WILDWOODS
This silver fox, a color variation that’s typically bred by humans for their fur, began her life on a fur farm in Wisconsin. She escaped her fate when a man in Minnesota bought her to make into a house pet.
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Neighbors reported the man to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) after he was seen walking the fox on a leash. The DNR investigated the situation, but since the fox was not wild-caught, nothing was done and she continued to live with her owner, Wildwoods, a wildlife rehabilitation organization, wrote on Facebook.
“However, foxes do not make great pets,” Wildwoods wrote. “It takes many, many generations of selective breeding to come up with an animal as docile and friendly as a dog. So, eventually the man started trying to sell the fox on social media.”
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The fox was purchased by two young women, who also learned the hard way that wild animals aren’t good house pets. They dropped the fox off at a local animal shelter, claiming to have found her on a beach, but eventually confessed to obtaining the fox through her previous owner. The women then made a generous donation toward the fox’s care, according to Wildwoods.
“The animal control officer checked again with the man who had been reported by his neighbors,” Wildwoods wrote. “He said he had ‘gotten rid’ of his fox. He was vague as to specifics.”
The fox, who is about 4 months old, is now in Wildwoods’ care, until a suitable sanctuary can be found for her — preferably one where she can be an educational animal and help teach people, according to Wildwoods. She can’t be released to the wild because she was raised around humans.
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“She would not make a good pet,” the rehabilitation center emphasized in a Facebook comment. “Non-domesticated animals never make good pets. She is food-aggressive, not housebroken and has a very strong, foxy odor.”
Despite how cute she is, she’s still far from being just like a dog or cat. Wildwoods further noted that there are many fantastic, domesticated animals in shelters across the country in need of loving homes.
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