Our latest wildlife casualty

Tuesday evening saw the arrival of our latest wildlife casualty. Two members of the public arrived with a very distressed fox entangled in temporary plastic fencing. Lucy and Karina had to anaesthetise him to examine the extent of his injuries, and remove the plastic that was now restricting his breathing, so tight was it around his throat. 

Handling gloves and towels were needed as even in his debilitated state this frightened fox was threatening a nasty bite. 
After treatment with antibiotics the fox's weakened state required rehabilitation before he could be released. Geoff at Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sactuary once again came to our rescue and took him in. Thankyou Geoff!

If you find a sick or injured fox, do not touch it. Even when incapacitated, foxes will regard your presence as aggressive, and could give you a nasty bite.
The thing to do is to keep an eye on the fox, or get somebody else to stay with it, whilst you phone
your local vet, or wildlife sactuary, for advice.
Foxes are subject to injury all the year round, but injury is particularly common between December and February, when they become territorial in preparation for breeding and begin to get reckless and take more chances.
The most commonly sustained injuries we see are;
* Road traffic accidents
* Caught in fencing or wire mesh
* Caught in snares
* Poisonings
* Self inflicted damage as a result of mange
Remember to never drop litter, as these fellas can get into all sorts of scrapes with the most insignificant piece of rubbish. 

The offending rubbish