The RSPCA has issued a warning to ensure gardens are safe for local wildlife after a fox was caught in a football net in a Leicestershire garden. While the owner had done the responsible thing of putting the net away, the inquisitive young fox cub managed to find it and get stuck in it.
The home owner noticed the fox in distress and called out the RSPCA, with inspector Herchy Boal being called to the garden in Ibstock on May 15. Herchy was able to cut the fox free, but the young cub still had some netting on her along with a cut foot, so she was taken to the vet suite at RSPCA Woodside Animal Centre for a examination.
The vet removed the rest of the netting before examining the fox and giving her a clean bill of health. Herchy then took the fox back to the area where she was found and released back into the wild to reunite with the rest of her siblings.
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Herchy said: “The home-owner had done the responsible thing by packing away this netting – however this cub still managed to find it – we hope this rescue is a reminder that it’s always best to put netting in a place where it can’t be found by inquisitive wildlife.
“We are really grateful to them for calling us and letting me come back to release the cub – it was wonderful to see her rush back to find her family – the rescue was very quick and I’d managed to get the cub rescued, seen by a vet and back home within two hours!”
The animal charity is warning about the dangers of football nets in back gardens across the UK, with the situation being much more fatal for another fox cub in the south of England. Three small cubs had managed to get stuck in football netting in a back garden in South London back in April.
Their mother had tried to free her cubs, but one of them sadly died because they were unable to get free. RSPCA animal rescue officer Jade Guthrie managed to free the other two, but it was still an upsetting night for the foxes and Jade herself. Putting netting away when not in use is just one important way to help native wildlife from becoming hurt in our back gardens with 1,789 calls being made in relation to animals from all species becoming entangled in football nets – including foxes and hedgehogs.
RSPCA scientific officer Evie Button said “It’s really important that people understand how lethal football netting can be and how often these incidents happen – particularly at this time of year, when the curiosity of young, inexperienced animals gets them into potentially deadly situations.
“We’re urging the public to help us spread the message – remember to put your sports netting away after use and never leave it unmonitored, particularly overnight.” Thankfully, despite the large number of foxes in the county, Leicestershire only had 21 instances last year – with no instances recorded at all in Rutland. For advice on what to do if you see a wild animal in distress, please visit the RSPCA’s website.
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