In Buchloe they are still quite relaxed about the issue, and people there are clearly not losing hope that they will get their shoes back at some point. The fox is on the loose again, probably several foxes, as the people of Buchloe are familiar with: last year foxes stole shoes from gardens and in front of house entrances around the cemetery, only to then leave them in the cemetery.
Employees lined them up along the paths so that the owners could retrieve them. And now there is another fox on the loose. A boy, the Allgäu newspaperthe animal stole one of his football boots, which were left outside to air out. The fox and its cub have been clearly convicted: surveillance cameras have recorded further thefts.
Buchloe is by far not the only crime scene where foxes break the law by stealing shoes. The animals have been living near and in settlements and in big cities for a long time, and they like to live there; the food supply is much more plentiful than in the forest. The foxes don’t eat the shoes, of course; at most they nibble on one and chew on it: leather and rubber are apparently their preferred materials. Most of the time they only take one shoe, not the whole pair.
Foxes are considered playful, and females sometimes steal shoes for their young, who also need to be kept busy somehow. Especially in early summer, in June, people are advised not to leave their shoes in the front garden overnight. This is the time when foxes, born in spring, develop their hunting instinct and grab shoes as a kind of practice. Just as they would like to do with chickens later on.
At least the foxes don’t eat anything in Buchloe. There have been no complaints about this at the cemetery either. Deer like to help themselves to grave decorations in cemeteries, and wild boars also hang around there sometimes. But the foxes often go after grave candles; they obviously like the wax and paraffin. There are also said to be badgers that have discovered the cemeteries as a richly laid table. At least they have been spared this kind of visitation in Buchloe so far.