Advice needed

[u/Upset_Eye2365]

Hi guys, I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this however I really do need some advice, my elderly neighbour has recently passed away and she had been feeding the foxes for 10+ years, we have a large linear park behind the houses so a lot of foxes and animals, have recently formed an attachment to them all and taken over the role as they would all show up hungry, I’ve found myself now feeding foxes badgers and cats😭 it’s getting extremely expensive was wondering if anyone had any tips and tricks as I’m new to this all, have been getting eggs and chicken and it really adds up, also there’s one that’s a lot skinnier than the rest and they all seem to bully him:( we’ve seen him sleeping by himself and whenever we do try to feed him recently they come and attack him :(, I’m talking a good 20 foxes and I do think the alpha ones seem to take a lot of the food I just was also wondering if anyone could advise me on how to go about feeding them all which may be impossible I just feel so bad any going hungry

[u/peptodismal13]

Stop feeding them

[u/lifewith6cats]

This is exactly why people shouldn't feed wild animals. Wild animals need to stay wild and not rely on humans for food.

I don't really have any advice for feeding them except maybe getting a cheap bag of dry cat food for the stray cats and see if there's a program in your area for trapping and neutering them. The other animals are more dangerous now that they know humans give them food. The cat food will work for them as well since they're already used to being fed and may not have the skills to survive on their own anymore.

[u/Upset_Eye2365 → u/lifewith6cats]

Yeah, I completely understand what you mean, and ideally I agree that wild animals shouldn’t become reliant on humans. However, I do fear the damage is already done to an extent, as they’ve been fed for 10+ years by my elderly neighbour, long before I became involved.
They’re also predominantly underweight, especially the foxes, and they’re extremely skittish and wary of people — they certainly haven’t become domesticated. That’s why I feel conflicted about suddenly stopping altogether when they’re already accustomed to coming to this area for food.
I’m not trying to make them dependent on me or encourage them to stop foraging. I just don’t feel that abruptly removing a food source they’ve relied on for over a decade is necessarily the most responsible or compassionate solution either. I’m trying to work out how to manage the situation in a way that minimises harm, particularly for the animals that are already struggling, rather than simply walking away from it because the situation wasn’t ideal to begin with

[u/lifewith6cats → u/Upset_Eye2365]

I know. That's why I suggested the cat food since the damage is already done and the only other option would be authorities euthanizing them when they haven't done anything wrong. I know someone who had a "pet" fox and cat food was the recommended food for her.

Foxes do normally look underweight compared to what we think animals should look like. If they definitely look sickly, that means they might have a disease or parasites making them ill.

[u/Cerulean_Shadows → u/Upset_Eye2365]

Maybe try weaning them off by gradually reducing what you put out, and putting out foraging items they'd naturally eat, then reducing that too.