Badger's own goal: Animal 'spent all weekend in distress' after getting trapped in football net

By Daily Mail Reporter


Net result: This young male badger became trapped in a school football net for a whole weekend


A hapless badger got into difficulty on a school football pitch when he became entangled in a football net for an entire weekend.

The RSPCA was called in after the young male was spotted on Monday morning thrashing around in the goal by a caretaker at Henley-in-Arden High School, Warwickshire.

He was transferred to Vale Wildlife Hospital in Tewkesbury, Gloucester, where he was put under anaesthetic so that vets could remove the rest of the netting which was wrapped around his legs.

Muddy hell: The poor badger was showered off after his ordeal and is said to be making a full recovery

RSPCA animal collection officer Simon Dix said the badger was making a full recovery and was expected to be released into the wild within days.

He added: 'The netting was particularly tight around one of the badger’s front legs causing major swelling.

'This badger was in a really sorry state when I got to him and would have been unable to free himself without human help.


Safe and sound: The badger, released from its net and clean once more rests at the wildlife hospital

'He could have been struggling all weekend which might explain his unkempt condition.

'Netting such as goal nets pose a real hazard to our wildlife and sadly we get too many calls to injured wild animals that are trapped in them.

'There is a really simple way to prevent this from happening and that is for nets to be removed after use and safely stored away.

'When we attend a call where a wild animal has died in netting it is so tragic and entirely preventable.'



source:dailymail