The Case of the Three Wolves Captured In Preston, Lancashire

UPDATE  As an update to the report on the three "wolves" caught in Preston: police have now said that the animals have gone to "a sanctuary" and that they were not returned to the owner -who is unknown.

Go figure

 This is a good example case of why monitoring exotics and escapes can be very convoluted in 2025.   My thanks to WildSide Exotic Rescue.

From 1977-early 2000s local authorities and police forces were more willing to cooperate and respond. Today privacy (even when not needed) and the fear of any comment being used against them means cooperation is often restricted but let me make it clear from the outseyt that Lancashire Police have been open to communicating but there have been problems as I will note further on.

First we had coyote packs roaming the UK and now we have wolf packs. Not sure how knowledgeable the police dog handlers are when it comes to wild canids or their knowledge on counting...one...two... oh. One appears to have escaped again..

I am glad the police have such expertise in wolves. Here is the item from Yahoo News 30 10 2025:

Police have issued an update after reports of ‘wolf-type animals’ were spotted roaming the streets of Barton.

On Thursday (October 30), at around 4.15pm, police received reports of what were thought to be wolf-type animals roaming in the Station Lane area.

Three animals were seized and taken to specially trained dog handlers so they could assess what type of animal they are.

Preston Police can now confirm that the animals are not thought to be wolves. Police have handed care of them over to the council.

A police spokesperson said: “Yesterday (October 30), we let you know about some wolf-type dogs found in Barton.

“Despite the speculation, we can confirm this was a real post, and not a trick (or treat).

“The dogs have been seized and we can confirm they are not thought to be wolves. The members of the public who reported this did so in good faith, and we want to thank them for getting in touch.

“We know there’s been a lot of ‘howling’ about this online, so we thought we best to update you.”

                                                                    -------

Checked the Preston Police page and left this message: "Terry Hooper

I've studied wild canids since 1976 and run the Exotic Animals Register and were I to come across these in the wild I would have thought wolf or wolf hybrid. A blood test would get a clear identification of species. And, yes, there is still a lot of exotic breeding and selling going on."

01  11 2025

"Hello.

"Regarding the three canids caught by police in Preston, Lancashire on 31^st October, 2025.

"Identification has been by police dog handlers and with all due respect they are not expert at identifying wild canids. I have studied foxes, jackals, wolves and coyotes since 1976 and as soon as I saw the photographs I could see that there was a lot of wolf traits."

That written, I always -always- get as many opinions from people who specialise in an animal as possible as that doesn't just back up my identification but people dealing with wolves each day carry more weight with identifications.

A DNA test takes time -0I know this only too well from working with Sir Alec Jeffries at Leicestyer University in the late 1990s/early 2000s on sample testing to ID exotics/  To confirm a canid is a wolf or a wolf-dog hybrid can generally take some 2-4 weeks to process once the sample is received by the lab. Some specialized tests, such as those offered by the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory for wolf-dog hybrids, can have a turnaround time of at least 15 business days

Once "in the UK" is mentioned people start throwing up objections or offer the "You don't have wolves in the UK".  However two have informally told me that there are "wild canid characteristics that would require DNA testing for a positive confirmation".  Here are what experts who don't mind being named state (all are weary due to wolf-dog hybrids):

JAB Canid Education and Conservation 

"They appear to at least have wild canid content. As far as I know wolf wolves do not exist in the U.K. A dna test could positively identify them"

The Voyageurs Wolf Project studies wolves in and around Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota.

"Hi Terry, Thanks for reaching out. They certainly have wolf-like characteristics but we are always wary of making any definitive statements about whether animals like this are truly wolves because wolf-dog hybridization is widespread and just because a canid looks like a wolf does not mean it is entirely a wolf. I.e., a high content wolf-dog hybrid can look very much like a wild wolf and not be a pure wolf. Hope that all makes sense. Best, Tom"

Wolf Watch UK

"Hi Terry, thanks for your email.

  

"Apparently, the police have established that these are not Wolves, and they are now in the care of the local council. I am guessing they might have DNA tested them.

  

"Unfortunately with the publics wish to own dogs that look like Wolves this is likely to be an ongoing problem which really does cause a lot of confusion and certainly cannot make your life easy.

"Best Wishes

Caroline

Wolf Watch UK "

Even being very conservative re identification the canids in the photos do possess wolf features. The best that could happen is that they are signed over to a trustworthy rescue and any DNA testing carried out thereafter.

