Opinion and report of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the assessment of the impact of fox population dynamics on public health

ABSTRACT The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) can be hunted as a game species. It may also be listed as a “species likely to cause damage” (ESOD – the acronym in French), for public health reasons among others. Conversely, benefits linked to the presence of foxes are also put forward, such as the predation of rodents carrying zoonotic agents. In this context, ANSES was asked to: (1) list the zoonoses present in France for which foxes play an epidemiological role, (2) identify other public health impacts associated with changes in fox populations, (3) explain the relative importance of the effects of changes in fox populations for humans and/or the environment, (4) analyse the feasibility of a cost‐benefit analysis (CBA) of the prevention and impacts associated with these zoonoses. In France, the fox is a source of zoonotic pathogens, with a major role for Echinococcus multilocularis, a parasite for which the fox is the main source of environmental contamination. However, reducing fox populations does not reduce the risk of transmission of E. multilocularis to humans or domestic animals, and may even have the opposite effect to the one intended. The main levers for action are those relating to exposure to environmental contamination. The fox is part of complex trophic networks, in which its specific role in regulating prey populations is impossible to determine because (i) several predators share the same prey, with a variable role for the fox among the predators, (ii) the dynamics of prey populations is also conditioned by factors other than predation. The relationship between the abundance of rodents and the risk of disease for humans has not been demonstrated either, due to the complexity of the trophic and epidemiological networks, their highly probable variability from one ecosystem to another, and the multiplicity of hosts. As a result, the data currently available does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the epidemiological role of the fox as a predator of rodents hosting zoonotic agents. Finally, there is no public health justification for culling foxes, particularly for ESOD classification, except in the very specific and localised context of the fight against bovine tuberculosis, for which the selective culling of foxes in and around the livestock buildings of a domestic outbreak has been proposed. In addition, the expertise concluded to the feasibility of a CBA targeted at assessing the burden of alveolar echinococcosis and measures to prevent its transmission. The feasibility study shows the partial nature of a CBA targeting zoonoses, without taking into account other roles played by the fox in the ecosystem.

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Publication Details

Journal
Food Risk Assess Europe
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2903/fr.efsa.2025.fr-0062
Primary Topic
Zoonotic diseases and public health
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Opinion and report of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the assessment of the impact of fox population dynamics on public health

Thierry Brunelle, Gilles Bornert, Yves Millemann, Catherine Belloc et al.
Food Risk Assess Europe
Zoonotic diseases and public health
article

Opinion and report of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the assessment of the impact of fox population dynamics on public health

Thierry Brunelle, Gilles Bornert, Yves Millemann, Catherine Belloc, Christine Le Clainche, Pierre Mormède, Alice de Boyer Des Roches, Barbara Dufour, Annick Linden, Gilles Meyer, Éric Cardinale, Elsa Bonnaud, Caroline Le Maréchal, Emmanuelle Gilot‐Fromont, Jeanne‐Marie Membré, Nathalie Jourdan‐Da Silva, Céline Richomme, Noémie Desriac, Cécile Detang‐Dessendre, Claire Ponsart, Louis‐Georges Soler, Florence Étoré, François Meurens, Nadia Oulahal, Catherine Collignon, Sandrine Guillou, Aurélie Courcoul, Eric Oswald, Frédéric Auvray, Jean‐Christophe Vergnaud, Régine Talòn, Étienne Giraud, Véronique Raimond, Claire Guinat, Claude Saegerman, Marc Leandri, Veasna Duong, Claude Fischer, Sophie Le Poder, Georges Daube, Sélim Louafi, Elodie Rouvière, Sandra Martin‐Latil, Mickaël Boni, Léa Tardieu, Frédéric Borges, Lionel Grisot, Monika Coton, Isabelle Villena, Nathalie Arnich, Agnès Waret‐Szkuta, Sabine Schorr‐Galindo, M. Saint‐Jean, France Caillavet, Eric Plottu, Xavier Bailly, Carole Peroz, Catherine Chubilleau, Emmanuelle Robardet, Stéphane Bertagnoli, Francis Raoul, Jean‐François Valarcher, Frédéric Carlin, Didier Hilaire, Elsa Jourdain, Philippe Fravalo, Karine Fiore, Isabelle Vallée, Florence Dubois‐Brissonnet, Laura Maxim, Michel Trommetter, Sandrine Ruette, Denis Salles, Carine Paraud, Claire Le Marrec, Michel Fédérighi, Céline Bonnet, Michèle Gourmelon, Serge Garcia, Séverine Boullier, Pascal Piveteau, Nadia Haddad, Thomas Coutrot, Hervé Juin, Alain Carpentier, Michel Gautier, Henri‐Jean Boulouis, S. Neveu, Alain Boissy, Stéphane Guyot, Luc Baumstark, Julien Gauthey, Youenn Loheac, Emmanuelle Lavaine, Bénédicte Apouey, Natacha Woronoff‐Rehn
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) can be hunted as a game species. It may also be listed as a “species likely to cause damage” (ESOD – the acronym in French), for public health reasons among others. Conversely, benefits linked to the presence of foxes are also put forward, such as the predation of rodents carrying zoonotic agents. In this context, ANSES was asked to: (1) list the zoonoses present in France for which foxes play an epidemiological role, (2) identify other public health impacts associated with changes in fox populations, (3) explain the relative importance of the effects of changes in fox populations for humans and/or the environment, (4) analyse the feasibility of a cost‐benefit analysis (CBA) of the prevention and impacts associated with these zoonoses. In France, the fox is a source of zoonotic pathogens, with a major role for Echinococcus multilocularis, a parasite for which the fox is the main source of environmental contamination. However, reducing fox populations does not reduce the risk of transmission of E. multilocularis to humans or domestic animals, and may even have the opposite effect to the one intended. The main levers for action are those relating to exposure to environmental contamination. The fox is part of complex trophic networks, in which its specific role in regulating prey populations is impossible to determine because (i) several predators share the same prey, with a variable role for the fox among the predators, (ii) the dynamics of prey populations is also conditioned by factors other than predation. The relationship between the abundance of rodents and the risk of disease for humans has not been demonstrated either, due to the complexity of the trophic and epidemiological networks, their highly probable variability from one ecosystem to another, and the multiplicity of hosts. As a result, the data currently available does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the epidemiological role of the fox as a predator of rodents hosting zoonotic agents. Finally, there is no public health justification for culling foxes, particularly for ESOD classification, except in the very specific and localised context of the fight against bovine tuberculosis, for which the selective culling of foxes in and around the livestock buildings of a domestic outbreak has been proposed. In addition, the expertise concluded to the feasibility of a CBA targeted at assessing the burden of alveolar echinococcosis and measures to prevent its transmission. The feasibility study shows the partial nature of a CBA targeting zoonoses, without taking into account other roles played by the fox in the ecosystem.

