Riga City Council Explains Why Foxes Enter the City and How to Keep Them Away

Riga City Council has published an explanation about foxes in the urban environment, along with recommendations for residents on how to reduce the presence of these wild animals in populated areas. The municipality notes that foxes have lived in and around cities for a long time, so their appearance in built-up areas is nothing unusual.

In recent years the number of reports from residents has grown, but according to the council this is not due to a sharp rise in the fox population. The reason is the wide availability of mobile phones and surveillance cameras, which lets people film and photograph the animals more often.

Why foxes like the city

In the city foxes find safe shelter and plenty of food. There are no natural enemies here, such as wolves and lynxes, which limit fox numbers in the wild. Untrained domestic dogs do not pose a serious threat to them. The fox is a clever, adaptable animal and uses resources created by people: besides birds, rodents and small cats, it feeds on food waste and the contents of pet or bird feeders.

Foxes are wild animals and can carry diseases and parasites, including ticks, fleas, intestinal parasites and mange, because they receive no veterinary care. Rabies, meanwhile, has been officially eradicated in Latvia thanks to long-term oral vaccination, and in many years it has not been found in any wild animal.

Recommendations for residents

• Restrict access to food: do not throw away food waste, close or fence off waste containers, place pet and bird food so that foxes do not get used to it, and remove it during the hours of darkness.
• Fence off the territory: close holes in fences. A fox can climb fence mesh, dig under it or jump in from a raised spot. The principle is simple: where a fox's snout fits through, the whole animal can pass.
• Block hiding places, especially in industrial areas, because foxes choose such spots for dens.
• Combine deterrents: ultrasonic repellents, light sensors and noise effects, regularly changing the frequency, sound and brightness. Ultrasonic devices may disturb pets.

The council stresses that using firearms in city areas inhabited by foxes is generally not permitted. Hunting foxes in an urban setting is legally and technically problematic, and the mere presence of a fox within Riga's administrative territory does not automatically mean the hunting prerequisites set out in regulations are met.