Fugitive fox finished off
Mike Thomas/Yukon News
Sightings of foxes in Whitehorse backyards are becoming more common.
Conservation officers were forced to put down a fox this morning.
The animal had been on the run for more than 10 days after getting caught in a leghold trap.
Conservation officers laid the trap in a back yard in the Logan subdivision after getting complaints about foxes in the area.
When the animal was captured, there was a delay in alerting conservation officers. The fox was able to work the trap out of its moorings and escape, taking the trap with it.
“We were supposed to get a call right away but we didn’t,” said conservation officer Ken Knutson. “We had an equipment failure, so it got away.
“We’re not very happy about it, but these things happen.”
By the time the fox was finally captured yesterday, its leg was in pretty bad shape, he said.
Though leghold traps are padded and designed not to cut off circulation, they’re not meant to be dragged around for more than a week.
“It was pretty gross,” said Knutson. “(The wound) was putrefying and it was down to the bone.”
After he netted the animal last night, Knutson put it in a cage for the veterinarian to examine this morning.
“It was not going to be recoverable so we euthanized it,” he said.
Every year there are issues with foxes in the Logan subdivision, said Knutson. According to his estimate, there are about 15 foxes in the area.
“If people will tolerate them and they’re not causing any problems then we just leave them,” he said. “Once they come into conflict, and people aren’t comfortable with them then we have to do something.
“That’s part of our public safety mandate.”
Options for capturing foxes are pretty limited, he said. Leghold traps are pretty much the best bet.
Often foxes are too cautious to fall for the full cage boxtraps that dog catchers use, and tranquilizing them can prove difficult.
“We can’t free range them with our dart guns because if you miss, then you have to find the dart, and if you get them, the drug doesn’t take effect right away,” said Knutson. “If you’ve seen foxes they’re pretty quick, and they can cover a lot of ground before you catch up with them.
“If you lose sight of them, they’re so small, if it went to sleep you might not find it.”
With people living in such close proximity to the wilderness, and with garbage such a rich food source, human animal conflicts are all but inevitable, said Knutson.
Usually conservation officers try to relocate the animals, but this time it wasn’t possible.
“Sadly, in this case, it’s our fault that this happened,” he said.
It’s not a complete waste, though.
The territory’s wildlife veterinarian will be taking some samples of the fox’s brain tissue to test for rabies.
There haven’t been any cases of rabies in the Yukon but it has been seen recently in other parts of the North, said Knutson.
“They’re monitoring now for rabies in the territory and foxes are notorious for having it,” he said.
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27 Comments
Saying that having chicken in your backyard will attract foxes is BS. If you have chicken it will be the totally untrained and ill mannered dog that will be the problem.
I live out of town and have two foxes pass right through our property every day like clock work, and guess what?! We have chickens and they have never bothered them. Put up a fence. And if they ever do change their mind and manage to get at the chickens. Guess what? That is a price I will gladly pay to have the privilege to live where I do and see wildlife pass thru. However, the neighbours dogs that messes with my chickens will not be so welcomed.
People who don’t like the wildlife in thier back yard should get the hell out of the Yukon and not come back!!!!!!!!!!
If you live on more then an acre, and don’t require the space for farming or some use of the land other then bragging rights. Then why do you need these 3 acre lots? We need these chickens and turkeys. We need to be able to feed our selves in an event that supplies are un able to arrive. Put up a wildlife fence and keep your yard clean.
The only sympathy goes to the CO that had to deal with the fox. As a trapper of 20 years, I prefer not to use the soft catch leg holds, but these are intelligent animals and are hard to catch when their smarter then the average suburbanite. But is the most effective method. The reality is life goes on.
Trapping and killing sentient beings is cruel & inhumane. This poor fox has suffered a great deal at the hands of man.Traps aren’t selective - as they pose a threat to so-called “non-target” animals as well. Even if we all agree that a specific animal must be caught, we need to know that there is a very good chance that another animal may very well become victim of traps (and this includes children). Traps that can kill or maim animals need to be banned.*Notice that the Department of Environment never releases photos or videos of wildlife [they] kill? Is it because the reality of what is cruel and inhumane will hit home? There is more to this story….
