RSPCA Rescues Fox Cub With Head Stuck In Plastic Bottle

Wednesday, 12 May 2021 06:00

A fox cub with a plastic bottle stuck on his head has been rescued and reunited with his mum.

The RSPCA was contacted on Saturday (8 May) after a member of the public spotted the fox in trouble in Hardwicke Road in Hastings.

RSPCA inspector, Georgina Bowles, attended after a member of the public managed to contain the fox cub in a pet carrier in their garden. The officer was able to gently remove the plastic bottle from the fox’s head.

Luckily, the mother fox was still waiting nearby and so the cub was quickly reunited with his mum.

Georgina said:

“This poor fox had got his head well and truly stuck inside an old plastic drinking bottle. What usually happens is an animal may have put their head inside the bottle and their ears go down and lay flat against their head. But once their ears spring back up, they get stuck and are unable to remove the bottle themselves.

"I had to slowly massage the skin around the neck and gently tease out the fur a bit at a time until I could find the ears and could carefully fold them down so the bottle could slide off the fox’s head.

“Sadly, we do see incidents of wildlife caught up in litter and it’s a stark reminder that everyone needs to help protect animals by picking up any litter they see lying around as well as ensuring they take their litter home with them or disposing of it properly and responsibly.”

Last year, the RSPCA received nearly 4,000 calls relating to animals affected by litter with 133 in East Sussex alone.

Head of the RSPCA’s wildlife department Adam Grogan said:

“Our staff deal with thousands of incidents every year where animals have been impacted by litter — and they’re the ones that we know of. I’m sure for every animal we’re able to help, there are many that go unseen, unreported and may even lose their lives."

The fox cub has now been released back to the wild and reunited with his mum.

For more information on what to do if you see an injured, wild animal, visit: www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/injuredanimals