It saddens me to share news of a horrific act of animal cruelty that occurred on Thursday the 8th of April.
On the morning of the 8th, two local wildlife rescue volunteers, Dave and Kate, responded to a report of an injured fox on Brewhouse Road, Woolwich Dockyard, SE18, first believing the fox to be the victim of an RTA.
When they arrived, they found that the fox had severe wounds to the head and was missing an eye. The fox was quickly passed to the care of Kent Wildlife Rescue Service, who confirmed via X-Ray that the fox had been shot twice in the head. It was their opinion that the fox was potentially shot by a more powerful firearm than a pellet gun.
It was not clear whether the injuries were recent or whether they were several days old. Sadly, they could not be treated and the difficult decision was made to end the foxes’ suffering. As you can imagine, the volunteers involved have been affected terribly by the incident. I will spare you the worst of the photos.
A report was made to the Metropolitan Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit, who are now investigating. We are eager to work with them to find the criminal(s) responsible for this appalling act, which caused tremendous suffering to a vulnerable animal. Such an individual(s) is also a potential threat to both people and animals in the local community.
If you feel you witnessed any suspicious activity near the time of the incident that may be relevant, or if you have any information relating to this incident or a similar incident, then please contact the Metropolitan Police on 101 and quote the crime number 3736, 08/4/2021.
You can also contact the Unit by email at Wildlife-SCD6@met.police.uk, or make an online report via the Metropolitan Police website at https://www.met.police.uk/.../ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/
If you encounter an injured fox or another animal in distress then please contact a wildlife rescue service as a matter of urgency - details of local organisations can be found here; https://bit.ly/3dRwhoT.
If you are a pet owner in the Woolwich Dockyard area, we suggest exercising extra vigilance at this time, such as keeping your cat indoors at night.
We understand the police will be making an appeal for information shortly, but this has likely been delayed due to news of Prince Phillip’s passing. We have opted not to delay any further in sharing this news, as if there are any witnesses to the incident, details may still be fresh in their mind at this time.
We will also be starting a leafletting campaign in the Woolwich Dockyard area - details will be in the comments for anyone who wishes to help.
Thank you for sharing.