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

Red fox Vulpes vulpes predation on roe deer Capreolus capreolus fawns is regarded as a very important factor affecting recruitment of roe deer. Therefore from a hunting management perspective, it is of interest to find efficient ways to reduce predation. Because predator removal during Summer is highly controversial and banned by law in Scandinavia, supplemental feeding of red foxes during the short, critical fawning period of roe deer has been proposed as a means to relieve predation on fawns. We performed a two-year study of providing 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 (i.e. the size of a large hunting area; similar to 65 km(2)). Even though red foxes found and consumed the food Supplied, we found no tendency towards increased recruitment of roe deer. We conclude that supplemental feeding of red foxes during the fawning period is not a Solution to this management problem, at least not at the chosen management scale and with the current red fox predation levels.