Mangy foxes 'will not survive': A cry for help

A Windsor resident is asking for the public’s help to capture two injured foxes roaming in the east end of the city.

“They will not survive,” said Christine Harvie, a nearby resident. “They have no fur to keep them warm."

She said the pair are suffering from mange, a severe skin disease that causes scabs, lesions and hair loss.

Harvie is working side-by-side with local tracker Mary Morneau, who set up a five-foot by seven-foot trap with cameras and sensors on Harvie’s driveway.

The driveway is also scented with a liquid concoction of water, chicken, fresh food and barbecue sauce.

Once the animals enter the cage and eat from the main feeding station, the trap door shuts.

But Harvie said one trap isn't enough.

Christine Harvie seen in Windsor, Ont. on Nov. 13, 2024. (Stefanie Masotti/CTV News Windsor)

She is asking anyone living on Banwell Road, Chateau Avenue or anywhere around the Blue Heron Pond to allow Morneau to set up a similar trap, free of charge.

“You have to make sure that you can monitor it 24/7,” said Harvie.

“Food, water, scenting and being able to watch it on the camera, even in the evening.”

If you don’t have to ability to help trap the animals, Harvie is asking to keep an eye out and report any sighting on the Riverside Bulletin Board’s Facebook page.

“We need to know where the foxes are, daily locations, patterns, where they're coming,” she explained.

“We don't want people feeding them right now. We want them hungry, so they go to the locations of the traps.”

The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society set up a temporary trap at Blue Heron Pond but have since taken it down.

WECHS live trap. (Source: Christine Harvie)

“We found that we were catching everything but the fox,” said Lynette Bain, WECHS executive director.

Harvie and her husband, Dale, are no strangers to rescuing animals in need. For 13 years they’ve rescued several animals including a goose, ducks and turtles.

Christine Harvie's husband Dale. (Source: Christine Harvie)

But this rescue is more meaningful.

“One of the foxes came by my house, sat at the front steps, looked at our home and sat on a rock,” she said.

“I felt like it was a gift to honor my late husband. He was an animal welfare officer.”

Wings Rehabilitation Centre said they are on standby and ready to treat the foxes once they are caught.

“We need the community pull together,” said Harvie. “Let’s get these foxes caught.”