https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/national/article310659860.html

While a fox stealing shoes seems cute, the conservation officers at Grand Teton National Park don’t seem to think so.  They have threatened to relocate “or worse” the fox if they become “habituated”.  Leghold trapping, snaring, or shooting foxes is never effective.   Humane traps , sedative, and euthanasia is pointless too.  More foxes move in.  And foxes are naturally habituated to human presence.  They are an urban animal.  

Grand Tetons National Park staff are not opposed to killing “habituated” foxes.  One radio collared fox was killed and dissected in 2018 by park staff.  Killing an an simply because they are close to humans is not euthanasia.  It is pest control extermination.  https://www.eastidahonews.com/2018/01/food-conditioned-red-fox-killed-grand-teton-national-park/

https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/sly-fox-steals-no-fewer-than-32-shoes-in-grand-teton-national-park-campground/article_c8cb472e-9f58-4606-b6ad-7e0e0724e408.html

While we agree that luring foxes with anything, including shoes, for a photo is cruel, killing the fox is even worse.  The North American model of conservation, based on pest management where animals are over there, separated from the divine humans, is not ecologically sustainable and is incompatible with Traditional Indigenous Ecological Knowledge.  

We would like the Teton National Park Service to give up any proposal to potentially kill the fox, and instead ask people to not leave shoes outside simply because it is unnatural and disruptive to the fox’s natural behaviour.  Email or phone the park here and let them know the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment for a playful fox who loves shoes.  Teton Interagency Dispatch Center at 307.739.3301.