'Family-friendly' Somerset business breeding and selling foxes as exotic pets

Somerset Reindeer Ranch warned by Council to stop

A popular Somerset business has been breeding foxes to be kept as exotic pets. Take action: boycott the business and sign the petition, calling for the new Labour government to urgently review and reform legislation.

A member of Two Counties Hunt Saboteurs discovered that a fox breeder in Somerset has been advertising foxes to sell online. The breeder is the Somerset Reindeer Ranch in Yeovil, which is a local petting zoo.

The ranch offers a 'Fox Fascination Experience', where the public pays money to cuddle, feed and take photos of the company's captive American Foxes and one native Red Fox. The ranch's owner has had no licence to breed the foxes to sell, but this is exactly what she has been doing.

The hunt sabs are calling on the public to boycott the business, which provides guided tours of its animals, as well as glamping, 'unicorn' experiences and Christmas events.

Advertising the foxes online

One sab discovered that Sarah Sutton, who runs the ranch, was advertising the foxes online to sell for £700 each.

The ranch has been advertising foxes for £700

The sab contacted Somerset Council to raise concerns. The Council later replied that it had warned Sutton that the ranch's current licence doesn't include selling the animals as pets. The council told Sutton to stop advertising herself as a licensed breeder, and advised her that she should stop advertising animals to sell.

The sab then contacted Sutton, posing as an interested customer and asking her if she could take a look at the foxes. Despite the warning from the council, Sutton replied to her that foxes were, indeed, for sale, and arranged for her to visit the ranch.

The ranch sent messages to the sab, trying to sell the foxes.

The sab told Protect the Wild that she believes there are five American Foxes and one native Red Fox at the ranch. She described what she saw on her visit:

"There were two pens side by side. Each was roughly 4ft wide by 10ft long. The mother and at that point three of the cubs had access to a small shed. The floor was straw and poo. There was a tractor tyre and an old dead Christmas tree in each of the pens. The other pen had two adult American Foxes in it.

I entered the pen with the mother and three cubs. I was told not to stroke the mother who was nervous. I was told by Sarah that the cubs were 5 weeks old. She told me that the other cubs, who had already gone to their new homes, were fine and that they bond better going between 4 and 6 weeks of age."

She continued:

"There was a grey and white male cub who Sarah was keeping to breed with another red fox, who she then took me to see. The pen with the two American Foxes she was hoping would breed soon. She then took me to a small stable with mesh on the windows where a female Red Fox was. I was told to sit in a chair and the fox climbed on me."

This fox cub has been bred at Somerset Reindeer Ranch in Yeovil

This little fox cub is being kept to be bred with a Red Fox

Still selling animals

The sab told Protect the Wild:

"When it first came to my attention that Sarah Sutton of Reindeer Ranch was breeding fox cubs I was interested if she has a licence for breeding and selling animals and she didn't at that time. I am waiting for a response from Somerset licensing department to see if she has applied for one now, as I currently have proof of her also selling baby skunk."

The ranch commented to a member of the public on Facebook as recently as 1 July, stating that skunks are for sale. Also in July, another hunt sab posed as an interested customer, asking to buy a skunk. Sutton told him that the creatures are for sale for £450.

On top of this, Sutton is advertising selling an emu on the pet-selling website, and still states that she is a licensed breeder.

Somerset Reindeer Ranch is using Facebook to sell skunks

The ranch's private message to a sab, posing as an interested customer

Sign the petition

The sab told us that she believes that Sutton is selling the foxes as exotic pets, but that once the novelty wears off, the animals might be released into the wild or sold on. Of course, there is also a danger that these animals will get into the hands of hunters, or others who like to set their dogs onto wild animals for fun.

Two Counties Sabs has called for everyone to boycott Somerset Reindeer Ranch. She said:

"I have also started a Change.org petition as there is no legislation in place that requires people from keeping foxes as pets or breeding or exhibiting them. The way we can prevent this continuing is to make it difficult for people to breed and keep these animals."

The petition calls for the Labour government to introduce licensing and legislation for the breeding and keeping of foxes. It states:

"Foxes are victims of the exotic pet trade and sadly as these animals are exempt from protection of The Animal Welfare Act, this trade is unlicensed and unregulated. Fox cubs are being sold as novelty pets as young as 4 weeks of age, with no consideration of their wellbeing.

This petition is for the new Labour Government to review and reform the laws and legislation around the keeping and breeding of exotic animals so that there is legal protection to prevent the selling of fox cubs under 8 weeks of age and to ensure that until this age the cubs stay with their mother in a safe and enriching environment where they have space to express their natural behaviours."

Join hundreds of people who have already signed the petition. Add your name here.

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