Hi friends! Reef the fox here with your weekly “Reef’s Report.” Well, the fox is out of the bag. I have a new baby brother. His name is Ridley and he is only 8 weeks old.
On May 24, my mom, Nicole Navarro, flew up to Minnesota to pick him up from our friends at Save A Fox Rescue. Little Ridley was given up by the fur farmer because his fox mom chewed off his tail, and the tails of his four other siblings. I know that sounds sad, but that literally saved their lives. As I am sure you can imagine, life on a fur farm is not a good one, so when female foxes give birth, they are extremely stressed out and this infant mutilation happens pretty frequently.
There are an estimated 250 fur farms legally operating in the United States in roughly 21 states. The way they live is as awful as the way they die, as there are no federal humane slaughter laws in place. I would tell you how they kill foxes for their fur, but this is a family-friendly publication.
When people come to meet me and the other foxes, they can hardly believe that farming animals for the sole purpose of fashion is still a “thing.” Sadly, it is, and even sadder is that according to the 2017 economic census, Florida was No. 8 in the country for fur sales. Seriously, who is buying that much fur in Florida?
Ridley is now safe and sound and will live like the rest of us here at Pawsitive Beginnings, being loved and respected for the amazing little animal he is, without having to ever worry about being harmed. Mom picked Ridley’s name to honor the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, which was first discovered in the Florida Keys in 1906. Pretty cute, right? Ridley has already seen veterinarians Geraldine Diethelm and Michael Claudio and he is in pretty good health, which is a relief.
Ridley gets to go to work with mom, just like I did when I was a baby, and I hear he is quite the little superstar at the Glass Bottom Boat office. You might be thinking, “Aren’t you jealous, Reef?” And the answer is “absofreakinlutely.” I’ve seen the young lad through the fence, I’ve thrown a fit, and chances are I’ll never love him. However, every animal deserves a new beginning – that is our motto at Pawsitive Beginnings – and I learned a long time ago that Mom will continue to save and help animals whether I like it or not, so I just need to accept it. The acceptance isn’t graceful, but I do accept it.
Ridley is the current educational ambassador and he has big paws to fill. I was a rock star when I was little, so I hope he can live up to the very high standards I have put in place.
That’s all for this week. Check us out at pawsitivebeginnings.org to keep up with breaking fox news. Follow our social media pages for daily photos and videos.
Until next time, Reef, over and out!
