Fox Release

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be asked to help on one of the last fox releases for this year. The site was quite local at a commercial quarry. Myself, Rob (Senior Wildlife Assistant) and Sophie (Wildlife Assistant) loaded all the kit into the car and trailer and eventually managed to coax all five juveniles into a box for transporting. I drew the short straw and had to sit in the back nearest to the foxes which if you've ever smelt a fox before then you'll probably understand and feel my pain. 

To our delight, we were joined by a couple of members of staff on site. The RSPCA most of their orphaned mammals species through a method of release known as a 'soft release' which means they are first transferred to large cage at the release site and then support fed and watered over a period of three weeks after being released, with the amount of support feed decreased over time to help bridge the transition between captivity and living in the wild. 

The cage is made up of eight wire panels, so the first step was to stride out a suitable area and then dig out a trench to drop the panels into, before then bolting then together. Setting the cage into a trench helped to prevent the foxes from digging out, in theory! Once built the box with the foxes in was placed inside.  Branches and leaves were also put inside and on top of the cage to make it more natural, along with some food and a bucket of water.

After everything was finished it was down to Rob to open the box and to make a quick escape. On this release, we were lucky enough to see one very brave fox emerge and have a quick feed before we had to leave. The foxes will be caged for one week before being released and then support fed for the further three weeks.

Jenna Haslam

Student Placement

'If you would like to help RSPCA Stapeley Grange with a donation of just £3, simply text RSPCA2 to 70007‘ Texts cost £3 + standard network rate