Posted: 7/30/2012 2:23:26 PM EDT
| My girlfriend lives in Gates County North Carolina and has a fox hanging around her house. She has no pets, kids or anything. She normally sees it in the real early morning going to work and one morning it was making noises at her. What can legally be done if anything to fix the problem? It scares her more then anything. I looked online for laws but all I found was hunting regulations. |
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Good excuse to get a high velocity air rifle. Snipe it.
Seriously, though even if its legal in a neighborhood you don't want to be seen shooting anything, probably not even carrying something firearm looking. People are stupid, many cops are a serious p.i.t.a., and NC has a law about going armed to the terror of the public or people, so in theory if one idiot gets spooked and you're not doing something totally and completely legitimate you may find yourself in court, minus whatever "scary weapon" you were carrying, even if you're eventually cleared recovering weapons is difficult, court and bail are expensive, and arrest reports can be nearly as damning as convictions, its cool though you're innocent until proven guilty. Trapping in a neighborhood is also sketchy, catch a pet and if it is at all harmed you may be in for civil or criminal charges, trapping regs probably also apply for a game animal. Animal control is probably the best bet, or get some written advice from D of F&G. |
| I'd just leave it alone as it's likely got a den nearby and is keeping the local rabbit and mouse population in check. Good advice from others on the thread, given the laws you can get in a bunch of trouble if you take matters into your own hands. Animal control may or may not help you, it doesn't actually sound like it's a nuisance she's just freaked out by seeing it. Foxes are very adaptable to urban areas but generally avoid contact with humans. But you still want to give them a wide berth, they can carry rabies. |
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Quoted:
Good excuse to get a high velocity air rifle. Snipe it. Seriously, though even if its legal in a neighborhood you don't want to be seen shooting anything, probably not even carrying something firearm looking. People are stupid, many cops are a serious p.i.t.a., and NC has a law about going armed to the terror of the public or people, so in theory if one idiot gets spooked and you're not doing something totally and completely legitimate you may find yourself in court, minus whatever "scary weapon" you were carrying, even if you're eventually cleared recovering weapons is difficult, court and bail are expensive, and arrest reports can be nearly as damning as convictions, its cool though you're innocent until proven guilty. Trapping in a neighborhood is also sketchy, catch a pet and if it is at all harmed you may be in for civil or criminal charges, trapping regs probably also apply for a game animal. Animal control is probably the best bet, or get some written advice from D of F&G. There's more to it than that. Otherwise no one would be able to open carry. |
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Good excuse to get a high velocity air rifle. Snipe it. Seriously, though even if its legal in a neighborhood you don't want to be seen shooting anything, probably not even carrying something firearm looking. People are stupid, many cops are a serious p.i.t.a., and NC has a law about going armed to the terror of the public or people, so in theory if one idiot gets spooked and you're not doing something totally and completely legitimate you may find yourself in court, minus whatever "scary weapon" you were carrying, even if you're eventually cleared recovering weapons is difficult, court and bail are expensive, and arrest reports can be nearly as damning as convictions, its cool though you're innocent until proven guilty. Trapping in a neighborhood is also sketchy, catch a pet and if it is at all harmed you may be in for civil or criminal charges, trapping regs probably also apply for a game animal. Animal control is probably the best bet, or get some written advice from D of F&G. There's more to it than that. Otherwise no one would be able to open carry. I'm certainly no authority, but I've read open carry is not legal in some localities of NC, and everything I've read about places it is legal included a caveat about NC common law's going armed to the terror of the public statute, which is terribly vague, possibly to the point of being unconstitutional. I haven't heard any cases of it being used against anyone otherwise abiding the law, but it potentially could be, and you would likely amass legal fees and would gain an arrest record if it were, personally I don't have any interest in being a test case. I would hope, most LEOs would be more reasonable than to arrest an otherwise law abiding citizen for one person's hysteria, and I know they aren't all up on every law, but there are LEOs & DAs that are very much opposed to the populace being armed so the potential, even if its remote, exists. If questioned while stalking/pursuing a nuisence non aggressive animal and admitting to planning to discharge said weapon in a relatively populated urban or suburban enviroment you really start stacking things against you. |
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We have a fox that hangs around our house and we just leave it alone. It has never shown any aggression or came anywhere close to us. As long as its not messing with you why would you mess with it? This one seemed a bit more aggressive this morning. It was also a lot closer to the house and I think it was more startled then anything. I do plan on leaving it alone unless I have to do something about it. Im just worried that because she lives near a chicken farm it might be of a problem later on. |
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I'd just leave it alone as it's likely got a den nearby and is keeping the local rabbit and mouse population in check. This. We have one that lives in the forested area behind my house, I've seen it twice in the past 3 years getting a drink from the creek back there. I'd just leave it alone and enjoy getting to see a fox every once in a while :) |
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We have a fox that hangs around our house and we just leave it alone. It has never shown any aggression or came anywhere close to us. As long as its not messing with you why would you mess with it? This one seemed a bit more aggressive this morning. It was also a lot closer to the house and I think it was more startled then anything. I do plan on leaving it alone unless I have to do something about it. Im just worried that because she lives near a chicken farm it might be of a problem later on. Call animal control and the local warden. Follow their advice. If they say there is nothing that can be done, wait until hunting season and have someone bust him if your friend is in an area where it is legal to do so. |
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We have a fox that hangs around our house and we just leave it alone. It has never shown any aggression or came anywhere close to us. As long as its not messing with you why would you mess with it? This one seemed a bit more aggressive this morning. It was also a lot closer to the house and I think it was more startled then anything. I do plan on leaving it alone unless I have to do something about it. Im just worried that because she lives near a chicken farm it might be of a problem later on. Symptoms of a Rabid Fox |