Luck in Misfortune: Five Orphaned Fox Cubs Found in Lower Austria
Few orphaned fox cubs have this stroke of luck and are found and rescued by attentive animal lovers. Such a case occurred a few weeks ago in Lower Austria. Five orphaned fox cubs were found near a fox den, suggesting the aftermath of a den hunt: shell casings were found at the entrance to the den. Two other fox babies did not survive the loss of their parents and were found dead. Although it is not always possible to clearly determine why fox cubs are orphaned, in this case, there are very clear indications that these fox babies became orphans due to hunting.
Fox cubs in Lower Austria were rescued
In den hunts, the animals are driven out of their burrows by hunting dogs and then shot. In addition to this hunting, foxes in many federal states do not have a single day of closed season, which especially in spring leads to numerous orphaned fox babies. Foxes are pursued 365 days a year, even when they have to care for their young. Hunters usually do not pay attention to which foxes are currently caring for their young and therefore also shoot fox parents. The young foxes, dependent on their parents, cannot yet fend for themselves and subsequently die from hypothermia, hunger, and thirst. These cases mostly go unnoticed. A current petition to the Vienna State Parliament calls for year-round protection of endangered and threatened wildlife.
Currently, the five orphaned fox cubs are being cared for at a wildlife station and prepared for re-release into the wild. For this to succeed, the foxes must remain largely untouched by human contact. Fear of humans, even of the caregiver, is important to be able to survive in the wild and to keep a distance from humans.
"Closed seasons are important! We humans have a responsibility towards animals," says the caregiver of the five orphaned fox cubs, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from the hunting community.
(Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.