Terry Hooper

British Fox and Wild Canids Study (1976)

Exotic Animals Register (1977)

The responses are quite sensible and point to the fact that you need to know the history of the animals in question. Escapes are also not unknown. If you have read The Red Paper Canids I discuss the lone wolf-dog that went missing in Scotland. There were reported sightings and then two clearly seen and identified wolf dogs -so where did the second come from?  To add to that in another part of Scotland two other wolf dogs were sighted. There can be no connection which means that there are two pairs of wolf dogs surviving well since in five years since the main lost animal sightings indicate healthy animals.

Someone seeing a wolf dog could well be more hostile toward it thinking that it is a wolf. 

On exotic animal groups there was a frenzy -people were constantly contacting the police ("repeatedly") which might explain police reticence -crime is the priority not "three lost dogs". The local authorities were also flooded with messages and on Face Book pages it was chaos. The "wolves have been offered a place at a wildlife sanctuary"/"They are going to euthanise the wolves over the weekend!" and even "A wolf dog rescue has told authorities they will take the animals" and so on and so forth.

Both myself and WildSide Exotic Rescue contacted the Preston Mayor as well as police and I contacted the Chief Constable.  Today we both received the news that the animals situation was sorted.

From the Chief Constable of Lancashire Police Tuesday 4th November 2025

"Hi Terry

 

"Thank you for your email.

 

"I can confirm the dogs have been returned to their owner.

 

Thanks"

My hope is that a check was made and that this is a one off incident. A one off incident blown out of all proportion by social media wanting to sensationalise "wolves on the loose in the UK" (it was an area of Preston not the country!) and sharing and using video clips for their own sensationalist claims and, of course, social media "Likes".  Naturally, the press/media was going to pick up on this as they were no doubt salivating at the prospect of a story involving "wild wolves" roaming "the UK"(Preston).

For now the "Three Little Wolves" are safe at home and I hope this was a one off adventure for them. They looked lost in the video clips but there was absolutely no threat from  and those who claim otherwise need to learn more about animals.

WildSide Exotic Rescue have been excellent from the get-go.

Was Mange Introduced To Bristol Foxes?

That is a question I have heard a great deal since 1995 and in recent years people have pointed fingers.

Photo (c)2025 Sarah Mills

For 15 years Bristol University has denied access to the fox work carried out under Prof Stephen Harris -the published material did not contain much to surprise anyone who knew about foxes but it was, all said, a study of foxes. Prof Harris never responded to letters I sent him or the data included in those letters. I found it odd that the University and those involved in animal projects would not answer questions nor cooperate.

The findings of the Bristol Fox Deaths Study were supressed on the receipt of the draft and the harassment and threats I received are recorded online and very public) and I was also "banned" from submitting any further foxes or being allowed to know about future necropsies. The fact that Bristol University was aware of the threats and actions taken taken against me and felt there was no problem with this says a great deal.

A few years back I was contacted by someone who told me that there was a persistent rumour that the University mammal study group may have been paid to release mange foxes into Bristol to see how fast it, or any over disease/virus could spread amongst foxes. I asked Bristol Uni about this to set the record straight. They refused to respond.

Up until 1994 mange in foxes was hardly known in Bristol and there were people who treated minor ailments in foxes (at that time no vet would even consider allowing a fox in his/her surgery. Bristol Uni radio collared foxes and so they knew that "for some unknown reason" one of the study foxes left the City and went out into the countryside. After a few weeks it returned but with mange. The result was that Bristol lost approx 94% of the fox population to mange and that was soul destroying for all the fox carers in the City who just could not cope or treat a population.

The effects of what that one fox brought to Bristol is still felt today.

The questions I asked was WHY did a City born and bred fox with a good living and food sources suddenly decide to leave and go out into the countryside?

Study after study (however minor) have shown that a Town Fox is a Town Fox and a Country Fox is a Country fox. Pure and simple. In the years since I started the British Fox Study 1976 (later changed to British Fox and Wild Canids Study) I have never known a fox do this before although some country foxes through human expansion or constant threat will move into the outskirts of cities and towns (that is an historical fact).

In the decades since 1976 I have never heard of any town or city having 94% of its fox population die off due to a sudden start-stop mange outbreak. Bristol appears unique in that.

