Last summer, a homeowner in Surrey, England, noticed that a little fox had gotten tangled up in their backyard soccer net. His entire body, legs and neck were completely stuck — he had no way of freeing himself.
Thinking quickly, the homeowner reached out to Wildlife Aid Foundation, who sent rescuer Lawrie Brailey in to help.
“[T]his is the danger with any sort of exposed netting like this,” Brailey said in a Wildlife Aid YouTube video.
The young fox was terrified, but Brailey’s steady hand and soothing voice calmed the cub down instantly. Reassured by Brailey’s presence, the baby stayed still while his rescuer cut him away from the netting.
“Sadly, entanglements in netting is something most wildlife rescues deal with frequently and, if not found in time, they can have some devastating consequences,” Brailey said.
Thankfully for this fox, his injuries were minimal. His neck did seem slightly constricted, so Brailey decided to take him into the vet to make sure he was in good shape before returning to the wild.
A thorough vet examination confirmed that while the fox was generally healthy, he was dealing with some inflamed limbs.
“Although still very feisty, both front paws were very swollen,” Brailey said.
After some intensive treatment, the fox was feeling as good as new. Just a few days after he was rescued, a Wildlife Aid Foundation team transported him back to the area he was rescued from and set him free.
According to Brailey, keeping foxes safe from this kind of dangerous situation is as simple as tying up or removing any nets that are not in use.
“If you do have any of this sort of net in your garden, please just lift it up, remove it,” Brailey said. “You really can save a life just by lifting it up.”