Fox stuck in pasty wrapper among thousands of callouts to animals affected by litter in 2020
A fox with his head caught in an old Cornish pasty wrapper was among the nearly 4,000 callouts by the RSPCA to animals affected by litter in 2020.
Despite people being in lockdown for many months, the animal charity received more than 10 calls a day about animals affected by discarded rubbish.
Other callouts included a duck tangled in a medical face mask, a baby hedgehog with plastic wrapped around her neck, and a gannet entangled in plastic.
The charity is urging people to help protect animals by picking up any litter they see lying around as well as ensuring they take their litter home with them.
Breakdown of calls about animals affected by litter in 2020 in the South East and Thames Valley
Berkshire - 47
Buckinghamshire - 41
Dorset - 103
East Sussex - 133
Hampshire - 119
Isle of Wight - 9
Kent - 184
Oxfordshire - 34
West Sussex - 87
Nearly 40% of the litter-related calls in 2020 were about animals that had specifically become caught in fishing litter.
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.
“Litter is one of the biggest hazards our wildlife faces today and the pandemic has just added to the problem with many disposable masks just being discarded on the ground.
"These are a new danger to animals and we’ve been called out to rescue animals like ducks and gulls caught up in the masks’ elastic straps. That’s why we’re calling on the public to get involved in the Great British Spring Clean to help remove litter that may endanger animals."