It was claimed that the fox was one of the study's radio monitored subjects so the question is where did it go "suddenly" and why did it "suddenly" re-appear in the City?

As it was explained it does not make sense. Suddenly it was back with mange. Bristol Uni would not answer the question of was the group able to follow the fox with its radio collar and had it mapped out where it had been. It should be noted that although the mange was noted the Mammal Group was not interested in treating the condition as it probably found it more interesting to look at how it affected the population.

The other odd thing is that it wasn't "Southville foxes have mange" followed by "foxes in Clifton have mange" and so on as it spread. This was, by all reports a major outbreak across the City and that was odd. Attempts to find out whether a spread had been noted -nothing.

I was first contacted and told that there was a persistent rumour (including amongst staff) when mange in foxes was mentioned that Bristol Uni received a grant to see how far and how fast a disease/virus could spread through the wild fox population because that would also show how fast an animal to human contagion could spread. These were "just" wild foxes after all -who cared? I didn't take the accusation seriously as the person (working at the Uni would not allow themselves to be named). That was 2020.

In 2021 I was discussing foxes and mange with someone who was a Bristol Uni graduate and studied biology. I was told by this person if I had heard about Bristol Uni releasing mange into the Bristol fox population? I was told "The Mammal Group" were the ones studying the spread. Again, I do not like rumour but in 2023 that changed.

An ex Department of Environment Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) officer was discussing my work on 'exotic' animals in the UK and I knew this person from my time as a UK police Forces advisor on exotic wildlife (1977-(semi retirement)2018) and he noted how exotics had avoided things such as mange in the UK countryside. We discussed the rumour that to get rid of country foxes (apparently shooting them was not fast enough) some farmers had a person who travelled by car ferry to Eire and would there pick up poisonous substances that once back in England would be distributed to farmers, etc who wanted to get rid of foxes and making it cost effective and not taking up too much of their time.

We also discussed the fact that there appeared to be a deliberate release of rabbits with myxomatosis in areas of England -something I had reported to me by a forester as well as estate warden. I asked whether that was likely and after debating typical farming attitudes to anything eating crops worth money I had examples given to me of similar reports to one I had received (including one from a farmer -I won't go into details here- who had family members come across rabbits "in a miserable state and I had to finish them. If I ever get my hands on whoever is behind this they'll get both barrels!" (I never mentioned that to the local police wildlife officer in our next conversation!).

The ex DEFRA man then said "No one cares about rabbits so who is going to kick up a fuss -they never did with the mange in Bristol." I asked him what he meant and he explained that a former colleague had once shown him photocopies of data sheets with "Bristol Uni" written on them and it all pertained to mange release in Bristol and studying how fast it spread,.

Le me put this in the way that I treat the matter. I have had, in total, since 2019, five people tell me that Bristol Uni released an infected fox in Bristol to study how fast disease/virus can spread (one though it was to see how fast rabies could spread if it ever reached the UK -it hasn't since 1926). That is a lot of finger pointing but no actual factual evidence.

Bristol Uni could quite simply respond with "That is totally untrue and we would never have done that" and the matter is ended. So why will they not do that? Would it be unethical at a time when it was believed that no one cared about foxes and the old hunt propaganda was still believed?

Well, Bristol Uni does use animals in research and this is from their own web page where you can learn more: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/animal-research/areas-we-study/

Animals used in research

In 2024, the University carried out scientific procedures on 22,660 animals in research regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The vast majority of these involved fish (51.6%) and rodents (47.3%).

Number of animals used by species and purpose

Species	Number of animals
	Sub-threshold	Mild	Moderate	Severe	Non-recovery
Mouse	6,107	1,598	1,589	14	819

Unless such bodies as Bristol Uni are open about past work and are willing to release material to the public -upon whose good faith, etc- it relies then the "Bristol Uni wiped out 94% of the City's fox population" will just continue to circulate.

DEFRA and Natural England regarding this subject "Have no knowledge and cannot comment" which does not give me much faith.

What Size Was the Old British Mountain Fox and How Rugged Was It?

 

Above: An adult coyote taxidermy placed in front of what John Colquhoun called a "good specimen Mountain fox" -note that the coyote is actually raised up so that it could be compared next to the fox which is much bigger. (c)2025 Extinct Fox and Wild Cats Museum

Re the Old foxes. We know that they were greater in size than a red fox. We know they had longer legs and if a red fox can jumped onto a 6ft (1.8288) high fence/wall then a Mountain fox would have no problem.

