Fox dies after being caught up in goal net near Cannock school
A fox that was trapped in a sports net for hours near a school in Cannock has died, the RSPCA confirmed.
The RSPCA is urging people to put sports netting away after a fox became tangled in a football net.
The young fox got its body wrapped up on fields at Cannock Chase High School off Hednesford Road in Cannock.
The fox was found the following morning and the RSPCA was called to rescue it.
When the inspector arrived the fox was weak because it had been struggling for hours to get itself free.
It was taken to the RSPCA's Stapeley Grange wildlife centre in Nantwich, Cheshire, where he was safely released from the net.
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However, a spokesman for the charity today confirmed the fox had died after the ordeal.
Lee Stewart, manager at Stapeley Grange, said: "What this fox went through is a strong example as to why netting can be dangerous to wildlife.
"Netting such as goal nets pose a real hazard to our wildlife and sadly many wild animals get trapped in them.
"Sadly, over the years far too many animals are rescued from sports netting, including birds, hedgehogs and foxes.
"As some of these animals are generally nocturnal, they have normally been trapped and struggling all night and so by the time they are found in the morning, they can have very serious injuries and often need veterinary attention to sedate them and remove all the netting."
The incident in Cannock happened on Sunday, with the fox being found and rescued on Monday. No-one from the school was available for comment.
