RSPCA urges public to clear up litter after fox cub caught in plastic netting

The RSPCA rescued a fox cub which had become trapped in netting near a primary school in Staffordshire. Credit: RSPCA

The RSPCA rescued a fox cub which had become trapped in netting near a primary school in Staffordshire.

The cub's neck was tangled in the plastic orange netting which had been discarded in some bushes.

He was spotted by a member of the public at the back of the primary school just off the High Street in Burntwood on Thursday, 7 May.

Animal Collection Officer Catherine Strawford, who came out to untangle the fox said: “The plastic netting is really thick so he couldn’t break it and he couldn’t get his neck free. He was struggling against it quite a lot."

The fox wasn’t injured and officer Strawford was able to release him from the netting straight away.

She added: "This acts as a timely reminder to people to make sure that they clear up any litter, especially plastic like this which can easily trap and injure wildlife.

“This fox was very lucky he wasn’t injured and was able to be released back into the wild and get on with his life.”

Since the lockdown, the RSPCA has responded to more than 10,000 incidents about wildlife.