Rescuers save foxes trapped by wildlife killer

Foxes found in trailer shivering wet and still in traps

On 7 July, animal welfare volunteers rushed to Moreton on the Wirral in an attempt to save two foxes from a wildlife killer.

Locals alerted Manchester Hunt Saboteurs, who were joined by both Wirral Fox Rescue and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. A man, who is known in the area for terrorising mammals and shooting birds, had trapped the foxes before loading them into the back of a trailer on a residential driveway.

Terrified

Protect the Wild spoke with Wirral Fox Rescue's Gray Taylor, who told us:

"We received a phone call from an anonymous person who reported that someone had trapped two foxes in their back garden, and then they had been loaded up into a trailer, still in the cage traps and wet through from the rain the night before. We were informed that the captor enjoyed hunting as a hobby and had a licensed gun at their disposal."

Gray continued:

"Aside from it being cruel, I knew that this was completely illegal. When I arrived, I was quickly joined by one of my volunteers, and we made our way to the trailer. The police and other groups were already in attendance and cleared the way for us. We opened the trailer, and there were the two soaking foxes still in the traps. We transferred them to a carrier, and we decided to allow them into the same carrier, as they had been stuck in separate traps next to each other for a while. Seeking comfort, they immediately cuddled up to each other.

We whisked them away and into the ambulance. An examination at the centre determined they were both in good health. I gave them both a spot-on treatment for good measure and released them together that evening in a location close to the den within the territory. We later learnt that they were mum and dad to cubs in that exact location."

Photo by Wirral Fox Rescue

Wildlife killer

According to Manchester Hunt Sabs, the individual who captured the foxes is a known wildlife killer. The group reported on its Facebook page that they had no doubt that this man was going to harm the foxes.

The sabs wrote:

"This man attends pheasant shoots and owns a gun licence, he also goes lamping (goes out at night shooting animals such as rabbits, hares and foxes), he breeds white pheasants in his back garden which are used as "fine" birds at shoots (the person who kills the white bird gets an ironic "fine"), and he attempted to flee with the foxes imprisoned in his trailer still soaking wet and when confronted and questioned by the police, changed his story and said he was waiting for someone to come and pick them up from him."

Gray told us that the man said:

"He trapped the foxes to take them away from his garden and release them elsewhere. Whether this is true or not I don't know, but that decision would have also killed the foxes."

Support Wirral Fox Rescue

The organisation shared its video of the moment it released the foxes back into the wild:

Wirral Fox Rescue is the only dedicated fox rescue and rehabilitation charity based on the Wirral, and offers, among other things, a fox rescue and advisory hotline (telephone 07900 615972); a fox ambulance and triage facility; a trap, treat and release programme for minor mange cases and minor injuries; and a fully equipped local rehabilitation centre for those foxes in urgent need of care.

• Organisations like this are a lifeline for animals who are in danger. Wirral Fox Rescue relies on donations to do this essential work and Protect the Wild is proud to have given them an Equipment Fund grant earlier this year (see 'Helping foxes on the Wirral'). If you can please donate to them here.

Images and video by Wirral Fox Rescue

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