Poorly Fox

TheThistle

TheThistle

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Name
Graham
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Yes
Thought I'll share this with you, captured this little chap(ette) the other day having a leisurely stroll between cars outside where I live,
unfortunately he/she wasn't in best of health, damaged left back leg and looking incredibly thin...poor thing. :(

Haven't sighted him/her lately, recovering I hope.



---------
Graham
 
He/she does look like they've been in the wars good capture
 
Shame......thats nature.

well spotted and shot

Keith
 
Not pretty but looks like a farmer has caught it in the left with a shotgun at some point and it was scavenging without anymore fear for its life to me knowing it was dying, sad sight but foxes are nice to see but do cause havoc and do need controlling humanely

Looking again at this one it may have been hit by a car at some time as it looks more like a dislocation rather than gunshot
 
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He does look on his last legs. I don't see any real evidence it's been shot - could be anything I suppose, but a shotgun just isn't enough gun for foxes unless at close range. I've seen them hit three or four times at 30 or 40 yards with light game loads and keep running. Awful really - I know they need controlling, but they don't deserve that.
 
CT said:
He does look on his last legs. I don't see any real evidence it's been shot - could be anything I suppose, but a shotgun just isn't enough gun for foxes unless at close range. I've seen them hit three or four times at 30 or 40 yards with light game loads and keep running. Awful really - I know they need controlling, but they don't deserve that.
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I used to be pest control for local farms and would never use a shotgun, I used .22 Bruno rifles quick and painless with sub zeros at 50m but only problem foxes
 
Dangermouse1964 said:
I used to be pest control for local farms and would never use a shotgun, I used .22 Bruno rifles quick and painless with sub zeros at 50m but only problem foxes
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Well I used to do a lot of pheasant shooting up in the hills in Powys, and we used to have a strict 'no ground game' rule on pheasant days for obvious safety reasons - the exception being foxes, provided it was safe to take the shot and there were quite a few about. It always struck me as strange that shooters have this ethic about 'sporting birds' and not shooting birds at too great a range for fear of striping 'em, yet they'd happily let several barrels go at a fox at such a range they had no hope of killing it. It caused heated arguments on a few occasions, nearing coming to fisticuffs one day I remember.

Some of the syndicate were farmers and they just had an absolute hatred for foxes and scant sympathy for them at all, no doubt born out of the reality of living with them, but it can certainly sometimes be a bit objectionable.
 
CT said:
Well I used to do a lot of pheasant shooting up in the hills in Powys, and we used to have a strict 'no ground game' rule on pheasant days for obvious safety reasons - the exception being foxes, provided it was safe to take the shot and there were quite a few about. It always struck me as strange that shooters have this ethic about 'sporting birds' and not shooting birds at too great a range for fear of striping 'em, yet they'd happily let several barrels go at a fox at such a range they had no hope of killing it. It caused heated arguments on a few occasions, nearing coming to fisticuffs one day I remember.

Some of the syndicate were farmers and they just had an absolute hatred for foxes and scant sympathy for them at all, no doubt born out of the reality of living with them, but it can certainly sometimes be a bit objectionable.
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So I am assuming, dare I say it, Fox hunting was introduced?
 
Yes. As wee boy many moons ago I use to go beating, it was quite dangerous but exciting if you what I mean...Does this still happen today (Beating)?

-------
Graham.
 
uniquegardens said:
Yes. As wee boy many moons ago I use to go beating, it was quite dangerous but exciting if you what I mean...Does this still happen today (Beating)?

-------
Graham.
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Oh yes beating is still an absolute necessity for pheasant shooting - in fact in our syndicate like many others, we used to stand and shoot one drive then beat the next, unlike posher shoots where they have hired beaters.

I loved the beating bit and actually working the dog. It shouldn't be remotely dangerous for beaters unless someone shoots at ridiculously low birds though. The general common sense rule is that unless you can see some sky under the bird, you don't shoot. It doesn't always happen in practice, you get the occasional hot head, but on a properly run shoot it usually results in one mother of a rollicking for the offender!
 
On a properly run shoot it means the offender getting a red card........(y)
 
CT said:
Oh yes beating is still an absolute necessity for pheasant shooting - in fact in our syndicate like many others, we used to stand and shoot one drive then beat the next, unlike posher shoots where they have hired beaters.

I loved the beating bit and actually working the dog. It shouldn't be remotely dangerous for beaters unless someone shoots at ridiculously low birds though. The general common sense rule is that unless you can see some sky under the bird, you don't shoot. It doesn't always happen in practice, you get the occasional hot head, but on a properly run shoot it usually results in one mother of a rollicking for the offender!
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When I first started work in forestry at 15 on an estate I was told I had to go beating on the Boxing day shoot.
First time we were on a hill & a gun or two had been placed in the line of beaters.
Walking along a White Hare was flushed by the beater below me. The gun above me shot down the front of the line of beaters & shot the hare.
Later that day at lunch ( the guns got to go inside while we had to stand outside) that same gun after some whisky was boasting about shooting the hare. I just snapped & walked over to him in front of the laird & the other guns & told him exactly what I thought of him.

