Dmitry K. Belyaev

It began in 1948 with Dmitry K. Belyaev, the head of Russia's Department of Fur Animal Breeding. The Department's purpose was to breed docile foxes, capable of surviving in wire cages, to be harvested for fur.

Belyaev was a geneticist. In 1959, he began an experiment using 30 male foxes, and 100 vixens, from a fur farm in Estonia. He wanted to investigate the domestication of animals by creating a tame fox.

The research continued for 40 years, through 45,000 foxes. Other than timid behavior, they lost red pigment in their fur, grew shorter tails, and some developed neurological defects.

Funding was generated by selling the skins of foxes who were deemed unbreedable. By the end of the twentieth century, economic changes evaporated most revenue from pelts, and by 1999, less than 100 foxes remained.

It is believed that most tame foxes originated from Belyaev's and derivative experiments. Today, breeders profit from the remnants by selling to unknowing buyers looking for an unusual pet.

Such experimental, fur-farm offspring are unable to survive in the wild. Despite being timid, they are not domestic dogs, and are illegal to own as pets in most areas.

It may take a close look to identify one of these foxes. Their pupils are vertical, rather than round like a dog. Their ears may be floppy or pointy, but the face is always narrow, and their fur is either white and grey, or black and peppered.

An Alternative

Those seeking a fox-like pet should consider the clever Border Collie. Their appearance is very similar, with a loving temperament compatible with domestic life.

Click to Search for Border Collie Rescue Programs