Towns and cities are not only home to human animals, but also, and increasingly, to many non-human animals. This goes far beyond domesticated animals and includes a number of wild living animals who take advantage of, and have their own perspectives on, urban life. What would it mean to think in terms of multispecies co-habitation, one that is sensitive to and respects those other perspectives, when humans build, expand and renovate towns and cities? With that, we are looking at the very foundation of a multispecies society – the connectedness and overlapping of the homes of animals and non-human animals.
In our particular context, we are exploring how to improve coexistence with foxes in Danish towns and cities. The multitude of smaller mammals also living in cities make them a natural territory for foxes. However, at present, foxes are currently in a ‘shoot-on-site’ category in Denmark - management practices more often than not simply involve killing foxes. Moreover, public perception of urban foxes, impacted by news channels presenting foxes as a problem, is largely negative. Public conversation around urban foxes that moves away from patterns of conflict and towards a vision of coexistence is therefore essential to foster more harmonious, or at least tolerant, relations between humans and foxes. Philosophy can help here. As Mary Midgley argues, philosophical conversation is not limited to the elite philosopher but is in fact a necessity for every person in everyday life. This case is no exception. We must discuss how we can construct and inhabit our towns and cities in ways that are beneficial for foxes and other animals. How can we become good neighbours to the wild animals sharing our spaces?