In the afternoon we did another drive where the keeper told the guns there was the chance of a Roe coming out of the would & to "just take it". Anyway, poor Roe comes out of the wood & several shots were fired into it. The keeper shot the poor beast 3 days later when he found it lying on the open hill.

Next year I told the laird he could sack me if he wished but no way was I going beating on another shoot.
 
Sawman, that is ridiculous! Whoever took the shot at the hare should have had their gun taken off them.

I still remember the first time I was handed a shotgun, the instructor showed me the empty barrells, closed it up and pointed it straight at my head. It was a very effective way to get across that you never ever point a gun anywhere near someone else!

OP - sorry for this going off topic
 
Poor wee soul indeed. I have no reason to love foxes, as an urban dweller I can fully sympathise with people losing poultry and what have you to them after one took our beautiful cat. However, I am also all for humane killing to control them and even then only where necessary. Like every other animal, they are only using their instincts and wits to survive and certainly don't deserve a long and painful death. This poor thing does look like its been through the mangle :(
 
Yv said:
Poor wee soul indeed. I have no reason to love foxes, as an urban dweller I can fully sympathise with people losing poultry and what have you to them after one took our beautiful cat. However, I am also all for humane killing to control them and even then only where necessary. Like every other animal, they are only using their instincts and wits to survive and certainly don't deserve a long and painful death. This poor thing does look like its been through the mangle :(
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Thats awful Yv "So Sorry for your loss". This is first time Ive heard of a fox snatching a cat, however, you hear of poultry all the time. Nature is very very cruel.

------------
Graham.
 
sawman said:
When I first started work in forestry at 15 on an estate I was told I had to go beating on the Boxing day shoot.
First time we were on a hill & a gun or two had been placed in the line of beaters.
Walking along a White Hare was flushed by the beater below me. The gun above me shot down the front of the line of beaters & shot the hare.
Later that day at lunch ( the guns got to go inside while we had to stand outside) that same gun after some whisky was boasting about shooting the hare. I just snapped & walked over to him in front of the laird & the other guns & told him exactly what I thought of him.

In the afternoon we did another drive where the keeper told the guns there was the chance of a Roe coming out of the would & to "just take it". Anyway, poor Roe comes out of the wood & several shots were fired into it. The keeper shot the poor beast 3 days later when he found it lying on the open hill.

Next year I told the laird he could sack me if he wished but no way was I going beating on another shoot.
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Awful! There should be no hesitation in sending people like that home or at the very least giving them the most severe public rollicking on the spot. There's only one acceptable standard for safe gun handling, but unfortunately we've all seen too many instances where it's anything but safe. It was quite common to see Guns who should know better standing about between drives with a loaded gun under their arm - closed and pointing at dogs and people's feet.

My old mate bless him - never hesitated to belittle the offender on the spot with a ferocity that would make you wince, but as he always said "It's too late to apologise to a corpse!"
 
I remember when I was about 13 or 14 going beating. The Italians were "entertaining", nothing like the sound of half a dozen automatics opening up on the one bird.

The Americans were just as enthusiastic, pheasants, grouse, owls, seagulls, blackbirds, didn't matter, if it was in the air it was fair game.
 
mah1880 said:
Sawman, that is ridiculous! Whoever took the shot at the hare should have had their gun taken off them.

I still remember the first time I was handed a shotgun, the instructor showed me the empty barrells, closed it up and pointed it straight at my head. It was a very effective way to get across that you never ever point a gun anywhere near someone else!

OP - sorry for this going off topic
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Thing was, it was me that got the rocket from the head keeper afterwards for talking to the "gent" like that.
I was maybe only 15 but that keeper never forgot what I told him.
Then they wondered why I started poaching.:D
Over my life I have had several close encounters with so called toffs on shoot days. Maybe I have been unlucky but it has turned me against driven shoots.
 
Injured foxes, and specially unskilled youngsters like this one, can't earn their living and usually starve to death. As they're nearly at the top of the food chain the only thing that can save them from starvation is a good shot.

Personally I don't have a problem with foxes as long as they don't devlop a taste for our hens. The trick is to maintain the balance and not persecute them, they keep the rabbit numbers down and are very partial to rat too. The problem is whenever we get an outbreak of filthy mixy, which kills all the rabbits and forces the foxes to live on chicken. When that happens I have absolutely no problem shooting them with a shotgun at close range, provided that it's loaded with magnum and that I have a good clear shot. But rifles are better.

