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3rd July 2023
08:42am BST
A woman has been feeding the same family of foxes for 25 years.
Sharon Hughes has become social media famous after posting videos of her feeding sessions with her furry friends, with one clip being viewed almost 23 million times on TikTok. She also posts on Instagram where she's gained over 85,000 followers.
The 56-year-old told the Sunday Mail she has been feeding the same family of foxes for more than two decades at her home in East Kilbride, near Glasgow.
Every day eight members of the skulk turn up outside her door and patiently wait for their daily offering of sausages and sausage rolls.
Each answers its own name, including Twisted, Little Ted, Charles and Dyson.
Sharon, who works as a receptionist, told the Mail: “We are now on the fourth generation of foxes. I remember feeding their great-grandparents."
Sharon, whose husband Billy died in May 2020, said she started recording and posting videos of her feeding the foxes a few years ago and now boasts 140,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok and has "messages from all over the world". The majority, she said, are positive. Feeding foxes is generally a divisive subject.
“I can’t believe my gang of foxes interests so many people. It is very humbling," she said.
Sharon's care of the foxes doesn't end with her seeing to their dietary requirements. She also provides medical care and once took an injured fox to an animal sanctuary in Ayrshire after it was hit by a car.
She also puts special painkillers in their sausages, if she sees them in pain or limping.
As well as feeding the foxes, she also looks after their medical needs. Sharon took one to an animal sanctuary in Ayrshire after it was knocked down and injured by a car – though it could not be saved. If she sees any of the animals limping or in pain, she puts special painkillers in their sausages.
Sharon explained to the Mail how she named the scavengers. Dyson, "because he hoovers everything up". Twisty, "because his head is cocked". Charles appeared for the first time on the day of the coronation.
“The foxes are very friendly and often bring us gifts like mice, which they leave on the doorstep," Sharon said.
Sharon also has three cats but they get on well with the foxes, who are tame and come right up the back door, and gather in her garden when she calls to them.
The foxes are also fed pizza, eggs, Chinese takeaways and chicken legs.
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