Treating Infections, Facial Injuries and Mange In Foxes In Situ: The Successes

 Foxes are probably the toughest animals you can find. Even when they are gasping their final breaths they are fighting and we have seen some terrible injuries that foxes have recovered from.

In Bristol, the focus of studies, Sarah Mills (The Bristol Fox Lady) very early on decided that it was best to treat foxes with mange in situ rather than trap, treat and release. Before this any fox deemed (depending upon who was "deeming" at the time) to have 30% mange -on tail and rump- was caught and put down. It is horrific to look back and see how many such foxes died when all it would have taken to keep them alive and well was the patience to treat.

Treating an animal in situ means that there is no stress. No trapping and treating or human presence to add stress. Foxes treated in the wild actually heal quickly because there is no stress and they eat the food with meds and after that carry on as they should do. I have seen a completely bald fox that there was even suggestions to trap and put down. In cold and wind and rain Sarah Mills went out and treated the fox, a vixen, which is now healthy and has a new coat.

We have had bad, infected facial wounds and these are far more common than people think -our post mortems have shown that the facial injuries are the results of being swiped by cars. The pathologist carrying out the work is the best we could have gotten. One fox, a vixen, had a facial wound and the idea was to trap and if untreatable put to sleep. However, she had cubs so they would be orphaned.

Reported 21st may

Clavaseptin(antibiotic) started 22nd may for 10days Whilst being fed puppy food defrosted chick's small amounts of liver and manuka honey. Last photo with regrowth of fur, etc is 15th July.

It takes time and patience and once Sarah is made aware of a fox needing treatment it and its treatments and end results are all noted down.  It provides Sarah with the records that she needs but for those with an interest in wildlife rescue and treatment it shows that no animal, in this case foxes, should be given up on and "putting To Sleep" is an easy way out but not helping foxes. This vixen has raised cubs and will, hopefully, have more next year. Important since fox numbers have declined dramatically.

The next fox was marked for trapping and, sadly, being PTS. However, it was an obstinate little thing and again showed that they will not give up. It evaded traps in two gardens and as you can see in the first clip it was able to move fast. It was decided that, until it was caught it should be treated and the important thing here is that locals were feeding it. The food meant that it kept its strength up and that helped its recovery.

08 07 2024 First video clip received.

11 07 2024  And after 3 days of 4ml Metacam...I had to re-watch this several times.

07 08 2024 finally...it is now being treated for mange.

Here is something which I would have not known were I not keeping an eye on rescue pages and fox groups: there were two almost exactly the same cases in southern England.  As with the Bristol one there was no access to roads so none of the foxes were hit by cars. There was no blood or wounds so they were not attacked by other foxes or dogs.  Each fox recovered, albeit with slight limps, in a similar time to the Bristol fox.

What was going on?  My best guess was either some type of knock to the spine causing inflammation and temporary paralysis or, based on the Bristol post mortem work, some type of virus or infection causing the paralysis. Thankfully, we will not know  since he will not be subject to a post mortem examination but be another fox mystery.  I do wonder how many foxes displayed the same symptoms were PTS before being given a chance to recover.

As much as we learn from the post mortems we learn an equal amount from treatment in the wild from facial injuries, mange, infections and so on. The old idea of "They have to be treated inhouse" is outdated. For speedier and stress free treatment and faster recoveries in situ treatment appears to be best. And Sarah is always willing to pass on what she has learnt.