BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Is it cruel to keep a pet fox... on a vegan diet?

  • Published
    10 March 2018
Share page
About sharing
a picture of the fox; Sonia Sae rejects claims that Jumanji, her pet fox, is malnourishedImage source, Sonia Sae
Image caption,

Sonia Sae rejects claims that Jumanji, her pet fox, is malnourished

ByJonathan Griffin
BBC Trending

An animal rights activist has kicked off a fierce debate about whether it's healthy and humane to keep a pet fox - and feed it a vegan diet.

The controversy started when Sonia Sae - a self-described "anti-speciesist, external" - revealed on social media that she is raising Jumanji, her pet male fennec fox, on a purely plant-based diet.

The accompanying pictures of Jumanji have prompted heated conversations across a variety of social media platforms, with even some other vegans criticising Sae for imposing her ideas on the animal.

According to National Geographic, fennec foxes, external are "omnivores" and "opportunistic eaters" in the wild, who typically "forage for plants but also eat rodents, eggs, reptiles, and insects."

Sae - a vegan campaigner from Barcelona - has defended her actions online and posted videos on her YouTube channel making the case for vegan pet foods, external. But this has not satiated her critics on social media.

On Twitter @IceDarkEmerald_ claimed the animal looked "extremely malnourished", while YouTuber Foshee took his opposition one step further, recording two YouTube videos encouraging his viewers to #FightForTheFox and report Sae to the campaigning organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

However, a few animal rights activists did come to Sae's defence. On Facebook, Joana Leal countered claims that the fox's hair loss was due to his diet. She wrote: "Foxes shed just like cats. And research shows they do thrive on a vegan diet supplemented with taurine," a key nutritional supplement. Katie Marie added "her fox looks fine, and the only ones I see attacking her are you carnists" - in other words, meat eaters.

Sae herself reacted to criticism of her pet welfare on her Facebook page, external, insisting that the fox is not suffering because of its vegan diet.

"Jumanji has a skin allergy due to plant pollen," she wrote. "He had it before going plant based. This allergy manifests itself during plant pollinating seasons (spring/summer) and it disappears when it finishes (autumn/winter). In all pictures he weights around the same... which is a normal weight for a fennec fox".

A collection of photos of the fennec fox under the headlines 'meat based' and plant basedImage source, Sonia Sae
Image caption,

Sonia Sae says these pictures show a vegan diet is not harming her fox

Damian Eadie, who runs a UK-based business selling vegan pet food, told BBC Trending it was possible for pets to do without meat provided they received nutrients from an alternative source.

"Most people have an apoplectic fit when they hear about pets being given vegan food," he said. "A reasonable thing to say to Sonia would be - how are you sure this is safe for the fox? Does she know the nutritional requirements of the fox and can she formulate a suitable diet?... Any animal can be fed a vegan diet if you can source the nutrients appropriately.

"It doesn't make sense to talk about what's natural if the fox is living in a human household, where the options are very different. In the wild they would get the protein from prey, but in a domestic household they could get it from farmed animals or plant protein."

However, for some animal rights campaigners, their concerns about Jumanji's welfare stretch further than its diet - to the fact that the fox is being kept as a domestic pet at all.

"Fennec foxes are sensitive, vulnerable nocturnal animals who are naturally frightened of humans and should never be kept as companion animals," says Dr Heather Rally, a supervising veterinarian for the PETA Foundation.

"PETA is urging Ms Sae to send this displaced fox to a sanctuary that can meet his complex needs and to visit her local animal shelter, where a lovable dog or cat has been waiting for her," Rally says.

BBC Trending attempted to contact Sonia Sae for comment.

Do you have a story for us? Email BBC Trending, external.

More from Trending: Arsene Wenger: Why some Arsenal fans are comparing him to Robert Mugabe

Arsene Wenger and Robert MugabeImage source, Getty Images

"When is a football manager like a controversial ousted ruler?" READ NOW

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

More on this story

  • Do vegans have a beef with meat eaters?

    • Published
      24 May 2016
    Youtuber JP Sears parodying being a vegan. Here you can see him holding a sausage, talking to a woman holding a cucumber.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Hamas claims leadership survived Israeli strike on Doha, but confirms six deaths

    • 33768 viewing34k viewing
  • Best and worst-performing NHS Trusts in England named

    • Published
      2 hours ago
  • Starmer to meet Israel's president in Downing Street

    • Published
      1 hour ago

More to explore

  • Who could replace Angela Rayner as Labour deputy leader?

    Bridget Phillipson, Emily Thornberry, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Lucy Powell
  • Anastacia: Arnold Schwarzenegger made me sing Whatta Man 12 times

    Anastacia, wearing a denim jacket, tinted glasses and a bandana on her head.
  • 'I'm angry. It's not right' - locals want asylum hotels shut, but are shared houses the answer?

    Mandy - a woman with blond hair, gold earrings and black-rimmed glasses. She is wearing a dark-green sweater. She is standing on a street.
  • What we know about Nepal anti-corruption protests as PM resigns

    Protesters clash with police outside parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 8, 2025, as thousands of youths rally against the government's social media ban and widespread corruption.
  • Rayner's replacement will show which way political wind is blowing in Labour

    Angela Rayner gets out of a car wearing a green dress and a black jacket holding a red folder.
  • He's accused of trying to assassinate Trump. At trial, he's going it alone

    man stands shooting a selfie with blue and grey hair, a military vest and an American flag neck scarf. A large pattern of flags are behind him as a backdrop
  • 'I want to change the game' - meet Black Ferns star Miller

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Jorja Miller with the Olympic gold medal
  • What's in the book of birthday messages to Epstein

    Jeffrey Epstein standing in front of his private plane
  • Why has the French PM had to go and what happens next?

    Prime Minister Bayrou before his speech to parliament
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Best and worst-performing NHS Trusts in England named

  2. 2

    Gregg Wallace launches legal action against BBC

  3. 3

    Woman dies trying to cross Channel in migrant boat

  4. 4

    Prince Harry donates £1.1m to Children in Need

  5. 5

    Starmer to meet Israel's president in Downing Street

  6. 6

    Mandelson called Epstein 'best pal' in birthday message

  7. 7

    Man arrested over Heathrow Airport evacuation

  8. 8

    Nepal parliament set on fire after PM resigns over anti-corruption protests

  9. 9

    Phillipson and Thornberry among six Labour deputy hopefuls

  10. 10

    Deodorant firm sorry after 'itchy, burning armpits' claims

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Zara McDermott explores the dark side of Thailand

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise
  • Andy Zaltzman's topical panel show returns

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Friday Night Comedy: The News Quiz
  • A galactic concert of planets and lightsabers

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Planets and Star Wars at the Proms 2025
  • Listen to Sherlock Holmes’ greatest cases

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Sherlock Holmes Short Stories: The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.