This grainy video does NOT show sheep predation. It shows scavenging.
In fact, 15-25 percent of lambs dies from exposure shortly after birth
Fox in the U.K. do the job vultures do elsewhere.
As far as I know, there has NEVER been a video of a fox attack showing a killing of either lambs or sheep. I'm not saying it has never happened; just that it's so rare that it's apparently never been filmed.
Game birds? Rabbits? Mice? Rats? Chickens? Ducks?
Yes to all.
2 comments:
Try living among Icelandic farmers; you'd think the arctic fox (significantly smaller than the European fed fox) is the size of a timberwolf with the attitude of a wolverine. Every lost lamb is blamed on them (in reality and verified cases it is usually dogs that hurt livestock). They hunt them as vermin, most active are the ones that harvest down from eiders (but at least they have some argument) and I really hate it. I run a flock of Icelandic sheep, and I have not lost a single lamb to this imagined fox predation. As you say, they are just scavengers, people should be happy they are there, together with the ravens to clean up the highlands of carcasses (free range animals do die there from disease and accidents).
Trying to argue this case is hopeless, believe me I've tried....
i agree 100% with Edze; i also raise Icelandic Sheep; we have foxes living under the barn foundation, including all through lambing. they don't bother the sheep; the sheep seem to ignore them/treat them like cats. actually these sheep not having had much predator pressure in Iceland where there are no wolves, unlike English sheep breeds, are not very afraid of canids and would probably kill a fox if it tried anything. i am very grateful for the foxes, as they keep rodents and lagomorphs under control.
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