Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what incentives his Department gives to help control fox numbers in the UK.

Wildlife management is a devolved matter so this reply relates to England only.

Defra does not offer incentives to help control fox numbers in England and currently has no plans to control the number of foxes.

Defra's general policy is that individuals should be free to manage wildlife within the law. The fox is not a protected species so the decision to control them lies with the owner or occupier of the property where the problem occurs.

Natural England, on Defra’s behalf, has a team dedicated to providing wildlife management advice to the public, both through written material and directly by telephone.