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Fox Domestication and Pet Ownership

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Fox Domestication and Pet Ownership FAUX FOXES: FOX DOMESTICATION AND PET OWNERSHIP HONORS THESIS Presented to the Honors Committee of Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation in the Honors College by Noelle Marie Brooks San Marcos, Texas May 2015 FAUX FOXES: FOX DOMESTICATION AND PET OWNERSHIP Thesis Supervisor: ________________________________ Harvey Ginsburg, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Second Reader: __________________________________ Bob Fischer, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy Approved: ____________________________________ Heather C. Galloway, Ph.D. Dean, Honors College COPYRIGHT by Noelle M. Brooks 2015 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief questions from this material are allowed with prior acknowledgement. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Noelle Marie Brooks, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. DEDICATION This study is dedicated to the memory of the companion foxes that have lost their lives due to the fear, misunderstanding, negligence, and restrictions of humans and the owners whom loved and cared for them. To Anya, Vader, Valo, and Miko, and their owners Kay, Tara and Eric, Chloe, and Anda, may this honor the bonds you shared and the lives you created together. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Harvey Ginsburg, this project would not exist without your guidance. I thank you for agreeing to mentor me as my Thesis Supervisor and for allowing me your time and thoughts. Because of your recommendations, this piece developed into a study that added to the information and understanding of fox domestication and pet ownership and included my own illustrated artworks, allowing me to incorporate my artistic abilities with my fascination for fox domestication. Due to your inspired ideas and tireless edits, this project has developed into a well-researched, valid addition to the existing literature on the domestication of the red fox that I feel proud to have written. I would like to extend special thanks for your assistance with creating the survey, analyzing the data, and writing about the results. This project would not have come to fruition without your creativity, dedication, knowledge, and expertise. Thank you, greatly; it was a pleasure working with you. Dr. Bob Fischer, I thank you greatly for accepting my request for your guidance as my Second Reader and for remaining honest in expressing your doubts and concerns. As the project began to shift further from your areas of expertise, you continued to offer help and support, regardless. I apologize for the inconveniences and difficulties, but truly thank you for your dedication and assistance. Your offerings helped support my writings and your suggestions refocused my thoughts. Your mentoring shaped the project to what it has become. vi Dr. Meeks and Dr. Ogletree, thank you both for allowing me to utilize your classes and students for this study. Your students contributed valuable information to this project and helped improve our understanding of attitudes about domesticating wild foxes and selling them as pets. Anonymous Honors College Student, thank you for volunteering your time to administer the survey portion of this study when I was unable to. Thanks to your kindness, the survey was administered successfully. Dr. Heather Galloway, this project started with your encouragement over five years ago. Thank you for convincing me to pursue this endeavor and for helping me materialize it. Your initial proofreading and suggestions helped me refocus my writing and guide it in a stronger direction and your praises helped drive me to continue and finish the work. I am honored to have worked with you and to have participated in this project. Dr. Donald Olson, your famous lesson to always find the primary source pushed my determination and drive to find the truth while researching. With this thought in mind, I suspected everything and searched until I found the original source. Within a sea of information, your advice helped me find the most valuable references. Jean and Keith Brooks, thank you for years of supporting my unusual fascination with foxes and encouraging me to pursue this project. I appreciated your understanding throughout this work and your interest in my research. vii Nicholas Smith, thank you for your unwavering love and support throughout the entirety of this project. Your reassurance helped motivate me to endure as I worked continuously and tirelessly to complete this work. I appreciate your care and assistance as you provided for me when I simply didn’t have the time and resources to provide for myself. This project may not have been possible without your constant inspiration, understanding, dedication, and selflessness. Thank you for your sacrifices and deep sympathies. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... xvi ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 The History of Fox Domestication at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Experimental Fox Farm .................................................................................................3 Methodology ........................................................................7 Results ................................................................................20 Behavior .................................................................21 Communication ......................................................22 Development ..........................................................24 Physiology..............................................................26 Reproduction ..........................................................28 Anatomy .................................................................30 Conclusions ........................................................................34 Pet Fox Cases .............................................................................................39 Texas Government Confiscates Mikhail and Nikolai the Domesticated Foxes ...........................................................43 Michigan Community Forces Relocation of Anya the Domesticated Fox ..............................................................59 North Dakota Police Exterminate Vader the Ranched Fox ...........75 Ohio City Exterminates Valo the Ranched Fox .............................82 Virginia Police Confiscate Swiper the Ranched Fox .....................87 Foxes as Pets ..............................................................................................93 ix II. RESEARCHER’S INTENTIONS...................................................................108 Hypotheses ...............................................................................................108 Hypothesis 1: Pet Dogs Compared to Pet Domesticated Foxes ..109 Hypothesis 2: Ethical and Legal Attitudes ...................................110 Hypothesis 3: Perceptions of Wild to Domesticated Fox Images 112 Hypothesis 4: Knowledge of the Farm-Fox Experiment .............115 III. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................116 Participants ...............................................................................................116 Demographics ..............................................................................116 Materials ..................................................................................................116 Participant Information Page .......................................................117 Cover Page ...................................................................................117 Survey ..........................................................................................117 Section I ...........................................................................117 Section II ..........................................................................118 Section III .........................................................................120 Section IV .........................................................................121 Section IV A: Stop Angle and Body Part Length .122 Section IV B: Ear Curl ..........................................128 Section IV C: Tail Curl Angle ..............................131 Section IV D: Fur Color .......................................133 Section IV E: Composite ......................................136 Procedures ................................................................................................138 Statistical Analyses ..................................................................................139
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