As for shooting safety/misuse of shotguns, surely this is just down to the calibre of the person arranging/supervising the shoot? Safety is the only thing that matters, the risk of upsetting idiots who pay to be there should never be allowed to affect safety.
 
One of the "guns" on last years shoot , I use the term gun loosely,he could not hit a Hercules at 10 feet, decided that he would shoot at anything that moved. The keeper thought he spotted him shooting at something he should not be shooting at and asked me to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day. He then decided to shoot at something else that he should not have done,missing wildly, I did not see the funny side of this and told him that if he shot at the same thing again,he would be found floating down the river with his shotgun emerging from his ass like a periscope.

He complained to the head keeper, who in turn told the owner,who in turn sent the gun home and told him that he would never be welcome on the shoot again.

As in all things, there is good and bad.

How things have changed in less than twelve months...................:bang:

Edit....the fox needs putting out of its misery.
 
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fracster said:
One of the "guns" on last years shoot , I use the term gun loosely,he could not hit a Hercules at 10 feet, decided that he would shoot at anything that moved. The keeper thought he spotted him shooting at something he should not be shooting at and asked me to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day. He then decided to shoot at something else that he should not have done,missing wildly, I did not see the funny side of this and told him that if he shot at the same thing again,he would be found floating down the river with his shotgun emerging from his ass like a periscope.

He complained to the head keeper, who in turn told the owner,who in turn sent the gun home and told him that he would never be welcome on the shoot again.

As in all things, there is good and bad.

How things have changed in less than twelve months...................:bang:

Edit....the fox needs putting out of its misery.
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Just wondering if your "gun" could be the same one that shot my father in the back. Mistook him for a Grouse! Father was on the public road at the time.

Yes indeed that fox needs dispatching.
 
sawman said:
Just wondering if your "gun" could be the same one that shot my father in the back. Mistook him for a Grouse! Father was on the public road at the time.

Yes indeed that fox needs dispatching.
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No,this clown would have missed Charlie.

The fox won`t last the winter anyway,least I don`t think so.
 
fracster said:
No,this clown would have missed Charlie.

The fox won`t last the winter anyway,least I don`t think so.
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I reckon that fox will not see the autumn. Looks in a bad way.

1985. I was standing talking to an old keeper when down the track comes the laird & several toffs. Keeper removes his cap! Then tells me to show respect to the guns & to remove mine. Second word was "off". I am sure you can supply the first one!:LOL:
 
Errrmmmmmmmmmm..................:thinking:

Gizza clue?........:LOL:

A lot of that sort of rubbish is in the past Charlie,though it still goes on in places. Malcolm,the headkeeper for the previous 6 years was great,he used to say "I`ll doff my cap when they kiss my ass,I don`t need them,but they sure as hell need me."............:LOL:
 
fracster said:
Errrmmmmmmmmmm..................:thinking:

Gizza clue?........:LOL:

A lot of that sort of rubbish is in the past Charlie,though it still goes on in places. Malcolm,the headkeeper for the previous 6 years was great,he used to say "I`ll doff my cap when they kiss my ass,I don`t need them,but they sure as hell need me."............:LOL:
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True enough, but some of those so called gents would be very happy if those days returned.
Besides if I doffed me cap they would be dazzled by the bald heid.:LOL::LOL:
 
mah1880 said:
Sawman, that is ridiculous! Whoever took the shot at the hare should have had their gun taken off them.

I still remember the first time I was handed a shotgun, the instructor showed me the empty barrells, closed it up and pointed it straight at my head. It was a very effective way to get across that you never ever point a gun anywhere near someone else!

OP - sorry for this going off topic
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im an ex soldier and if he,d done that in the army he,d have got a severe kicking a gun is never(safe) empty or loaded you doint point it at any thing unless youre going to shoot it :bat: rant over :dummy:
 
Quick up-date - saw foxy this afternoon, leg seems to be better but, its still
in a poorly way; wondering around looking very lost.

------------
Graham
 
If he's still alive after all this time then someone must be feeding him.
A kind thing to do, but there are other, better ways to help a wild animal who can't earn his living
 
Garry Edwards said:
If he's still alive after all this time then someone must be feeding him.
A kind thing to do, but there are other, better ways to help a wild animal who can't earn his living
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I agree - cruel to be kind springs to mind.

----------
Graham
 
He also looks like he's got a touch of mange witch is common in foxes. I also disagree with shotguns for foxes and prefer a .233 for a quick dispatch.

I have a mate that can squeak in a fox within ten yards of him just with his mouth(no fox caller) and then dispatch it cleanly with a head shot using a 40 foot pound FAC .22 air rifle, but then he's done for years, I wouldn't even try it.

