Dead Fox

M

Mad_Lad

Guest
Hi there. This maybe an unusual topic but I was walking beside the road today and I saw something in the hedge. It was a dead fox. He got trapped in barbed wire, The poor s.o.b must of had a very slow and ugly deat I can Imagine. Is there anything that could be done to get the farmer to remove the barbed wire that was there years before the hedge grew? If it has happened once, it can happen again. Maybe not the first time anyway.
 
Maybe the next generation of foxes will know better?

Last weekend I saw a dead fox mashed into the surface of the Navan Road. Should cars be banned from this main thoroughfare to avoid this happening again?
 
Should cars be banned from this main thoroughfare to avoid this happening again?
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Yes, cars are a stupid idea. In another year or so people won't be able to afford to run them anyway.

Mad_Lad - It might be easier and quicker to remove the offending barbed wire yourself. Try not to end up cutting yourself with rusted metal.
 
yeah thanks for the smartness. but anyway i don't own the land and there is a lot of wire. glad it's such a joke to you clubman. I'm not talking about a road I'm talking about a hedge. Big difference. Animals and other wild life dont have any other places to live these days.
 
leghorn said:
Mad_Lad - It might be easier and quicker to remove the offending barbed wire yourself. Try not to end up cutting yourself with rusted metal...
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... or trampled by the farmers cattle as they break out through the unfenced ditch and onto the road. Also try to avoid cars as they swerve to miss the cattle.
 
Removing someones fence from their land is criminal damage and you can be prosecuted for it. More preferable ( and legal) would be to bring it to the farmers attention. Unless he's a chicken farmer he probably wouldnt like to see it happen himself.
 
Ignoring the smart replies, there is nothing wrong with asking a question that may stop any wild creature dying a slow horrible death as you say. Also, could it be that children messing could crawl under the hedge and possibly scar themselves for life?

You could try either the ISPCA, not to report a cruelty incident, but rather to ask advice,

http://www.ispca.ie/

or, alternatively, there are a number of projects dealing with foxes who could possibly direct you, think there is an email address here. I found this on a google search, so don't know if the project is still live.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~foxwatchireland/

As regards foxes and such like ending up as carpets on the road, there appears to be a device to protect animals.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~foxwatchireland/
 
... or trampled by the farmers cattle as they break out through the unfenced ditch and onto the road. Also try to avoid cars as they swerve to miss the cattle.
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It's not an unfenced ditch. The OP said that the barbed wire that was there years before the hedge grew. Presumably there is now a hedgerow there. If there's cattle in the field, there is probably also an electric fence to keep them in.

You think the farmer is relying on barbed wire to keep their cattle in?
 
Actually the device mentioned on that site is a pretty nifty idea, presuming it works. From a car-owners point of view, aside from the guilt of maiming any animal, cats, dogs, foxes, badgers, even crows can do a fair amount of damage to a car when hit at speed.

I'm a farmer, and despite public perception, most of us are proud to see wildlife thriving on our land; and there are fewer sights as heartwarming as watching a vixen coax her cubs out of a ditch to cross a field, paying no heed to you working the field in your tractor. Seriously... it's as good as anything on the Discovery channel.

Ditches are fenced to keep our animals safe from passing traffic, and to keep motorists safe from farm-animals wandering around roads... which they would love to do if they got the chance. A hedge alone would not be considered a strong enough barrier along a public road, especially in a field of cattle, as they like to scratch against hedges, and invariably break them down over time.

Barbed wire is being phased out and replaced with the more humane electric fence, but in some cases it's the only option, and mostly only used as a safeguard along public roads and railway tracks where an electric fence is not workable. Even so, it would be unusual to see any unfortunate creature tangled up and dead in barbed wire... I've never seen it anyway. I'd imagine traffic kills far more wildlife than barbed wire.
 
Barbed wire is being phased out and replaced with the more humane electric fence, but in some cases it's the only option, and mostly used as a safeguard along public roads and railway tracks.
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Well that's something new I've learnt today - farmers sometimes use barbed wire to keep cattle in.
Doesn't this add to vet bills?
 
leghorn said:
Well that's something new I've learnt today - farmers sometimes use barbed wire to keep cattle in.
Doesn't this add to vet bills?
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Not in my experience.

Actualy... Cattle are pretty smart creatures. They'll have an idea it's a bad idea to try to break through the barbed wire or electric fence when they see it, then they'll check the fence by tenderly touching it with their nose, and then they'll know for sure. They'll remember where it is forever more after that.

But in any case barbed wire is used infrequently these days. As you can imagine, it's a nasty thing to work with when fencing, and slower to install, and is far more expensive per meter than an electric fence. I have removed most of it from my farm as posts rotted over time, and replaced it with electric fence - it's a much better system.
 
Re: Clubbing a Dead Fox

Clubman is one of our resident bouncers a.k.a. moderator, so it's his job to roam these forums with his club, bonking the odd wayward poster on the head to show them the error of their ways, and helping the odd distressed punter with few words and much wisdom, racking up his tally of posts as he goes. I know... I've a bump or two on my crown to prove it! Sometimes he leaps out of the shadows with a razor-sharp cackle, and then melts back into the darkness... mostly to the delight of everyone here. Just another aspect of the forum that makes AAM more than the sum of it's parts....
 
Re: Clubbing a Dead Fox


Well, that just goes to show how we all see things differently!
 
Jack the lad - How docile are cows? - Would it be safe to venture into a field of cattle?
 
Cattle are generally fairly docile, but they can be spooked. There was an instance recently of someone being killed when a herd of cattle stampeded.
 
There's been quite a few instances of that actually over the years in England. Seems to happen most if someone is walking a dog through fields that have calves in them. Personally I would always be wary.

My impression from the original poster was that this barbed wire was old stuff which ended up snarled in a hedge which grew up around it. Probably nothing you can do unfortunately - interfering with farmer's lands is a no no.
 
leghorn said:
Jack the lad - How docile are cows? - Would it be safe to venture into a field of cattle?
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Seagull and Ann pretty much nailed it on the head there.

Cattle are lovely creatures most of the time. They can be very serene, curious, and playful! But you have to remember that fully grown they are also very big, well over 1/2 ton in weight. You also have to remember that they hang out together in a herd, and therefore you are dealing not with individual animals, but a herd mentality. They get frightened very easily. If one animal takes fright because your coat unexpectedly flaps in the wind, the whole herd are likely to presume the worst and leg it out of there as fast as they can. That's pretty much a stampede, and that's where people and animals can get hurt. There are two breeds of cattle that stampede in an instant, Limousin and Blonde D'Aquitane. They're dark red or black in colour, and pretty muscular. Avoid them.

There's also the danger of a moody bull, and if you're unfortunate enough to encounter one of those he will outrun you surprisingly fast. He can be hidden among the cows in a large herd, especially in the spring time, so you might not see him at first glance. Cows with newborn calves can also be agressive, and act similarly to a bull.

Having said all that, under the right circumstances, it's nice to say hello to a cow. They're very grounded and serene when they're relaxed, and they'll share that with you. Find a farmer who'll accompany you, or try an open/holiday farm where the cows are used to being petted by strangers, but don't venture unannounced into a field of unknown cattle. Or maybe just admire them from behind the safety of a gate, or a well fenced hedge! Or go to the ploughing match in October, or a county fair. The cattle on show there are very quiet, and the farmer will be standing beside them to introduce you.
 
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