Litter warning issued after fox cub with head stuck in jar is freed by RSPCA

An RSPCA officer came to the rescue of a fox cub who found himself in a sticky situation, with his head stuck in a plastic peanut butter jar.

RSPCA animal collection officer (ACO) Jessica Pierce rushed to help after a member of the public found the cub struggling on Easter Monday, 22 April.

She said: “The poor little cub had obviously pushed his nose into the plastic container to lick out any peanut butter that was left inside and then quickly realised he was stuck fast.

“He was quite distressed and tired when I got to him so it’s not clear how long he’d been stuck like this.

“Luckily, I was able to carefully pull the jar off of his head and then took him to a vet for a check-up. He was given some fluids and a rest but was soon ready to be released back to the wild.”

His mother returned to the scene to take him back to their den.

The rescue comes just weeks after another fox was found with a plastic container stuck on her head, just 70 miles away in Mexborough near Doncaster.

RSPCA Inspector Sandra Dransfield was alerted after a family heard a knocking outside their house and opened the door to see the fox on their doorstep thrashing around with the tub on her head.

Luckily, Inspector Dransfield was also able to free the stricken fox and released her back into the wild straight away.

These are just the latest in a number of rescues the RSPCA’s officers have performed after wild animals and pets get caught up in plastic litter.

The charity’s wildlife centre staff have seen a rise in the number of wild animals - like seals - ending up in care with serious injuries caused by plastic litter. In fact, the number of animals affected by plastic litter is at an all-time high, with incidents increasing by 22% in just four years, RSPCA data revealed.

The animal welfare charity has recorded a rise in incidents affecting animals involving plastic litter from 473 in 2015 to 579 in 2018, bucking a downward trend for all types of litter (from 4,968 in 2015 to 4,579 in 2018).

ACO Pierce added: “This little fox cub’s rescue is an excellent reminder of why it’s so important to properly dispose of rubbish.

“This cub could have easily suffocated or starved to death had we have not got to him when we did. He was very lucky!”

If you discover an injured or sick wild animal in need of help please contact the RSPCA’s 24-hour cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.