A fox named Cedar was shot through the head with a crossbow near Gosshill Road, Chislehurst

The adult male fox is thought to have been shot on Sunday (February 28), but was found in Gosshill Road the following day.

Terry Woods, from The Fox Project, rushed to the scene with an RSPCA officer after being tipped off that the injured animal was there.

Mr Woods, who’s been an ambulance driver with the project for seven years, told News Shopper: “The girl phoned me and said she’s got the fox in the yard and it’s been shot in the head with the crossbow bolt sticking out. 

"We shot over there and the girl had managed to trap the fox in the stable.

**WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW**

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“He was shot from behind from fairly close range.”

They immediately took him to Ashmore Vets, in Green Street Green, and despite it being 10pm the vet opened up especially for them.

Mr Woods continued: “We removed the crossbow bolt from the fox’s head.

“He’s a lucky fox. The crossbow hit his skull from the back in a glancing blow and went straight through his cheek muscle coming through near his eye.

“He’s lucky not to have lost an eye.”

The roughly three-year-old fox is now recovering at the centre, and is expected to be well enough to be released in the next few days.

But there are fears for the fox, named Cedar by the staff, as the crossbow-wielding maniac is still at large.

Cedar's wound. Courtesy of The Fox Project

His rescuer said: “That’s no accident. It’s a criminal offence.

“We have got a dilemma here because he’ll be fit to go back to the wild in a few days but we can’t release him until we resolve the issue with the crossbow.

“It would be wrong to put him back where he might get shot again, but we can’t release a fox outside its own territory.

“He might have a vixen somewhere with cubs underground which he’s feeding, there’s a whole series of issues.”

But despite the callous nature of the crime, he added it was more common than people think with the project treating around 600-700 injured foxes a year.

Cedar with the bolt in his head. Courtesy of The Fox Project

He gravely added: “We don’t get many with crossbow injuries as they die outright, they tend to go straight through the chest.

"Or they go away and die horribly as this fox would have done.

“We do get lots home-made snares around their middle, their abdomen, or their leg all in grown, or with their legs chewed off because they’ve got a snare on it.

“But we will track down this guy and we will prosecute.”

The RSPCA is appealing for information after the brutal crime.

The bolt. Courtesy of The Fox Project

Inspector for the charity, Ellen Thomas, expressed her shock at the senseless act, labelling it ‘horrific’.

She added: “This would have caused this animal a great deal of pain and distress - poor thing - but he is lucky to be alive.

“If the arrow had been any closer to his head, he would have died. It just missed his vital organs.”

Anyone with information should call 0300 123 8018.