Hope the fox gets better I don't like seeing any animal suffer even vermin.:(
 
Personally I wouldn't use an air rifle on anything except rats, regardless of power but if I happen to be holding a shotgun loaded with mini magnum then I'm happy to use that. Usual rules apply - clear shot, close range and the kill is humane. I'm also perfectly happy with a .22 LR up to 50 yards for a clean head shot, although of course any centre fire rifle is the ideal solution.

Last year, I saw an injured cub, probably about 6 months old but didn't have a clear shot at it so didn't fire. I stalked it for ages and eventually gave up. 3 weeks later I found it, only the skeleton and brush remained, I felt very guilty about giving up my search.

I feel that a lot of shooters are judged harshly by the public. Most of us do care about wildlife and do try to prevent suffering, regardless of the species. A few years ago, a friend with a smallholding had a rat problem, there were a few rats eating from the chicken feeder. I said that they needed shooting, otherwise the numbers would get out of control but she wouldn't have it, saying that a few rats weren't a problem and they had as much right to life as any other species. A few weeks later there were far too many to shoot and she had to poison the lot. Shooting would have been effective and humane at the right time, poison was NOT humane but became essential.
 
Seeing this reminded me that we used to have a fox that walked though our garden late at night last winter - often looking in through the patio doors, even though it was dark we could see it was emaciated, had mange and was limping....... perhaps a relative of this one ?

- we then saw it several times during the day sunning itself in the garden next door (empty plot) - but he has been missing for a few months now and we assume that nature has taken its course.
 
Garry Edwards said:
If he's still alive after all this time then someone must be feeding him.
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Very likely. Unfortunately feeding foxes in urban and suburban environments is habituating them to humans. If the feeding stops he's just going to look for easy targets nearby, which will probably be the neighbour's kids' sitting duck pet rabbits or guinea pigs.

Foxes are now regularly going into people's houses and making themselves at home. I've also seen personal testimony, from several people I trust on this, that they have had foxes come into the house and kill pets inside, leaving the owner to clear up the mess and bury whatever is left.

There have been several credible reports from west London of foxes attacking and biting very young babies. The foxes have no fear of humans and the babies are small enough to be seen as lower on the food chain. So far the "experts" deny this possibility because it's not part of acknowledged fox behaviour, but there's no doubt that fox behaviour is changing because of their interaction with people. I suspect it's just a matter of time before a baby is killed by a fox. It'll be interesting to see what the animal rights nutters say about that when it does.
 
uniquegardens said:
Yes. As wee boy many moons ago I use to go beating, it was quite dangerous but exciting if you what I mean...Does this still happen today (Beating)?

-------
Graham.
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Yes it's still an essential part of any driven bird shoot. Generally good fun, especially when working a dog, good exercise and fresh air.
 
Nothing to do with the fox shot but I thought I would tell you of something I saw the other day.
I was walking through a wood when I heard the crack of a rifle not too far in front of me. I stopped & waited. There then followed another 5 or six shots so I went for a lookie.
A "Gamekeeper" (though probably not worth the title) was zeroing in his rifle.
The interesting thing was that he was firing across a right of way path ( just about head height if anyone came down that path on a mountain bike) to a target on the slope on the other side of a small dip in the ground.
I watched him for a while & after he finished shooting he had a bit of a scramble through bushes & a wet area to go look at his target.
Thing was he left the rifle on the ground at his shooting position. Unattended I might add.
Where I was among the trees I could have nipped over & taken that rifle without him seeing me.
Responsible sort of fella that!
 
sawman said:
Nothing to do with the fox shot but I thought I would tell you of something I saw the other day.
I was walking through a wood when I heard the crack of a rifle not too far in front of me. I stopped & waited. There then followed another 5 or six shots so I went for a lookie.
A "Gamekeeper" (though probably not worth the title) was zeroing in his rifle.
The interesting thing was that he was firing across a right of way path ( just about head height if anyone came down that path on a mountain bike) to a target on the slope on the other side of a small dip in the ground.
I watched him for a while & after he finished shooting he had a bit of a scramble through bushes & a wet area to go look at his target.
Thing was he left the rifle on the ground at his shooting position. Unattended I might add.
Where I was among the trees I could have nipped over & taken that rifle without him seeing me.
Responsible sort of fella that!
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EDIT:
Come to that, if you don't mind confrontation, another way of dealing with it would be to demand to see his class 1 FAC (which by law he must have with him and show on demand) and take his name and certificate number and pass that on to the police. Either course of action would guarantee that he would never again be allowed access to a firearm.

I don't care about popularity but I do care about safe use of firearms. I would have written down the serial No. of his rifle and 'phoned the Police Firearms Licensing dept.
 
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