It surprises me how few take the trouble to do this. Although the farmer may tell you where and at what time he’s seen the foxes about, you should always have a good look around during daylight hours. Even if it’s new ground, a fox man should remember the basics. The other was on a farm where I’m a regular visitor. The first of the two most memorable fox outings during this snowy period was on a farm I’ve not been called to for a while. Charlie was abroad at all hours and the snow showed his runs and regular routes of travel.Įven in good weather, no predator wants to waste precious energy reserves trotting across hill and over dale they’ll generally go straight to the larder (an area where they know there’s likely to be food) and be back in the earth before Eastenders has finished. The fox was much easier to target than usual at the start of the year, in the wintery conditions that caused chaos throughout the country. There are few better species survivors in the UK than the fox.
Some farmers had noticed foxes rummaging through gardens or uncollected rubbish bins looking for discarded festive fare, which shows just how quickly foxes adapt to the changing weather conditions. The vulpine menaces were much bolder, coming closer to farm outbuildings and into the farmyards in search of an easy meal. I don’t think there was a day that went by when I didn’t get called to one farm or another to sort out marauding foxes. The fox situation, like the road system, was becoming congested. Also, vagrant foxes finding it hard on the higher hill ground were coming down to invade others’ territory. I recall at the start of one year that the local foxes were desperate. A trait of fox behaviour is to sometimes bury an excess of food, but any buried food ends up in very hard ground after a deep freeze.
Prolonged snow coverage and low temperatures will see an increased hunting activity in foxes. Horrendous winter conditions should see many good fox controllers out doing their duty. Trouble is, if you’ve got a few pesky foxes nabbing precious poultry and generally causing headaches, then you’ve got to be out to catch them out.
There’s an old saying I have that sums up shooting pests: “You’ve got to be out and about to get ‘em.” I always harp on about it, but too many foxers and deerstalkers won’t venture out unless conditions are perfect. Howard familiarises himself with the farm in daylight
0 kommentar(er)
