Scientists say New Forest wheelie bins needed to cut human food waste boost to fox population

PLANS to replace the Forest’s “outdated” plastic refuse bags with wheelie bins could be key to cutting the rising urban fox population, which is thriving on residents’ food waste.

That is the message of a new study which found New Forest foxes are consuming large amounts of human food leftovers, which is likely keeping numbers artificially high.

The two-year study was carried out by the Fordingbridge-based Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and Bournemouth University, which say reducing food waste and better refuse management could help manage the local fox population, easing the predatory threat to wild birds.

The research estimates that of those foxes removed over the course of a year by wildlife managers, two-thirds could be living off human food waste.

Scientists analysed the stomach contents of 447 foxes, which showed, on average, 14% of their diets were made up of human food sources.

Their diets also included small mammals, plants, invertebrates, birds, rabbits, hares, reptiles, and 23% unknown material, which could contain even more human-derived sustenance.

Nest predation and poor chick survival is primarily responsible for low breeding success of waders in the national park, including curlew, lapwing, oystercatcher, and ringed plover.

The lead author of the paper, the trust’s post-doctoral research scientist Nathan Williams, said: “We found a wide range of human food items in fox stomachs, and the remnants of plastic bin bags.

“This is likely to be a result of food waste being left unsecured by the outdated waste disposal system, and possibly people deliberately feeding foxes.”

Forestry England keepers in the New Forest helped trust scientists by providing culled animals for diet analysis.

The trust’s head of predation management research, Mike Short, highlighted the wider ramifications of the study, published in the journal Mammal Research. He said: “It is important that people understand that by wasting food and making it available to scavengers, we are indirectly bolstering fox populations, and this has a negative impact on breeding wading birds.

“It also means that more foxes are having to be culled, clearing up the ecological mess created by humans. Now is the time to put sustainability at the top of our national wildlife recovery agenda.”

He added: “Predator management has contributed to a seven-fold increase in curlew productivity, with at least 17 curlew chicks fledging in 2024. However, given the financial cost and ethical implications of delivering effective predator control, it is imperative that we address the underlying cause of locally high fox densities, including the issue of food waste.

New Forest District Council will begin its rollout of wheelie bins in June, with alternate weekly collections of general waste and recycling.

Residents will be provided with two bins: a black lidded 180-litre bin for general waste, and a green lidded 240-litre one for recyclable items.

The council will also issue each home with a brown outdoor caddy and a smaller grey indoor caddy for food waste, which will be collected weekly.

Phase one of the new scheme, rolled out in June, will see residents in New Milton, Lymington, and surrounding areas, the first to receive their bins.

Phase two, which covers the west and north-west of the Forest and includes Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Burley, and surrounding areas, will start in October.

Residents in phase three, the east and north-east of the Forest, including Totton, Hythe, and Marchwood, will not receive theirs until March 2026.