Staff at Stapeley Grange, London Road, made the plea after they were contacted by one of their trusted wildlife rehabilitators, following the rescue of a fox cub bound with a cable tie around his waist.

The incident is one of several reported in the last month in the local area, giving cause for concern at a time of the year when young cubs are venturing out from their parental den.

Cheshire-based Fox Rescuers came to the aid of a stricken six-week old cub, who was spotted in distress in a family's garden in Dudley with the cable tie bound firmly around his belly.

The young fox, who the rescue charity have named Sunny, fortunately survived his ordeal and was later released back at the location.

In a similar incident a young fox was also reported to have been found trapped by a cable tie at Willenhall.

Paul McDonald, from Fox Rescuers, said: "The plight of one of these foxes was made aware to us and we went out and took the cub in quickly, cut the tie off and we were able to release him back at the location after we were satisfied he was not suffering from pressure sores.

"It is a mystery as to how these young foxes have come to be trapped like this and it is not something we've seen before, it does suggest these are deliberate acts of cruelty.

"Once they are in place these ties can cause terrible pain and if they are cubs as they grow bigger they get tighter and tighter around their bodies.

"We can only assume the cable ties are being used as part of homemade snares and sadly foxes are all too often the victims of cruel and indiscriminate trapping methods like this."

Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre regularly treats and rehabilitates foxes that have become trapped in netting and centre manager Lee Stewart believes the recent cases involving cable ties could be part of a sinister trend.

The RSPCA fielded several calls about similar incidents involving foxes last year.

Lee said: "It's horrendous that someone is doing this. These are really horrific cases and the public needs to be made aware of these acts of deliberate cruelty.

She said: "The poor animal was bound with two cable ties, one around his belly and legs and the other around his head, although that one had become loose.

"We set up a humane trap and a volunteer from the Fox Rescuers arrived and took him straight to a vets.

If a member of the public finds a fox trapped in a snare they should not attempt a rescue themselves as the animal will be highly stressed and could bite or scratch.

They should contact their nearest wildlife rehabilitator or call the RSPCA on 0300 123 8960.

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