Swift Foxes mostly eat mice, cottontail rabbits, and carrion (dead and decaying animals), although other small mammals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians are also taken as available. 

Captive breeding of the Swift Fox in Canada began in 1973 through a privately-run program. This program expanded into an intensive reintroduction project involving federal agencies, academia and non-government organizations. Between 1983 and 1997, 942 Swift Foxes were released in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Although the majority of the original stock of released foxes has perished, the reintroduction efforts have been successful, and small populations have become established in the southern Alberta/Saskatchewan border area (about 192 foxes in 1997) and in the Wood Mountain/Grasslands National Park Reserve region in Saskatchewan (about 87 foxes in 1997). 

The Swift Fox is very vulnerable to shooting and trapping, because it is not wary of humans. The use of poison to kill Coyotes has been detrimental to the Swift Fox. It is not known if the smaller Swift Fox would be able to compete with the Coyote and Red Fox, which have extended their range. Predation by coyotes, eagles, and Red-tailed and Rough-legged hawks is a potential threat to the Swift Fox. 

The Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada has worked with private citizens and the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments to help bring the swift fox back. Foxes obtained from the United States were released directly into the wild or bred in captivity to produce offspring that were then released. Some of the foxes were equipped with radio collars so that they can be monitored. Releases have occurred in Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

The swift fox is now re-established in part of its former territory in Canada. Estimates of the number of swift foxes in the wild in this country range from 179 to 412, and recent studies indicate a slight increase. In 1999, the status of the swift fox was downlisted from "extirpated" to "endangered". The swift fox recovery plan calls for restrictions on use of poison for coyote control to ensure that swift fox are not accidentally poisoned. The goal of the recovery plan, published in 1996, is to achieve a viable, self-sustaining population of swift foxes, well distributed across suitable habitats on the Canadian prairies, which would result in its removal from the endangered category by the year 2000. 

Specific objectives for 1998/1999 were: 
1) to work with the state of Wyoming to define the size and extent of the Swift Fox population that has spread from Canadian releases into the United States; 
2) to undertake low level tracking of the Canadian population to ensure population survival; 
3) to continue production and distribution of communication and educational materials; and
4) to strengthen habitat and natal den site protection through government land-use planning and management programs.

Long-term objectives of the recovery plan are:
1) to establish two geographically distinct, but genetically connected core populations (comprising a total population of 420 foxes) by the year 2000; 
2) to identify and ensure the long-term security of key Swift Fox habitat on two core areas of the Canadian prairies; and
3) to ensure the establishment of the Swift Fox in at least 50% of its remaining suitable habitat on the Canadian range. 

Summary of research and monitoring activities: 
- 1994: research indicated that populations are stable and healthy in some areas; 
- 1996: a census undertaken by government agencies and the Swift Fox Conservation Society estimated a Canadian population of 289 Swift Foxes. 

Summary of recovery actions: 
- 1983 to 1997: 795 captive-raised foxes from Canadian breeding facilities were released in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and 84 wild-caught animals were translocated from the United States; 
- 1993: the team completed a three-year study that analyzed the reintroduction feasibility program launched in 1983; 
- 1993: Alberta and Saskatchewan approved the study and extended the reintroduction program for five years; 
- 1994: The Alberta Department of Environmental Protection coordinated a habitat assessment south of Red Deer River in Alberta; the assessment identified the best potential unoccupied habitat west of the Suffield Military Reserve. 

Summary of progress to date: 
The recovery team is poised to achieve its goal by the year 2000. The first two long-term objectives are on track. Numbers of wild foxes have increased from 0 to 289 and Swift Fox density and habitat have been identified in core areas and mapped for habitat protection. The third objective is underway; the central population in the core area is growing and the range is slowly expanding into adjacent areas. In a 1996 census, 80% of foxes captured were ones born on the Canadian prairie, indicating that foxes released into the wild have survived and reproduced and that recovery efforts have proven successful.