RSPCA rescue fox cub from a Surrey garden
He was trapped in a football net
A young fox cub has been rescued by the RSPCA after becoming tangled in a football net in a Surrey village.
The little animal became trapped in the net in a garden in Hersham.
A member of the public spotted the cub when they realised the goal post had moved from one side of the garden to the other since they’d last looked about a couple of hours before. When they investigated, they spotted the fox cub struggling to free himself.
RSPCA Inspector Natalie Kitchin said: “This poor fox cub was tangled by his neck and paws and couldn’t free himself. It was absolutely chucking it down with rain so the poor thing was soaked through as well. We don’t know whether he moved the goal post with his wriggling or whether his mum had come and tried to free him but one of them had managed to move it across the garden!
“I was able to cut a circle around the small fox cub and then cut him free from the netting.
“Thankfully, he hadn’t received any injuries so after a quick check over I released him back into the wild and he bounded off. He was a healthy - if not slightly chubby - and very cute fox cub!”
“This was a nice happy ending but sadly these kinds of incidents are very stressful for any animal, particularly a wild animal and one which could have been easily avoided.
“Many people may not realise that netted fencing and netting used for gardening or in sport, like this goal net, can be really dangerous for animals.
“We would urge those using netting for sports to remove and store all nets after their game and put any discarded or old netting safely in a bin. Any garden netting should be replaced with solid metal mesh or people should use wood panels for fencing instead of netting.”
The RSPCA receives hundreds of calls every year to rescue animals - often wildlife - who have become tangled in netting, be that fencing, sport or garden nets.
If you do encounter a wild animal you think needs help, you can call their emergency line on 0300 1234 999 or visit their website: www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/injuredanimals.
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