Protectors Of Toronto's Fox Family Are Stepping Down After Being Threatened With Knives

The family of foxes at Woodbine Beach will now be fending for themselves. The Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC) reported that their volunteers will be stepping down after receiving "serious threats" and "verbal abuse." Toronto's fox family has been attracting crowds to the beach, and volunteers were in place to help keep the creatures safe. 

On Monday, the TWC addressed the situation in a post on Facebook, saying that it would be the last day that volunteers would be stationed at Woodbine Beach.  

"Unfortunately, there has also been hostility towards our volunteers at times, including verbal abuse," the post reads.

"There have been two VERY serious threats of physical violence – one where a man told a volunteer 'if he had a knife he would stab her' and, more recently, a man who actually went after a teenage volunteer with a knife," TWC revealed. 

The organization went on to say that since police cannot be stationed at the post all day, they would be making the difficult decision to terminate their presence on the site in order to protect their staff. 

However, the foxes are reaching the age where they are starting to fend for themselves and are becoming more independent.  

They are venturing farther away from their den under the boardwalk, and are also beginning to hunt on their own.

However, the organization is now calling on the public to do their part in keeping the wild animals safe by keeping a safe distance away from them.

They are asking locals who come to the beach with their pups to keep them on a leash.

The move comes after one of the fox kits died in a suspected dog attack back in May.

Toronto even had to fence off the fox family at one point because so many people were approaching them to take pictures or to feed the wild animals.