Locals have demanded a clean up after a desperate fox was left trapped in a London charity shop for several days, leaving a ‘disgusting’ trail of carnage.
The Sue Ryder shop in Pinner, north west London, was closed for refurbishment when the fox got in and ran riot around the store, which was still fully stocked with furniture and clothing.
Nearby residents even put a sign up on the shop window exposing that there was a fox inside, claiming that neither Sue Ryder or the RSPCA were taking adequate action to release the fox.
The fox was finally released on Saturday, but on Monday the carnage was still evident with a kebab and other food which had been shoved through the letterbox by locals concerned it was starving.
There an estimated 10,000 foxes in London and are thriving in urban areas often scavenging in bins for food.
Matt Stone, from animal rescue charity Moonstone Rescue, told Metro he believed the fox had been trapped for up to a week.
‘We got called by several members of the public, in relation to a fox in a charity shop in Pinner from what we had been told that various organizations had been contacted but nobody was able to go and attend.
‘They couldn’t visually see the fox. So in turn, you know, entry cannot be forced without visual sightings.
‘We can’t call on the likes of police and the fire brigade to force entry without a visual sighting that this animal is in distress or in need of help.
‘We got there, and we were met by a crowd of people, really like nice people wanting to help wildlife and a lovely homeless gentleman who guided us in as well. He said it had been in there for a week.
‘We gained access to the rear of the property because the gate is unlocked. We checked the rear of the property to see if there are any other doors unlocked.
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‘Inside it was in disarray. There are mannequins that have been dragged over.
‘There were bits of food that one of the members of the public had been posting through the letter boxes essentially to try and keep it hydrated and fed.
‘There was a lot of damage.’
He explained he was angry at the Sue Ryder charity, and claimed they ‘fobbed him off’ when he asked to gain entry.
‘The fox simply needed releasing. Secondly, why did you not inform the RSPCA? There are multiple organisations out there that you could inform that are local to get help,’ he said.
‘But you did nothing it took members of the public to do that, whilst you sat there and quoted policies and procedures.
‘This animal is trapped within your premises you have a duty to be providing basic needs like veterinary care, food and water. It’s unnecessary suffering and is not acceptable.’
Pensioner Jennifer Rees told Metro: ‘We were so worried and are so relieved it has been taken out of there. People were feeding it as they were so concerned. But now it needs clearing up it’s a bit disgusting.’
A worker at a local business said the state of the shop was ‘not a good look’ for the area.
He said: ‘Everyone has been talking about it asking what has been going on. I haven’t seen anyone from Sue Ryder here. It’s their responsibility and they need to clean up the mess.
A statement from Sue Ryder said: ‘Sue Ryder has been working to encourage a fox to exit one of its shops that is temporarily closed for renovations, since we were made aware it had become trapped inside.
‘We are pleased to share that the fox left the shop on Saturday evening. Thank you to those members of the local community who brought the issue to our attention and offered their help and support.’
A RSPCA spokesman told Metro: ‘We receive around a million calls every year, we wish we could respond to them all but we just don’t have the resources. We only have 200 rescuers on duty every day across the whole of England and Wales and they’re prioritising helping animals suffering cruelty and neglect – a job no one else does.
‘When we’re able to help with other specialist rescues we will – but we may sometimes ask the public to help an animal themselves, getting them the help they need as quickly as possible, either by taking them to a vet, to another charity, contacting another agency for help, or urging a building owner to be aware of their responsibilities and encourage them to free any trapped animals.’
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