Food Risk Assess EuropeVol. 3(2)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), CEA CESTA (FR), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Ifremer (FR), University of Liège (BE), École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort (FR), École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (FR), Université Lumière Lyon 2 (FR), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), Université de Montpellier (FR), AgroParisTech (FR), Université de Lille (FR), Agropolis International (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Institut Agro Rennes-Angers (FR), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Microbiologie de l’alimentation au service de la santé (FR), Service de Santé des Armées (FR), University of Saskatchewan (CA), HES-SO Genève (CH), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Centre d'Économie de la Sorbonne (FR), Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble (FR), Toulouse School of Economics (FR), Santé Publique France (FR), Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risques et Ecosystèmes (FR), Procédés Alimentaires et Microbiologiques (FR), Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d'Origine Végétale (FR), CIRED (FR), Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Reims (FR), Centre Hospitalier de Niort (FR), Institut de l’Elevage (FR), Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (FR), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (FR), Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive (FR), Centre d'économie et de sociologie appliquées à l'agriculture et aux espaces ruraux (FR), Bipar (FR), SECurité des ALIments et Microbiologie (FR), Science et Technologie du Lait et de l'Oeuf (FR), Microbiologie Environnement Digestif Santé (FR), CNR de la Résistance aux Antibiotiques (FR), Unité mixte de recherche Œnologie (FR), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (FR), Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (KH), Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail (FR), Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin (FR), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores (FR), Bioingénierie et Dynamique Microbienne aux Interfaces Alimentaires (FR), Institut thématique Santé Publique (FR), Département sciences pour l'action, les transitions, les territoires (FR), Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés – Environnement – Agro-alimentaire (FR), Fondation Pour la Recherche Sur la Biodiversité (FR), Polytech Lille (FR), Agence de la transition écologique (FR), Oniris (FR), Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux (FR), Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée (FR), Bordeaux Sciences Économiques (FR), UMR QualiSud, Structures et marchés agricoles, ressources et territoires (FR), Territoires, Environnement, Télédétection et Information Spatiale (FR), Sciences pour l’action et le développement - Activités, produits, territoires (FR), Soutenabilité et Résilence (FR), Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Biomolécules, NeuroDiderot (FR), Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques, Innovations Thérapeutiques et Résistances (FR), Biologie, Epidémiologie et Analyse de Risque en Santé Animale (FR), Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Sciences, Innovations, Sociétés (FR), Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier (FR), Paris-Saclay Applied Economics (FR), Paris School of Economics (FR), Université de Strasbourg (FR), Université de Lorraine (FR), École Supérieure de Commerce de Rennes (FR), Direction Générale de l'Armement (FR), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (FR)
Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail
Openalex Percentile: Top 80%
Zoonotic diseases and public health
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