Studying anatomy you need at least 2-3 good examples of Old foxes to compare them and I believe that we have the have the Colquhoun mountain fox and two others (sex undetermined as taxidermy makes it difficult and these are scientifically important so nothing that could be destructive to the taxidermy is undertaken). Comparing the three (at least) in the collection would show their size and an expert can do the math from that. Hunt chases of these foxes recorded them being chased until killed or lost sight of for one or more hours over rugged terrain and from, 2-20+ miles. The Mountain fox was also big enough to try to fight off the hounds which was what hunters looked forward to -"in at the kill".

The heaviest fox we have had for the first necropsy study of British foxes was 8kgs. We know that the Colquhoun fox was larger than the coyote and an adult coyote can weigh 11-15kg (25-35 lbs dependent on sex etc). or: "Coyotes are significantly smaller than wolves. Their bodies are typically up to 1.3 metres (4.26 feet) long, standing approximately 60 centimetres (2 feet) tall. A coyote can weigh 9 to 23 kilograms (20-50 pounds), but it depends on where they're found and the abundance of available prey"

It is safe to say that the Mountain fox would be tough and rugged but stories from hunters about their abilities need to be taken with a bag of salt. We know that various authors claimed cubs were "corn in the stubble" or above ground but evidence seems to show that any safe location within a territory would have been used.

Hill foxes obviously chose crevices, caves and anywhere that was safe and sheltered. There are even photographs of coastal foxes amongst cliffs.

When hunters realised that the Old foxes were becoming extinct -and they knew and wrote about this from the 18th century on- the importations began. We know for a fact that an Old type fox was imported from Norway as there are contemporary news and articles about this. The Norwegian Mountain fox was praised for being possibly even larger and stronger than the Old British fox. Hunting in the UK did not just killed off the Old British foxes seems to have (through trapping and importing from Norway) killed off the last of the Old Western European fox.

When importing from Europe was insufficient the hunt members did what was the thing back in the 19th century; attempted cross-breeding of wolves/jackals/coyotes and so on (everything from game birds, fish etc had some hunt/naturalist working to create the perfect hybrid to hunt, kill and then display). Since the old colonial hunts and "holiday hunts" to Europe and the United States gave the hunting fraternity the "taste" for hunting large wild canids -in the 1800s the then Duke of Beaufort loved wolf hunting in France and was even a guest at a Welsh Hunts anniversary wolf hunt in North Wales.

The taxidermies of wolf, jackal and coyote masks (heads) are now recorded in photo archives.

All of this to replace what was the key wild canid which was not a rampaging carnivore but seemingly an omnivore like other wild canids. Extinction likely came in the 1860s at around the time other native species such as wild cats, squirrels, etc. Naturalists main interest was finding out things that helped hunt species.

Much of what we know can often be slanted in favour of "a reason to hunt" (one was never needed) but it is interesting that the age old myth of sheep killing foxes was laughed at by over 95% of hunters (who were also country squires, farmers etc) and that a reward from the 1800s offered to anyone who could prove foxes killed and carried off sheep was never claimed.

It has taken almost 50 years to throw aside the false 'history of British foxes' which has become accepted dogma and get to the true history of British foxes that was simply thrown aside after the 1890s for reasons long since forgotten.

The only thing we have failed to achieve is have the taxidermies of Old foxes and wild cats DNA tested as that could answer many questions but, sadly, we certainly cannot afford such work and no university or lab in the UK has shown the slightest interest. DNA testing would be the ultimate piece of evidence.

What Was The Diet of the Mountain Fox?

 I would GUESS that a pair of Old British foxes would look after young until dispersal but that sort of thing was never noted in anything other than New foxes.

Prey would have been the usual: mountain hares have been present in the UK for a very long time and in Devon and the Thames Valley areas bones were found and dated as between 114,000 and 131,000 years old.

Mountain Hare (c) By H. Zell - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8448452

Brown hares (Lepus europaeus) it is thought were likely introduced to the UK in the Iron Age or Roman times. However, it would be impossible to tell for sure since we know that trade ships from many countries visited the UK regularly and while exotic animals given as gifts such as domesticated North African wild cats and even "Barbary apes", there is no reason why hare or even rabbits might not have been traded.

