Warning over football nets in gardens after RSPCA rescues entangled fox in Woking
The charity says Euro 2020 fever may have contributed to a rise in reports
Last updated 5th Jul 2021
We are being warned of the dangers to animals of football nets in our gardens after the RSPCA rescued a fox discovered entangled in one in Woking.
A family spotted the panicked fox last week Friday (2 July) and called the charity, which found it was trapped around its back, with the netting also twisted around his stomach.
The inspector managed to disentangle it - and release it back in to the wild uninjured.
RSPCA Inspector Lauren Evans said: "This young fox had got himself well and truly entangled in the old football goal netting. He had trapped his rear end and back legs, and the netting had also become twisted around his stomach.
"He was panicking and very stressed. I needed to get him out quickly. Wearing protective equipment, I was able to get close enough to gently disentangle him. I gave him a careful check and was happy to see he hadn't sustained any injuries, so I released him on the spot and he dashed off into the undergrowth."
The RSPCA said Euro 2020-inspired football fever may be contributing to a rise in reports of entanglements in sporting equipment netting or garden nets with more so far this year than in 2020.
In three weeks over June this year it received at least 30 reports of animals becoming entangled in football or sports nets, 20 of which related to foxes or fox cubs and the remainder being other species such as hedgehogs, deer, rabbits and birds such as gulls and crows.
Lauren continued: "Football and other types of netting may be fun for humans but can be very dangerous for wild animals if they are left out overnight.
"Already this year, the number of call-outs to rescue animals caught up in nets are up on 2020 and in the past couple of months, we have had a spate of young foxes in particular becoming entangled.
"We suspect that people's enthusiasm for Euro 2020 may have inspired increased numbers of amateur football nets to be put up in gardens and sports fields around the country and young, curious foxes are unaware of the dangers.
“Getting tangled up in netting is very stressful for an animal, particularly one that’s wild. And if the animal gets seriously entangled, netting - whether it’s used for sports, fencing or the garden - can cause severe injuries or even death.
“As wild animals frequently get trapped during the night, they may have been struggling for many hours by the time they are found in the morning and often need veterinary attention and sedation to cut them free.
“It's great that the likes of Jack Grealish and Gareth Bale are inspiring many of us to put on our boots this summer and enjoy the great outdoors and nature while having a kick-around. But we would urge those using sports netting to remove and store all nets after their game and put any discarded or old netting safely in a bin. Any garden fence netting should be replaced with solid metal mesh and use wood panels as fencing instead of netting.”
Of the 503 incidents reported to the RSPCA about wild mammals tangled in netting in 2020, 223 were related to foxes, 155 were hedgehogs and 104 deer.
The charity has asked that people not try to free the animal themselves, as animals can have serious injuries if they become tightly entangled.
It says it is best if they are examined to check if they need veterinary treatment before being released.
To report concerns about an animal, call the RSPCA’s emergency line on 0300 1234 999 or visit the website www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/injuredanimals.