Can supplemental feeding of red foxes Vulpes vulpes increase roe deer Capreolus capreolus recruitment in the boreal forest?

The article presents a study which examined whether the supplemental feeding of red foxes Vulpes vulpes could increase roe deer Capreolus capreolus recruitment in the boreal forest. Researchers provided red fox vixens with food, supplied as close to active dens as possible and monitored recruitment of radio-marked roe deer in the vicinity of these dens at a realistic management scale. The found no tendency towards increased recruitment of roe deer although red foxes found and consumed the food supplied. They concluded that supplemental feeding of red foxes during the fawning period is not a solution to the management problem.