I agree with the comment posted by the indivdual who stated that if you don’t want foxes, coyotes etc in your back yard then leave. How many of you have cats and how many birds are your cats responsible for killing every year? A whole bunch of us live here because we enjoy the lifestyle which includes coexisting with wildlife within city limits. Whitehorse is marketed around the world as a wilderness city - apparently that is only applicable as long as city dwellers don’t complain. Again, if you don’t want wildlife in your back yard then leave the territory. These beings have as much right to be here as any of us - if they don’t have a reason for coming into your yard then they won’t. This is another example of irresponsible human behavior resulting in this critter’s death. For those of you who complain about wildlife in the city you are not wanted here or in other words if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen.
I think most people commenting are not upset at the CO’s, they’re upset at the people who leave their garbage out and let their pets run free and then complain when the wildlife come calling. Where did all these yuppies come from? Affraid of a fox? You moved to the wrong place. It’s unfortunate that human stupudidty is what causes these beautiful animals harm. Clean up after yourselves and may every creature in this beautiful Territory live in peace. Everything has to eat right, Whitehorse? Remember the shelves in the grocery store last week??
I personally think that the COs do a great job! It’s tough to keep the balance between wilderness and city.
I agree that most foxes are harmless, however occassionally one may become scrappy or threatening (much like most dogs are harmless, but some will bite you.) If the COs get a call about a “problem fox” they must follow up on it because otherwise they are liable.
It is definatly every Yukoners job to protect their pets, secure their garbage and keep a clean lot however, accidents happen and animals suffer. It’s a cost associated with living in the wilderness city/
The fate of this poor fox makes me sad, but I commend the COs involved for taking the fox to the vet and acting appropriatly.
To everyone saying this is “cruel and inhumane” what would you suggest the COs do? They’re trying to get them humanely and relocating them. What more can you ask for?
Patrick: I don’t think that the CO’s can “ignore the complaints” any more than an ambulance attendant or paramedic can decide not to go to a call. That said, I think a lot more charges of attracting dangerous wildlife under the WA should be handed out. You might have the cleanest yard in town but if your neighbour is a slob then the bears and coyotes and foxes will be walking through your yard to get to his. It’s these people who are causing the issue; the animials pay the ulitmate price and the CO’s get critized for trying to deal with it. Managing the wildlife is easy…managing the people is the hard part.
People - if you can’t live with wildlife in your backyard: what the hell are you doing in the Yukon? Just go back to your downtown Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver or any other Metropolitan around the world you might come from and stop taking advantage of (some)high wages, low to no health care cost, low taxes for a few years while screwing up the true Yukoner’s way of life up here.
Some people have commented that it was wrong to trap the fox because it was harmless. I’m not so sure of that. It doesn’t mention it in the story, but I personally know of incidents where foxes, because they’ve been fed by humans or become accustomed to garbage, can become aggressive and follow people around, bite at them, etc. Remember the coyote who chased children near the Canada Games Centre just recently. It is my suspicion that the fox was probably being persistent/aggressive in some way if the CO’s put out a trap for it.
However, that wouldn’t have been necessary in the first place if human beings were a little more responsible and stopped feeding wild animals and/or leaving out garbage and food that they could get into. People think the foxes are cute so they toss them scraps, and then the foxes get to associate people with food… and eventually some of them get bolder and bolder until they start doing things like trying to enter homes or nipping at children.
Why is it we keep looking at this the wrong way around? Our wildlife deserve humane consideration, respect and privacy the same if not more than we do - ‘habitat for humanity’...we built this concept right? It’s not a huge leap to think one step beyond and it’s worthwhile to Google ‘ecosystem’ for a refresher of what it means to be a living organism in a system of living organisms, appropriately termed, a community. That is the spirit of coexistence of our species with that of others, like that of the Yukon fox who passed on today. Take away the fear and you have no reason to kill these creatures. They’re such a precious gift to our planet and we’re so lucky to have them. Today is another signal and illustration of our disconnect with nature here in what he have branded ‘the Wilderness City’ as other have pointed out. That is the end of my rant. Think before you trap, for fox sake.
This is very sad and unfortunate.
The CO’s should have ignored the complaints. Shame on those people. People should be vigilant about their cats- disease from foxes is unlikely in the Yukon. Next time why not try cage traps rather than leghold traps?
I saw foxes on our property a number of times last year and it was enjoyable. If they were able to kill our chickens, then more power to them.
We have watched foxes in hillcrest for years! they don’t harm anyone
and are cute, playful little critters….we live up here because of the wild nature of the yukon…am very sad and hope that fox wasn’t one of
our hillcrest residents…
I am absolutely disgusted that a leg hold trap would be used and even more disgusted the someone actually complained about foxes. Don’t feed them, secure your garbage properly, be a responsible pet owner and keep your cats inside (not roaming), don’t leave pet food outside….there is absolutely no reason why anyone should have a problem with foxes or even coyotes if they behave appropriately for the area we live in - we are in the wilderness, people!
