Have you ever thrown a crisp packet on the floor absent mindedly, thinking what harm could one small piece of litter do? Well, here's the harm; a crisp packet nearly cost this fox his life today, after he got one stuck on his head, most likely whilst sniffing out food. Unable to see, he then stumbled onto the electrified train tracks at Westcombe Park Station, where a passing train ran over and severed part of his tail.
He then lay on the tracks bleeding, crisp packet still stuck on his head, in danger of being hit by any number of incoming trains, until our volunteers Rachel and Matt arrived on scene.
Of course the temptation to just jump on the tracks is always incredibly strong in these situations, but the goal of rescue is always to preserve and protect life - and that applies to both our volunteers, the public, and to animals.
So Rachel and Matt instead focused on trying to get Network Rail to allow safe access to track in order to rescue the fox. Mercifully, he lay between rails, so was unscathed as trains rolled over him, but nonetheless he was inches away from severe injury or death if he moved just a little, either from the electrified tracks or from crossing paths with a train. For Rachel and Matt watching all this and making phone calls, it was absolutely harrowing and devastating and many tears were shed.
Nonetheless, the duo persisted, urging all of our volunteers and followers to tweet, call and message Network Rail whilst they spoke to Station staff and made phone calls. Time dragged on however, and no help for the bleeding fox seemed to be imminent. So Rachel made the decision to call the police.
Her quick thinking paid off; the police's involvement seemed to speed things along. Finally, the trains were halted and police arrived on scene to get the fox off the tracks, with Rachel and Matt's help. Many thanks to the police officers for being so helpful and understanding.
For our volunteer team, following all of the events of the rescue as they unfolded, tears of concern soon turned to tears of relief as Rachel and Matt confirmed the fox was finally off the track and safely contained. They then rushed him over to the amazing folks at South Essex Wildlife Hospital, so that their specialist veterinary team can address his very serious injury.
It is possible for foxes to survive in the wild with a partial tail amputation, so there is every hope that this poor soul will make a full recovery. A very well done to the amazing and resilient Matt and Rachel.
This situation is a stark lesson that one moment of carelessness by a human - a piece of litter thrown on the floor without much thought - can cause untold suffering and death to an animal. I hope this story makes some people think twice about dropping their rubbish in the street.
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