Fox Angels Foundation
Charity No. 1183633
What to do if you find a lone cub / cubs without mum?
[All photos used in this article are used with kind permission of © David Saxby]
If you find a lone fox cub or a litter and mum doesn't appear to be around, firstly contact your closest rescue for advise - if you contact us with your location we can advise which is closest to you.
You will likely be asked to monitor the cub/s leave them where you found them and watch from a safe distance to see if mum returns for up to 24 hours, however this will depend on the circumstances.
CALLING THE RESCUE SERVICES
Be as clear as possible when calling a Rescue service, keep calm and explain everything you can see in detail so that the correct advice can be given to you.
Listen to the Rescue services advice on how to proceed.
If a cub or cubs are found without a parent the best course of action is to always monitor before getting involved for all you know mum is on the other side of the fence bringing food.
IF YOU FIND A TRAPPED CUB
Contact your local Rescue service and monitor the situation, if anything changes then call the Rescue back and update them in full
KEEP WILDLIFE WILD
We always advise to keep Wildlife WILD and not as back or front door friends. You may well be nice to them but that doesn't mean everyone is, so if you do feel a need to support feed do it at the furthest point away from your property and observe from a distance, maybe even use a trail camera to monitor your local wildlife
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE THE FOX CUB UNLESS THERE IS IMMEDIATE DANGER
Only if the cub is in immediate danger or there is a significant threat to their life should you pick up, move or contain the cub.
Do not take the cub into your home, they are not pets and you would be putting yourself and the cub at risk.
Even fox cubs can inflict a very nasty bite that will require medical attention. If you need to handle them in an emergency use thick gloves such as gardening gloves to protect yourself and always handle with extreme caution
YOU MAY BE ASKED TO TRANSPORT THE CUB IN AN EMERGENCY
In some circumstances you may be asked if you can transport the cub or cubs to a local sanctuary, rescue or rehabber. If this happens we ask that you follow the advise as it could be a matter of life and death and at that moment in time the rescue you have called may not have a response member to send out to you, this will normally happen only in specific circumstances.
IF YOU SUSPECT A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED TOWARDS A FOX
If you suspect a crime is happening to an animal such as deliberate harm always remember you can call this into Police on 101 if it is not happening now and 999 if the crime is actively happening.
https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/wc/wildlife-crime/what-is-wildlife-crime/
[The above information is sourced by and in support of the following organisations National Exotics, Moonstone Rescue, Greenwich Wildlife Network, Vale Wildlife Hospital, FoxAngels, Wildlife Welfare, Cuan Wildlife Rescue and The Fox Rescuers]