12/03/2026
Okay, before I go on, I am going to warn everyone that the following contents within this post are graphic, but this needs to be out there because this was 100% avoidable. So if you are easily upset by reading and pictures please stop now and don't go any further. This is going to be a long post. This afternoon I received multiple missed calls one after the other and a voicenote asking to please help with a fox that was just laying there with it's eyes open. The fox was in Clayhall and I had just got home from work so I set straight off as it was only 12 minutes away. On arrival I found the fox easily thanks to the callers precise directions, but unfortunately the fox had already passed away, and had for a little while as it was starting to stiffen up. The more I looked at the fox something wasn't adding up. There was blood to the front paws, but no injury. There was blood to the front shoulder, but no injury. There was wood nearby which had blood over it. There was a brick, which also had blood over it, but there were still no visible injuries. Then I saw the foxes tongue, and I could see blood over it, but the jaw was stiff. I managed to tease his jaw open a little and then it became clear what had happened. In the back of his throat I could just make out something, so I teased my fingers in and gripped something and started to lightly pull out, but it snapped off. The bit I pulled out was just the corner of a large thick plastic food bag. The rest of the bag was stuck firmly right the way down his throat and had completely blocked off his airways. The caller came home and showed me some blood. This is where it took another twist and explained a lot more. The fox had got hold of a discarded food bag on a first floor landing above some shops. It swallowed the bag on this landing and started to choke to death. In a frantic panic of probably retching trying to dislodge the bag it has ended up continually biting through and severely lacerating it's own tongue. The tongue has a very rich blood supply and now the fox started to bleed out everywhere. It managed to either make it's way, or fall down the stairs and collapses and dies. This fox was in absolutely pristine condition and died unnecessarily from something that was completely avoidable.
