A Different Kind Of Vet

Polly Pullar meets a man dedicated to helping rare and “pest” species alike.

- Polly Pullar

THE modern fox has become a city slicker,and though there are still plenty in the countryside, most of the foxes I see lie dead beside roads.

Foxes are either loved or loathed in equal measure. They have suffered a tireless onslaught of persecution for hundreds of years but now face new hazards in the urban environment.

Despite knowing only too well that they can cause havoc amongst poultry or take weak, injured and dead lambs, I continue to love them with undiminished passion. I often wonder if they were one of our rarest mammals on a par with the wildcat, would our historic cultural attitudes differ?

Now I stand looking down on a young vixen under anaesthetic on the operating table having her hind leg X-rayed. The vet views the images on the adjacent computer. The injury is healing well; soon she will be fit for release. Her glorious ginger pelt and neat paws, her sharp whiskery little face and black-tipped ears, add up to making her one of the most beautiful wild mammals of all. It’s time for a total change of attitude towards this adaptable survivor.

Every year the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and other wildlife rescue units around the country, receive hundreds of foxes, adding to the burgeoning numbers of wildlife casualties. The problem grows at a frightening rate as more roads, industrial development and intensive agriculture scar the landscape, and habitat loss pressurises creatures into detrimental, often fatal, contact with humans.

In June this year alone, the SSPCA’s state-of the-art wildlife hospital at Fishcross in Clackmannanshire received 2000 new patients. Annual numbers have risen steadily since they opened in 2012 following a £3.5million investment on the 26-hectare (65-acre) site. Last year they dealt with 9326 casualties.