The early part of the book gives us a history of the fox in mythology, as Reynard, a trickster character and how it moved on to Fantastic Mr. Fox. Then we see what foxes are actually like and go into some depth in their behaviour. The bulk of the book though looks at human views on foxes from killing them or deterring them in urban areas to the hunting argument and those opposed to it.
The real highlights of the book was where the author got directly involved with the people she was speaking too. She spends a night out with a fox pest controller, watches a trail hunt and joins in with some hunt saboteurs which sounded like an genuinely unpleasant and scary experience. She does a really good job at letting people have the opportunity to share their views, whatever they may be.
Jones does a great job at showing how complicated feelings towards foxes are. She regularly mentions how pest controllers and hunters often like foxes and how though the general public have a love for them they often don't like seeing them on the doorstep. As with most issues, it's worth remembering that not everything is as black and white as it may seem.
Jones is clearly a great journalist and for the majority of the book takes a neutral position. I would perhaps have preferred more of an opinion from her- some anti-fox arguments could have been more firmly put down with from her rather than from a third party source.
I find it difficult to accept some people's argument that foxes are a pest as many people argue. I can understand how frustrating it must be when foxes kill poultry or even occasionally lambs but it's very much a solvable human problem. A good fence should be enough and there are plenty of other ways of deterring foxes. Foxes in urban areas actually do us a favour, reducing the rat population, and very rarely have much impact on human lives- in those cases deterrent methods usually work.
Fox-hunting is clearly wrong. Some argue it's pest control but it seems to me it's mostly for pleasure. People also say that foxes even enjoy being chased and aren't stressed by it as they are wild animals that are used to predation. Just because an animal is using to being predated doesn't mean it isn't stressed from it and besides, British foxes are clearly not used to being chased in this way. Being chased for miles and then ripped apart by hounds is clearly not a humane way to die.
There is one reason I can accept for killing foxes humanely, something the RSPB actively does at some times of year- to protect endangered species. Clearly the life of a rare animal has to trump that of a more common one. It's not a pleasant decision to make but one which is sadly necessary thanks to human action. This is something which only happens for a few weeks a year when there is no other option.
Overall a well-written and researched book on people's attitudes to foxes which made me realise how complicated people's views of them really are.
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