Leicester - St Peters
Neighbourhood Management Board.

The foxes in our neighbourhood

It is probably true to say that there have been foxes in this part of leicester before man ever settled here.

Many of us have seen them while even more of us have heard them, perhaps not quite aware that what we are listening* to is actually foxes. They often ransack rubbish bags when leicester city council allow them to stand around for days on end, scattering the contents.

But they are not entirely useless. One of the big issues in this neighbourhood are the rats and mice which as it happens foxes are prolific consumers of. More rats than mice in actual fact. This is one of the reason why we need to question how we are disposing of our food waste.

Roast Chicken Or Rat? 

Lets face it... if your were given a choice between a spare but nice piece roast chicken or the odd samosa thrown out of a 14th floor window** and a rat what would you opt for? Well foxes are the same. And if the foxes are dining on high velocity roast chicken and samosa's then the rat population multiplies. Food thrown out of windows*** (once it has slowed down and has lost its ability to deliver concussion) is an easier dinner for our foxes as well as the rats left unmunched by the foxes.

But like all fast food... morsels lobbed out of windows is very unhealthy to the foxes. Even a samosa can deliver a pretty unpleasant bash across to the top of the snout to a waiting and over eager fox.

Each year the sight of the mother fox leading her group of mischievous cubs is a sight many here in St Peters find pleasure in. Here in St Peters this scampering parade has evolved a zig zag for some reason around the apartment buildings.

Looking after our foxes

Unfortunately, we can not divulge the sleeping location of any of our foxes shown here on this website as they really do like to be left undisturbed and may abandon a place if they don't feel at peace there. If you know where foxes rest up during the day please be cautious about letting too many other people know. Whilst its unlikely that anyone would intend harm, any curiosity driven attention will be unwelcome to the foxes.

Some of us here in St Peters and highfields are very fortunate to be able to keep a close and regular watch over them. One of the things we are concerned about at the moment is a bad limp developed by a female fox due to give birth in the spring. It may impact her ability to forage and feed her cubs so as you can imagine we are being quite watchful in regard to her in particular.

* (Despite more imaginative speculations to the contrary the cause for this noise from foxes is actually nothing more sensational than tummy upset brought high velocity cuisine and half eaten burghers thrown by people into our shrubberies. This food although attractive to our foxes really is not good for them and keeps them up all night and us too if we don't have ear muffs and triple glazing)

** (by a resident who thinks the request not to throw items out of the windows does not apply to them and who will find themselves acquiring a certain degree of notoriety and fame for ignorance as well as for possibly not looking quite their best when they appeared at a window behind a shower of descending frozen samosa's)

*** (The people who walk around St Peters with their hoods up on bright sunny days who may be misguided fashion victims or drug dealing louts with something to hide will be joined by a 3rd group of people who were caught on the St Peters NM litter cams throwing items out of windows and then had the photo's and video's uploaded to the internet and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people as well as placed on notice boards around the neighbourhood. Hoodies are set become quite popular in St Peters in 2008.)

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St Peters?

St Peters is an area of primarily social housing in Leicester in the East Midlands of England.

Being mainly residential faith area it incorporates a number of schools, health centres and business zones for small and light business.