Originally Posted by Pierre

This is true, a shot gun is not a "hunting rifle". To kill with a shot gun you have to be fairly close range.

Also as you know, shot guns don't contain bullets, they contain shot, pellets, that disperse when fired. Depending how accurate you want to be decides the size and no. of pellets in the cartridge.

It is quite probably that a fox shot at by a shot gun, unless standing right over it, could be hit several times by the pellets in various places but not killed and in fact may even be able to escape and crawl in to hide somewhere. where it would bleed to death and in pain.

Also, I live in the countryside, have done for 5 years, never seen a fox. Heard them at night, found their faeces in my garden and in the surrounding fields, but never seen one.

Because, of course, they're nocturnal. Now, do you think a farmer or gamekeeper walks around at night with night vision goggles looking for foxes to kill on the off chance he runs into one???????

No, they don't, they set traps and snares. So the fox is trapped by a snare it struggles all night in vain to escape panicing, damaging itself in the process. It could be there days, then if it hasn't died a miserable death already, the farmer turns up and shoots it.

If I was a fox, I know what which way I'd prefer to go.