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After the loss of a beloved St. John’s animal, the head of a volunteer animal rescue group is reminding people that “a fed fox is a dead fox.”
One of the iconic Signal Hill foxes was found dead on the side of the road near the national historic sight Thursday morning.
Although Rock Wildlife Rescue director Karen Gosse is not surprised, she believes its death could have been prevented.
“It wasn’t a matter of if it would happen, it was a matter of when it was going to happen,” she told CBC Radio’s On The Go.
The wildlife rescuer said she’s noticed a trend of people feeding the foxes over the past few years. Because they live on Signal Hill, they see visitors quite often.
It’s become such a frequent occurrence that signs are now on the site, urging people not to feed nearby wild animals.
“You have to understand that that’s… not healthy for them, it’s not healthy for us,” said Gosse.
Unhealthy habits
Gosse said feeding the foxes creates an unnatural dependence on humans. It can lead to fox pups being unable to hunt on their own because they expect food to be handed to them.
Human interference also lures foxes to high-traffic areas, such as the busy parking lot of a popular tourist destination like Signal Hill.
Gosse is fairly certain this particular fox was hit and killed by a car.
Even though the foxes are a beautiful part of a Newfoundland and Labrador landmark, Gosse said it’s our duty to appreciate them without crossing the line into dependence.
“If you’re an animal lover — a true animal lover — then feeding these foxes is not something you should ever partake in,” she said.
The Rock Wildlife Rescue would like Parks Canada to crack down on this behaviour so incidents like this don’t happen again
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