As more foxes prowl the city, one councillor wants to know who is policing them

Some Dublin residents are concerned that foxes could spread diseases to their pets, says Fianna Fáil Councillor Rory Hogan. 

Foxes can sneak into back gardens where their dogs may be, he says. 

So residents “are concerned about the safety of their pets and also concerned for the welfare of the foxes”, he says. 

Hogan put in a written question at Dublin City Council’s South East Area Committee on 9 March because he wants to know which state agency is responsible for urban foxes. 

The council is responsible by law for the control of dogs and horses but its remit doesn't extend to red foxes, came the reply.

“The council has no current plans to develop a strategy concerning urban foxes,” it says. 

Hogan says that that leaves his question of who is responsible unanswered. “There is a gap in regulation and responsibility.”

While the numbers of foxes in cities has been steadily creeping upwards, it’s debated how much this is a problem – or actually, if humans respond right, a boon.

A spokesperson for the National Parks and Wildlife Service said that the presence of foxes in the city is mostly beneficial. “Foxes play an important role in the control of rodents in both urban and rural areas.”

Adam Smith, a postdoctoral researcher in wildlife ecology at University College Dublin, said, meanwhile, that it is possible but unlikely that foxes could spread illness to pets as long as the pets are vaccinated. 

In general foxes are not causing sufficient problems for the council to consider a cull, says Smith, but it is important that people don’t feed them, so that the city benefits from their role as predator of rodents. 

“You’re distracting them from their role in the ecosystem,” he says. 

Foxes versus cats

“There is an extremely high density of foxes in Dublin,” says Smith, the postdoctoral researcher, who monitors wildlife cameras in Dublin as part of the Urban Wildlife Information Network. 

The population has been growing for the last 20 or 30 years, he says.

Hogan says that this has highlighted the need for oversight. 

“There seems to be in recent years a migration of foxes from rural areas to urban areas, and there isn’t really any policy or government agency taking charge or setting out the control of urban foxes,” he says.

No one to tackle this concern that pets could contract a disease from a fox, he says. 

Smith says that isn’t really a big risk for people who keep pets wormed and vaccinated. “It is possible, but lots of things are.”

To reduce the risk, people should feed pets indoors if possible, he says, not leave food dishes out for long, and regularly disinfect the dishes.

The spokesperson for the National Parks and Wildlife Service says: “There is no information available to NPWS which demonstrates that foxes pose a risk to pets through the spread of illness.”

Some pet owners fear that foxes could kill cats, but the Irish Wildlife Trust says that it is unlikely. “In the vast majority of cat-fox interactions, the cat wins,” says the trust on its website. 

Cats are far more likely to catch a disease from another cat or get killed by a car, says Smith. “We have wildlife cameras, you see foxes and cats, they kind of try their best to avoid each other.” 

Of course, a fox and a cat could fight over food, says Smith, and if that happens, the bigger animal will probably win the fight. But then, cats are good at jumping and climbing, so they’ll usually find a way out. 

“Urban environments allow multiple escape routes for cats,” says Smith, “if they are losing a fight or if they don’t feel comfortable.” 

Foxes don’t pose a major risk to cats, says Smith, but cats are themselves serious predators. “I don’t recommend outdoor cats anyway.”

They cause havoc to the ecosystem, he says. “Cats are very efficient predators of small birds and small mammals.”

Foxes on the rise

The increase in Dublin’s fox population could be down to fewer dogs roaming the streets, says Smith. But he isn’t really sure. 

Foxes are hunted and shot in rural areas, he says, but in cities, the main predator is the car. 

Authorities have to weigh up pros and cons in deciding whether to control a wild animal’s population growth, says Smith. 

He thinks it is likely that wildlife was responsible for damaging people’s cars in Stillorgan, as reported by RTÉ, last November, he says. 

That said, it was probably one individual fox in the local area, he says, that got into a habit, and so the problem is likely to be isolated.

At the moment, the increase in foxes isn’t causing enough problems to warrant any controls, he says.

“I love them,” says Green Party Councillor Donna Cooney. 

Some Dublin residents are very keen on foxes, she says, and she knows someone who bottle-fed fox cubs after the mother died. 

People can get upset when foxes rip open rubbish bags, but that’s the fault of humans, says Cooney. 

The council is also gradually putting an end to the practice of leaving out rubbish in plastic bags, she says, which should deal with that problem.