Fox cub with head stuck in sweet jar rescued by RSPCA

A concerned member of the public brought the trapped fox cub into the RSPCA's Newbrook Farm Animal Hospital after finding the scared animal in their back garden in Northfield, Birmingham.

RSPCA veterinary nurse, Samantha Belding, said: "This poor little fox cub had got herself in a real pickle.

“She had managed to force her head into the old plastic jar, but then couldn’t get it out, as her ears were trapping her. We think she had been stuck like this for quite a few days, as flies had already laid eggs on a wound that had formed on her neck where the jar was rubbing her.

“Luckily, we were able to cut her out very quickly then treated her with antibiotics and pain relief. Thankfully, it turned out to be a superficial wound, so she only needed to stay at our hospital for a day before she was transferred to a specialist wildlife centre. Hopefully, she will soon be well enough to be returned to the wild.

“Young foxes are very inquisitive, and this old jar - which we think may have originally contained sweets - was just too much of a temptation for her. We’d like to thank the member of public who found this little fox and brought her into the RSPCA’s animal hospital in the nick of time.”

The RSPCA regularly has to help animals who have been affected by carelessly discarded rubbish. New data released this week revealed that the animal charity has received more than 21,600 reports of animals injured or caught in litter over the past five years.

Samantha added: “We deal with thousands of incidents every year where animals and birds have been affected 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 it’s something that’s very easy to resolve. That’s why we’re calling on the public to take extra care to dispose of their rubbish responsibly so animals aren’t hurt.”