This fox squirrel was confiscated from a private home by an Illinois
Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police Officer and brought to the IRC.  The officer was told that the squirrel had been kept in this small cage as pet for as many as 5 long years.

Driven mad by solitude and confinement, this wild animal spent its days turning backward somersaults in
its cage - resting for just brief moments and then somersaulting over
and over and over and over again!

Today he is being given the chance to regain the "wild" in his "life" at
the IRC. Enjoying the sun and the wind

for the first time in many years, he begins his rehabilitation in hopes that he can be returned to the wild. 

Wildlife does not belong to individuals for personal use.  Our government has created laws to protect wild animals. The guilty individual in this case received a $75.00 fine. With thousands of dogs, cats and domestic rabbits being euthanized in animal shelters every day because they have no homes, it is so sad that people take animals out of the wild for use as pets. See our How to Help Without Hurting Guide- Wildlife Laws section for more information.