Boy neither the foxes nor the conservation officers can win in this town. What options do the CO’s have? People should smarten up and clean up their messes and deal with the wildlife, and stop calling Environment all in a panic because they saw a fox or a bear. CO’s shot a bear in Lobird a few days ago and some of the people that live up there should be ashamed of themselves…some of those properties are a disgraceful mess. The huge open garbage container at the entrance to Lobird is not helping either. People should be charged with attracting dangerous wildlife (not my term…the charge).
I live in Logan subdivision and I think people and their dogs are more of a problem than the foxes. Nobody has their dog on a leash, they think ists okay for them to come in your yard and do thier buisiness. I would rather have foxes than the irresponsable dog owners in our neibourhood. Dogs and dog owners are the problem.
This story breaks my heart - utterly and completely. Clearly there are people in this neck-of-the-woods who need to go back to whatever city they came from. The Foxes and I would like you to know that you’re not welcome here.
And I would second the comment about those residents in Logan Subdivision reflecting on their comfort today after the suffering they caused. What makes us so righteous and entitled as human beings? I feel more and more that I want less and less to do with people.
PS, I give credit to the conservation officers for being honest about the reality of what the fox went through, and for taking this animal to the vet to see if anything could be done. One more question I would have though is whether it was a female, and therefore probably had a few kits who starved or otherwise died as well. What about the other 17 foxes? (story says there are about 18 hanging around?) Trapping is NO ANSWER.
What happened to this fox is disgusting. I hope a few people in Logan subdivision are reflecting on ‘their comfort’ today, in light of the suffering they caused. Be aware of what actions your call to the conservation officers may well result in. Questions as to the job done by the conservation officers come to mind such as why were they not checking their own trap? Who did they rely on to check the trap? Why did they not use a cage trap? And why are they setting traps in the first place in response to people ‘feeling uncomfortable’? We live in a so-called wilderness city, and yet people get freaked out by seeing a fox. Would it not make sense for those people to live in a condo? What do they live on the edge of the wilderness for? Once again, nature pays the price for human incompetence, selfishness, and ignorance.
What a shame. It’s such a treat to see beautiful foxes around town. I can’t understand why anyone would call and complain about a fox in their yard. I believe conservations officers should educate people about living in harmony with wildlife, instead of catering to their ignorance by setting traps.
What a shame that such trapping is legal in Whitehorse!!! What a shame some urbanite thinks a pet is more deserving of life than a fox :(
Foxes are part of what gives Whitehorse it’s character. Let’s leave the foxes be. Are we not: THE WILDERNESS CITY ?
I haven’t had a single problem with foxes in the granger/copper ridge area. If anything, it’s nice having them around to take care of mice and other rodents. They seem far less aggressive than coyotes as long as people aren’t stupid about their garbage.
Plus they’re too adorable for their own good. Some pair keep having kits and raising them near the reservoir on North Star. Nothing is more adorable than watching kits play fight up on a hill while the parents watch. Even better, when the kits grow a little and play fight in your yard.
Just saying but isn’t every human structure sitting on a piece of land that at one point or another was a wildlife habitat.
You can’t continue to have babies that grow up and want to live in their own accommodation unless you increase the size of the inhabited land.
People gripe about how high things can be built and building into the ground is generally unfeasible so where do we go once we are ready to set down and own a house. Prices on houses are so high on structures that really aren’t worth it. Great example is a mobile home in a trailer park, generally they are selling for close to $100,000 but the way that most of them are constructed they could be built for well under fifty.
I can’t fathom why anyone would complain about a fox in their yard. Isn’t that why we choose to live here? Shame on you I say.
The conservation officers made the right decision, though it is sad that the fox had to die. It would have been more cruel and inhumane to let the fox live and have to amputate its leg. The fox couldn’t be released back into the wild and would spend the rest of its life in captivity. If you want to talk about cruel and inhumane, lets talk about how the city is building subdivisions in wildlife habitats, and then residents complain that the animals are ‘in the area’.
I foresee an increase in complaints about foxes should the By-Law be amended to permit backyard chickens. Trapping and euthanizing of foxes will become a pretty regular occurrence.
cruel and inhumane treatment
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