Black fox loses leg after being caught in snare in Barry

An abandoned rare pet fox which sparked a major search in Barry has had its leg amputated after being caught in a snare.

The black fox, named Luna by rescuers, had been seen roaming through the seaside town during recent weeks.

Rescuers said the fox and its sibling had been abandoned by their owner and were tame and friendly.

After searching for two weeks for the pair, they found Luna badly injured after snares were set.

There are now fears for the safety of the other animal, named Orion by the team, who rescuers say was also injured and they now fear he could also get trapped in snares.

The news has sparked renewed calls for snares to be banned in Wales.

Black or silver foxes are a type of North American red fox with a trait that makes their fur silvery-black. While rare, they are sometimes kept as pets.

Campaign group Black Foxes UK had been searching for two weeks after reports of sightings of the two foxes in the seaside town at the end of February.

After she was found badly injured, Luna was taken to a vet, but her leg had to be amputated, Black Foxes UK said in a Facebook post.

She is now recovering and will eventually be moved to a local animal park.

In a post on Facebook the animal rescue group said Orion remained in the Barry area, and they were working with South Wales Police to find him.

South Wales Police have been asked to comment.

Anna Mason, of Anna's Rescue Centre, who was helping with the rescue attempt, said there could still be up to four foxes loose in the town.

She said the foxes had been bred in the area before being "let out" by their owner, and rescuers had been out every night trying to find Orion.

Ms Mason said while many people liked the foxes, people were frightened of them, and someone had set snares.

"Someone is setting all these snares...the [foxes] are a bit of a nuisance, however [these two] are tame, so they will go very close to people," she said.

"They will come about 3ft to 4ft away from you, but we do get people who think they are going to attack them, so they are being shooed away."

While snares are not currently banned in Wales, the use of self-locking snares - which tighten when an animal starts pulling - are illegal.

It is also an offence to set snares to capture pets, and the Welsh Government has issued a code of conduct for the use of snares to capture foxes.

Ms Morgan said the animals were approaching humans for food, and did not know how to survive on their own as they had been bred and kept as pets.

"They should never have been released, especially in a town...they are finding it very difficult," she said.

"Workers on building sites have rung me in the middle of the night to say, 'I am sitting here eating a sandwich with a fox, is that normal?' - they should be in a proper sanctuary."