Foxes in Portsmouth often live on a diet of food scavenged from refuse bags left out on the street, badly-cleaned or easily accessed refuse storage areas, carelessly discarded fast-food, berries, plant bulbs, worms, garden insects, birds and other small mammals, including rats and mice.
Portsmouth City Council has neither a legal duty nor the resources to control fox numbers
If sufficient resources did exist, we would still need to cull more than 60% of the fox population to make a material difference to the numbers on our streets. Any void created would quickly be filled by other foxes taking over their established areas.
Culling is unacceptable to many residents, as many like to see foxes in the city. It could be argued that foxes actually benefit our environment because they prey upon a number of pest species, including rats and mice.
Our policy is to try to educate residents about the circumstances which accidentally encourage foxes into gardens, and how simple steps can be taken to prevent foxes from being enticed to stay in a particular area.