Is It Possible To Have A Fox As A Pet?

Have you ever thought about taming a fox? Did you think it was impossible? Well you were wrong. In fact, at the end of the sixties a Soviet geneticist called Dmitry K. Belyaev began to experiment with the breeding of these specimens and he managed to do something that for many, until that moment, was something unheard of: he tamed foxes.

Several decades have passed (more than 35 years) and thousands of specimens, but the project continues and continues to obtain great results. In fact, nowadays, thanks to the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk (Siberia), domesticated foxes are obtained, whose behavior can be similar to that of a dog. They are not aggressive, they adapt to spaces, they are intelligent and respond to their owner’s orders. However, how do you tame a fox? How is it raised? Can it be bought? In this article, we will share the answers to some of these questions with you.

How do you tame a fox?

It is very important to make the distinction between taming and taming. Many wild animals can be tamed to prevent them from trying to kill us, but this is simply a learned behavior. Taming actually means genetically changing an animal over the generations. And this is what was done in the experiment carried out by Dr. Belyaev. Aggression in favor of docility excluded. Both behaviors have genetic roots, which can be rooted in body neurochemistry and hormones.

In the 1960s, Belyaev’s team gathered silver foxes from Siberian fur companies and, through several decades of studies, managed to tame them. In addition to breeding, the process also involved other domestication steps such as trapping, isolation in cages, and separation of the rest of the puppies. The foxes were not trained, but instead the specimens that presented the highest degrees of docility were chosen and crossed for several generations, up to a generation that proved not to be aggressive at all and whose character was similar to that of a dog.

This type of specimen, for example, does not flee and does not attack and, although it sounds strange, they can be hugged. They also let themselves be caressed and are excellent companions. If these young were released again in the cold fields of Siberia, they would not survive as they were selected differently by natural selection.

These foxes, generation after generation, demonstrated an increasing tolerance towards humans and were developing common physical traits, such as patches of hair with spots, drooping ears, short curled tails which, until then, were totally unknown in wild foxes.

Where can they buy a fox?

Several publications claim that in the 1970s there was a company that sold these lab-created foxes. Nonetheless, there are some myths about it and opinions are mixed. Some argue that these specimens from Siberia ended up in a wildlife park in the United States.

Nowadays, in the country with stars and stripes, especially in the state of Indiana where there is a large illegal trade in exotic animals, some companies say they sell foxes suitable for coexistence with people (of the gray, red and blue species). ‘Arctic), but none of these have been domesticated. Unlike the Siberian specimens, which are pets, those of North America are wild animals.

Regarding the aggression that these animals can show, some owners say that there is always a dark, dominant side to the desire to own exotic animals. It is a very masculine and macho belief.

On the other hand, if the specimen has not been domesticated, adopting it can be very dangerous. It is therefore very important not to forget that domestication is a genetic process, not a teaching process.

But don’t despair. If you want to adopt a domesticated fox, you can get one in the United States for a figure that fluctuates around $8,000. It appears the research institute has suffered a funding cut and is selling some of its creatures. Thanks to this, you can choose different colors and their adoption is perfectly legal. They are pets, so they get used to human spaces in a very similar way to that of dogs. Of course, if you decide to adopt one, it is best to keep it in very spacious and not small places, such as an apartment. They still have a very active attitude.