Fuchs La Rioja

The red fox is regarded as the master of adaptation among native predators and holds one of the largest distribution ranges of any wild carnivore. It colonises virtually every habitat, from closed forest and structurally rich farmland with hedgerows and copses to parks, cemeteries and residential areas on the urban fringe. Urban foxes benefit from a rich food supply of compost, food scraps, fallen fruit and small mammals, and they often hold much smaller territories than their counterparts in the open landscape. Contrary to long-held assumptions, the red fox lives in family groups with a clear hierarchy in which a dominant pair usually reproduces while previous-year offspring help to raise the kits.

Across the DACH region the fox is hunted using the full spectrum of ethical hunting methods. The classic approach is stand hunting at bait sites and over mouse-rich meadows, especially during the food-poor winter months when foxes roam widely in search of food. Call hunting with the fox call, the distressed hare call or the mouse whistle stimulates both prey drive and curiosity and ranks among the most fascinating ways to bring a fox into view. Den hunting at artificial setts with small, sharp earth dogs takes place during the winter half-year and has regained popularity since the eradication of rabies. Trapping with approved live-capture and quick-kill traps such as the swan-neck trap complements these methods.

The hunting significance of the fox is closely tied to the elimination of terrestrial rabies, which was achieved from the 1980s onwards through area-wide oral bait vaccination combined with intensive hunting by the hunting community. Since Germany was declared free of terrestrial rabies, fox populations have risen markedly, which gives the fox, as the key predator in small-game management, a particular responsibility today. Studies cited by the German Hunting Association show that a substantial share of ground-nesting bird clutches are taken by nocturnal predators and that intensive predator hunting measurably improves local populations of meadow-nesting birds, hare, partridge and pheasant.