Ever since I got "foxed" eight years ago by two juvenile foxes that turned my urban garden into their playground, I have been proud to be a voice for foxes. My fox films give us precious insights into the secret lives of this much-maligned species. I set up Fox Guardians as a hub of information and advice on urban foxes. I work full-time for foxes on a voluntary basis.

Over the last few weeks four of my motion-activated camera traps that I use to monitor vulnerable foxes 24/7 have broken down. All of these cameras are now out of warranty and can’t be repaired. Sadly, I don’t have the means to replace this expensive but crucial equipment.

In the past the cameras were used to make sure a fox family was safe during a big building project that happened near a fox den. My documentary “Ophelia’s Secret Garden” showed how urban development can be sympathetic to wildlife.

Most recently I used a trail camera to monitor tiny fox cubs that seemed to have been abandoned by mum and the footage recorded was vital as it showed, mum was still nursing the cubs and eventually carried them off to her new den. The footage captured by these cameras gives us precious insights into the secret lives of foxes and their complex social interactions without disturbing them.

For the last 2 years I have been supporting a fox family at a local re-wildered cemetery. I recently successfully treated some of the adult fox family members for mange and other illnesses. Hazel, a juvenile fox boy was very ill as the irritation mange was causing lead him to self-harm. The camera trap footage was a vital tool as it allowed me to take a closer look at his self-inflicted wounds and helped me to decide if he needed trapping or could be treated in the wild. It was challenging to treat him in the wild but eventually he made a full recovery without having to experience the trauma of being trapped.

Recently cubs have been born at the cemetery and I want to keep an eye on them, so I can make sure I can act quickly, should a cub get ill or injured. The cemetery is a very big site I usually monitor with 5 cameras to cover all the multitude of dens and routes used by the foxes. I now only have one working camera in situ which is not sufficient for monitoring the fox family of ten foxes.

One camera including all parts (rechargeable batteries and memory cards) costs £300, so to replace the 4 broken cameras will cost £1200.

I am also raising funds for live-saving mange treatments. One mange treatment that cures mange in one dosage and keeps a fox mange-free for 3 months costs £35. Sometimes multiple family members suffer from mange and they all need treating, so I go through a lot of treatments.

Last but not least, your donations will buy fox food. I currently support 20 foxes by supplementary feeding and spend at least £50 every week on fox food. That is a staggering £2600 per year.

To have a feeding pattern in place guarantees that a fox can be treated or trapped quickly should they fall ill as food is used as a carrier for the treatment or bait inside a trap. If I had not fed Hazel, I could have not treated him and ultimately saved his life.

The £3000 I hope to raise with your help, would pay for 4 trail cameras, 6 months of fox food as well as 15 mange treatments. If I manage to raise more funds, I would invest in more monitoring equipment as well as buy more live-saving mange treatments and fox food.

I understand these are such difficult times and most of us have not much (if any) disposable income left to use towards a supporting a cause that aligns with our ethics.

You can also support my work by sharing this campaign, commenting on it as well as following Fox Guardians on social media.

Together we can make the world a better place for wildlife!

Thank you so much for your kindness.

Dora & the foxes X