes me dispair.
 
their intention is to return later and eat the rest - not knowing where they might next find food they kill as much as they can to lay in a supply, as it were. I'm not sure any animal can be considered cruel, its not like they have the moral reasoning ability to think things through.
 
Pet cats needlessly play with and then kill animals they don't eat, yet they have managed to aquire a much loved pet status. Magpies don't NEED to kill other birds' young - they could get it the same way the other birds do, by scavenging insects/grains/fruit etc. But as said, animals don't have reasoning like that. They don't evolve to be the least cruel species - they just evolve to survive.
 
This post will earn me a few more enemies but I am affraid if I'd had a gun the night my House Rabbit was killed I would have had no hesitation in shooting the Fox.
Yes, I know another would come and taken its place in a week or so but when you witness a beloved Pet being ripped apart you act from the heart. The Fox coming into my house changes the rules of engagement and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it never happens again. It wasnt even a hungry Fox. One of my neighbours fed it every night. It killed Ronan for fun, for something to do whilst waiting for the neighbour to put dinner out :evil:

Janex
 
Everyone is allowed their own opinion, no one is right here or should be slated. I personally would never blame the fox, it isn't their fault, just nature but it is just such a waste of life when any animal decides to kill for the sake of it and not to eat. It is up to us to protect our pets though but sometimes a determined animal will get to anything if it wants it.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
This post will earn me a few more enemies but I am affraid if I'd had a gun the night my House Rabbit was killed I would have had no hesitation in shooting the Fox.
Yes, I know another would come and taken its place in a week or so but when you witness a beloved Pet being ripped apart you act from the heart. The Fox coming into my house changes the rules of engagement and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it never happens again. It wasnt even a hungry Fox. One of my neighbours fed it every night. It killed Ronan for fun, for something to do whilst waiting for the neighbour to put dinner out :evil:

Janex
Click to expand...

IMO that makes you far crueler than the fox. The fox kills because instinct tells it to - it doesn't know that it will definately get fed that night. If animals relied on what had been a constant source of food for them, their survival would be compromised should that source stop. To take a life with full knowledge of the consequences is far more 'evil' than killing because it may need a meal to feed itself or its family the next day.
 
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