Brown hare (c) the Mammal Society

Officially (which means that no one knows for sure but some academic decided "this is when" and so it was accepted for convenience) rabbits were not introduced to the UK until after the Norman Conquest in the 12th century. However, very few people know that rabbits were brought here during the Iron Age after the Roman conquest (AD 43-84) which means that rather than 1000+ years rabbits have been in the UK for 2000+ years (again, excluding the possibility of rabbits being brought over before the Romans as trade animals -easy to keep, feed and breeding meant they were a handy food source.

The earliest records show that the western European house mouse was present during the late Bronze Age and would have arrived here via trading ships from Europe which were common.

©Black Rat - British Wildlife Centre

Brown rat © Heiko Kiera/Shutterstock.com

I have little doubt that rats may have also made in to the UK before the official dates; the Black rat supposedly reached Britain (again) on trade ships in Roman times, having spread originally from India. They flourished until the introduction of brown rats in the 1700s which gradually displaced them and numbers declined.

Red squirrel (c) By Peter Trimming - https://www.flickr.com/photos/peter-trimming/6583159839/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29980115

Added to the diet list of the Old fox were squirrels and I have no doubt birds of various sizes since New foxes take seagulls (if lucky) and definitely pigeons. Ducks, geese, etc. etc. etc.. and then there were the usual reptiles and amphibians and wild fruit, etc..

This means that the diet of the Old foxes was a varied diet -we know coastal foxes with scour beaches for fish washed up and crabs. Foxes will also actively "fish" in ponds and streams.

Fox with a fish (c)Arko Vision

Anything edible in swamps, marshland, forests and woodland, hills and mountain areas. If it could chase and catch it then it was food and the Mountain fox was not also known as the "Greyhound fox" for nothing.

We can guess a lot about their diets

A European Old Fox Type (it is NOT a Red Fox)

 

An auctioneer labelled this as a late 19th century "European Red Fox" probably because it is a fox and "All foxes are red foxes" -right? I think that the "late 19th century" date may just be a guess but there are no black markings visible on the face or "black socks".  The odd colouration is typical of the Old foxes found in the UK before their 1860s extinction through hunting.

The fox has a characteristic head of an Mountain fox and similar to the famous Colquhoun fox and a couple others we have. 

The back of the case has been repaired and has the stamp "Product of Czechi" the Czech Republic formed in 1992.

We know of an Old type fox (possibly a Cur or Common fox)  in the Netherlands that was sent there as a hunting trophy of 1848 but that was clearly labelled. Provenance with such specimens is everything.  We know that British hunts imported the last of the Old foxes from Norway so probably helped kill them off there.  Czechia in the late 19th century would still have wild areas and it is possible that some of the Old type foxes continued on there and in other central European countries.

If we assume that this was an Old type fox shot in the late 19th century then it is an example of the Old European fox -which would have roamed Ireland, Britain and Europe until the flooding of Doggerland separated Britain and Ireland from Europe.  

That a fox specimen like this was found in Europe gives some hope that there are other examples yet to be found -but not by those claiming to be "experts£ in red foxes and who will not listen to anything but 20th century dogma.

Time For Me To Appeal with a Big "PLEASE"

 There is increasing evidence that there was an Old West European fox before the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) migrated from the 

East. The evidence comes in the form of taxidermy and even the photographs clearly show similarities with the famous Colquhoun Mountain  fox of the 1830s. 

I know that this blog has a 100% failure rate when it comes to asking readers for help or information but I am always willing to give it one more try.  

If you work at a museum in Western Europe PLEASE take a look at any foxes you have stored and if you have any that do not match Vulpes vulpes please get a photograph and any information on location/date when killed or acquired and please forward it. The fox may be bigger than a normal red fox, more overall brown with no black markings behind the ear, on the face and no black "socks".

Above and below two mountain foxes of the early/mid 1800s

I would ask the same of anyone in the UK. probably more likely if in the North of England and Scotland to also check any old taxidermies in cupboards or attics -we have found some interesting examples through such searches.  Also be aware that sandy/yellowish and white coloured foxes were far from rare so I would also be interested in any photographs or information about such taxidermies.

It would be nice to set the fox history record straight in Europe (we have already partially done so) because we need to learn and educate about species we have lost and the role of humans in extinction and fight through academic dogma.

Thank You

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