Living in the wild can be a scary experience, especially if you’re one of the tinier creatures. In Australia, pets are considered a threat to native wildlife.
Most of the time, people are actually encouraged to kill pets on sight. Unfortunately, the European Red-Fox is considered a pest in Australia as well as…
These Adorable European Red-Foxes first arrived in Australia back in the 1800s. Currently, the Australian government implemented a law encouraging citizens to kill these poor creatures on sight after most of them destroyed a handful of Australian wildlife.
This law is commonly referred to as the “bait and shoot” program.
One day, a red-fox named Willa was about to face a tragic fate.
He was just a curious red baby fox, constantly exploring the wilderness. But one day, Willa made a grave mistake. He stumbled upon someone’s property, and the owner was not happy to see Willa.
The owner was actually a farmer.
He frantically searched for his gun, but to his frustration, he couldn’t find any. So he went to his neighbor’s house in hopes of borrowing their gun…
The farmer violently knocked on his neighbor’s door, his fists pounding against it loudly. But to no avail, nobody answered.
It seems luck was on Willa’s side this time.
But what will the farmer do now after finding Willa in his property?
It seems the farmer saw this as a sign not to hurt the poor baby fox. Instead of trying to kill it, he decided to call Sydney Fox Rescue.
A rescue group based in Australia dedicated to vaccinating, neutering, and implanting microchips in foxes.
But will Willa be released back into the wild after that nerve-wracking experience?
Willa was immediately brought to the rescue’s pet sanctuary where he was thoroughly taken care of. The baby fox was shy and anxious at first, but he gradually opened up.
Willa even became friends with one of the foxes at the sanctuary named Athena.
Unfortunately, their friendship was short-lived…
Things seemed to be going well for Willa until one day, his first friend met a tragic incident. Athena was killed by a python.
It was apparent that Willa felt lonely after noticing that his first friend was gone.
Can Willa recover from such a tragic loss?
Foxes weren’t the only animals at the sanctuary, there were dogs and other creatures as well.
Isabella was a racing greyhound, she was brought to the shelter after being rescued from being euthanized by her previous owner.
Isabella’s previous owner was decided on putting her down, but fortunately, a kind woman tried to stop them.
It was a good thing that the kind woman from the veterinary clinic decided to step in and rescue Isabella from being put down.
The woman offered to bring the poor greyhound to a rescue group instead.
Which happened to be the Sydney Fox Rescue group.
When Willa first interacted Isabella, it was as if they were meant to be friends forever.
The two immediately bonded and it was apparent that they deeply care for each other.
Could it be because they both had to face a similar fate earlier?
Whenever Isabella would eat, Willa would climb all over her and sometimes even steal her food! But Isabella doesn’t even get mad.
In fact, she’d often let Willa take her food.
The two animals were practically inseparable at this point…
One thing the two animals loved doing together was strolling around by the beach.
They would frolic on the sand and run around and play with each other.
There’s one thing Willa loved doing more than anything in the world.
Kelly Nelder, the co-founder of the Sydney Fox Rescue, would often find herself observing the pair.
After watching the two intently, she noticed something with Willa’s behavior…
Kelly noticed how Willa would often try to play with Isabella’s tail! She said Willa would often stare at Isabella’s tail for a while and then quietly pounce towards her.
“If he gets hold of her tail he tries to take it to his hiding spot with his toys.
He doesn’t seem to realize that Isabel’s permanently attached!” Kelly shared. But how does Izzy respond to this?
Just like a good pal, Izzy doesn’t really get mad at Willa whenever he tries to grab her tail.
Izzy would usually just playfully respond to Willa’s antics by putting the foxes’ head inside her mouth and teasing him.
At night, the two would also snuggle together as they fall asleep.
But unfortunately, Izzy and Willa’s days are numbered.
A new law in Australia will make life more difficult for Willa…
In the near future, Willa and Izzy might not even be able to go out in public together anymore. Their relaxing walks on the beach will now be filled with dread and fear.
The new law in Australia against red-foxes might put Willa’s life in danger.
It encourages people to report any sightings of red-foxes and the government will euthanize them.
Naturally, this upset Kelly. She could not believe it.
Life was already difficult for Willa and now, he can’t even walk in public anymore without worrying about getting euthanized by authorities. Because of this, Kelly can’t help but vent out her frustrations about the new law.
Kelly firmly believes that no animal was born evil. It wasn’t right to kill a fox just for being a fox.
“Yes, wild foxes can be deadly to wildlife, but if kept in enclosures and well cared for, they are no longer a threat but are beautiful funny animals with loads of personality. They shouldn’t be killed just for being born a fox, but unfortunately, the current pest order means just that,” Kelly expressed.
What will happen to Willa now?
The animal rescue group will continue taking care of Willa in their animal sanctuary. Willa can roam free around the sanctuary with his best friend Izzy.
Unfortunately, if Izzy gets adopted, Willa can’t join his best friend.
\But the bond between these two animals will still remain the same. Hopefully, the Australian government can open their hearts out and reconsider their new law against red-foxes.